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When the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) announced in August the exact date for the start of Ramadan based on astronomical calculations rather than actual sightings of the new moon, many around the world rose in protest over the validity of such a decision. This debate over visual sighting versus astronomical calculations is not a new one.
When the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) announced in September the exact date for the start of Ramadan based on astronomical calculations that will adhere to actual sightings, little controversy arose. Resorting to astronomical calculations that support visual sighting has been going on for decades.
But when ECFR's date for Europe turned out to be one day later than FCNA's date for America because of these calculations, that's when things started to sound strange.
For decades, or even centuries, a debate has raged between those who support resorting to astronomical calculations to decide on the start and end of months on the Islamic calendar, and those who insist on following the age-long tradition of visual sighting of the newly born crescent. Each side has presented its arguments for and against the different positions, and most of the time each side has had little luck in convincing the other.
The debate, however, has always been over jurisprudence. Supporters of visual sighting stand on firm grounds when sticking literally to the text of hadiths (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) that indicate that Ramadan should start when the new crescent is seen. Supporters of astronomical calculations quickly point out, however, that it is the spirit of the hadiths that should be followed, especially that back in the time of the Prophet, Muslims had no other means of accurately deciding the moon's age.
With most Muslims so far following visual sightings conducted by different bodies (governmental and nongovernmental) from around the world, Muslims in two neighboring countries could find themselves starting and ending the holy month on different days. Local communities in non-Muslim countries find themselves confused in many cases over which sighting to consider most credible, with families sometimes split down the middle as the members follow different dates.
Since astronomy gives us the exact timing of the birth of the new moon regardless of the menaces of visual sighting (cloudy skies, air pollution, looking in the wrong direction, etc.), can astronomical calculations help unify Muslims on starting Ramadan across the globe?
The Revelation
Come Ramadan 1427 (September–October 2006). Following astronomical calculations, FCNA announced that the first day of fasting will be on September 23, while ECFR announced that, astronomically speaking, Ramadan will start on September 24. So where is the mistake?
As it turns out, there is none. The decision made by FCNA (later adopted by ISNA, the Islamic Society of North America) was announced with the goal of unifying Muslims in the Western Hemisphere. Since astronomical calculations are precise enough to determine the time of birth of the new moon, FCNA decided that 12 noon Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) would become FCNA's reference point. If the new moon is born any time before that reference point, then that would give it enough time (12 to 18 hours) to mature before night falls on the Americas and hence Ramadan could start the following day. What FCNA is relying on is the possibility of a lunar sighting anywhere in the Western Hemisphere, without the actual need to do the sighting. On September 22, 2006, the new moon will actually be born at 11:45 GMT, hence satisfying FCNA's criteria for Ramadan to start on the 23rd.
The ECFR (European Council for Fatwa and Research) has set its criteria somewhat differently. In addition to the birth of the new moon, ECFR has also put into consideration the setting times of both the moon and the sun over Makkah as its specific reference point. For the new crescent to be observed in the sky, the moon must still be above the horizon after sunset — that is, the moon must still be in the sky as night falls. On the 22nd, the sun will set over Makkah at 6:18 p.m. local time, with the moon having set three minutes earlier. According to the logic of ECFR, with no chance of anyone finding the moon in the night sky of the 22nd, the moon sighting cannot be confirmed that evening and so Ramadan cannot start the following day. Muslims in Europe (and obviously Makkah) will have to wait until the 24th to begin their fast. As it turns out, this astronomical scenario also applies across Europe anyway this year, with the moon setting almost one or two minutes before the setting of the sun.
All About Reference Points
If the setting times of the sun and the moon are important in determining the possibility of a sighting to begin Ramadan, have FCNA and ISNA ignored that factor when deciding on their date? Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, member of the Board of Directors at both FCNA and ISNA, says that they have not. Moonset will take place about three minutes after sunset in Washington DC, while in California moonset will follow sunset by eight minutes. Practically, that does not allow for an actual lunar sighting to take place. But since the criteria were set for the Western Hemisphere as a whole, Dr. Siddiqi insists that someone on the Pacific Islands of Samoa will have about 40 minutes after sunset to sight the moon. That should be enough time to credit the "possibility" of a lunar sighting on the night of the 22nd.
