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WEEKLY
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| Moon madness |
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Friday, September 25, 2009
Once more we have seen discord over the question of when Eid should have been celebrated. Indeed the issue has flared up into a full-fledged political row, with the federal railways minister demanding the removal of the chairman of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee. The dispute involves the question of when the new moon was sighted. Many in the NWFP celebrated Eid a day ahead of the rest of the country. To add to the confusion a small group in Lahore also followed the Saudi calendar and marked Eid on that day. There were bitter fights, some ending in blows, as clerics who argued that the Ruet-e-Hilal decision must be followed attempted to prevent ANP workers and others from offering Eid prayers. This is all rather unseemly. It detracts from the harmony and sense of peace that should mark one of the most important occasions on the Islamic calendar. The federal government has so far refused to get involved and has not backed the remarks by the railways minister, Ghulam Haider Bilour, a senior member of the ANP, that the Ruet-e-Hilal chairman is a remnant of the Musharraf era. The chairman, Mufti Munibur Rehman, has struck back, asking what authority the secular ANP has in matters of religion.
It is quite absurd that a matter as simple as spotting the crescent can assume such ugly proportions. There are predictions that the fallout could hit PPP-ANP relations. Opponents of the alliance already seem to be rubbing their hands in glee. Beyond the political, many ordinary people too have been distressed by the chaos and the failure to celebrate a united Eid. In practical terms the divide creates issues for families who live in different towns and must decide which order to follow. The time has come to find rationality. Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries seem able to use science to predict the date of the new moon and announce Eid well in advance. Much angst is avoided as a result of this simple, and sensible, measure. The example set by the Saudis in using the modern ability to predict the cycle of the moon can be emulated and an end put to the chaos over Eid that we witness each year.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
