Thaindian News

Lucknow, Sep 19 (IANS) Asserting that Eid-ul-Fitr should not be dependent on the visibility of the moon, renowned Shia cleric and senior vice president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board Maulana Kalbe Sadiq Saturday declared Sep 21 as the date of the festival.
“It is because of the variation of timing in the visibility at different places that Eid-ul-Fitr was often celebrated at two or more dates in different parts of the country,” Sadiq said at a press conference here.

He said that the dates could easily be determined on the basis of the lunar calendar.

“After all, any lunar calendar can tell you when the new moon would be there — irrespective of the fact whether someone sighted it or not on account of a variety of reasons,” he contended.

According to Sadiq, who is known for his progressive ideas: “Today, when science has progressed so much, the least we could do is to rely on astronomical facts and confirm the date of the new moon well in advance; that would leave no scope for the confusion that is often created on account of the actual visibility in one city and non-sighting in another.”

However, barring the relatively small Shia community, there appear to be not many takers for Sadiq’s views.

Leading Sunni cleric Maulana Khalid Rasheed, who apart from being the Naib Imam of Lucknow, is also the head of Firangi Mahal, the city’s oldest local Islamic seminary, is clearly of the view that the visibility of the moon is “absolutely indispensable in Islam”.

Stressing that he was not opposed to adapting modern science to religion and believed that the internet was a storehouse of information, he said: “We cannot do away with the old tradition and a practice that is acceptable to millions of people across the globe.”