So have astronomical calculations failed Muslims in achieving their ultimate goal of unification in starting the fast?
As it turns out, the matter of unification is more of a geographical dilemma rather than an astronomical one. Centuries ago, as Muslim communities spread across the continents in an ever growing empire, the lines of communications were not fast enough to warrant a common sighting across the globe. Persons of credibility or appointed officials could monitor the birth of the new moon at the end of Sha`ban (the month preceding Ramadan on the Muslim calendar), and if they announced a sighting then everyone within nearby accessible lands would probably follow. Barring political rivalry or any other outstanding factors, Muslim communities within a few hours of reach from one another were able to transmit the news within the same night and so join in fasting the day after, leaving communities farther away to conduct their own sightings.
Independent towns and villages eventually joined into states, and for the most part of the 20th century, technology allowed central governments to communicate with communities lying on the far outreaches of their borders. Hundreds of cities, towns, and villages could then observe the holy month in union. An observation committee placed at the top of Muqattam Plateau in Cairo, Egypt, could inform within the night fellow Egyptians living in the villages of Aswan 700 km (435 miles) to the south, something that could not be done a century earlier.
The Global Village
Come the information age, and mass communication has provided easy and instantaneous access to people worldwide. Geography no longer becomes a barrier to reach others, and consequently regions can communicate just as easily as citizens within a state could a few decades ago, or as community members within a town could even earlier. It only made sense now that scholars would start looking at regions the same way as their ancestors used to look at countries or towns, with organizations such as FCNA in North America and ECFR in Europe looking to unite inhabitants of regions in their fast.
Just as Aswan could follow Cairo for its sightings decades ago, ECFR has decided that Makkah could be the reference point for Europe. FCNA, on the other hand, has decided that, since the Samoan Islands to the far end of the Western Hemisphere could possibly observe the moon on the night of the 22nd, the islands can be considered as a reference point for the inhabitants of the Americas. Since moving eastward decreases the likelihood of observing a new crescent, the fact that Europe and Makkah will not be able to make a sighting on the 22nd also makes it impossible for people in Africa, Asia, or Australia to make a sighting either, forcing them to start along with Makkah and Europe on the 24th. Jurisprudence permitting, having just two reference points does seem like a considerable improvement on what has been happening in the past.
So the question still remains: Can the entire globe be unified into beginning Ramadan on the same day? If actual visual sighting remains a prerequisite for starting Ramadan rather than the possibility of sighting, unity does not seem to be always possible. Let's take this year as a case in point.
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On Friday, September 22, 2006, some Samoan Islanders are looking into the night sky for the new moon at 6:44 p.m. local time, about 20 minutes after sunset (the amount of time typically accepted as sufficient for sighting a crescent). As they are doing that, Muslims in California are probably going to bed at 10:44 p.m. while Muslims in Washington DC have probably been asleep for some time since it is now 1:44 a.m. Saturday, September 23. Right this same minute, some Muslims in England have already finished their Fajr Prayer, since now it is 6:44 a.m. Saturday. The streets of Cairo and Makkah are beginning to bustle with noise at 7:44 and 8:44 a.m. Saturday. This while it is 2:44 p.m. Saturday in Jakarta and Muslims are about to pray `Asr in a few minutes. New Zealanders are just about finished with their day at 5:44 p.m. Saturday, September 23, as they wait for the sun to set as it did 20 minutes ago over the Samoan Islands a few hundred kilometers to the east. So while the Samoans are still figuring out on the night of Friday the 22nd whether or not Ramadan is going to start the following day, Muslims in New Zealand are about to wrap up their day on Saturday 23 — a grim prospect if the Samoans sight the new moon in their night sky and announce that Ramadan begins on Saturday.
So it seems that it is not always going to be possible to synchronize the beginning and ending of the holy month for Muslims around the world. But then again, maybe there is much more to unite over in Ramadan than simply when it begins or when it ends.
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