he United Kingdom (UK) is a diverse society where Muslims make up about 4.4 percent of the population, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) census 2018, which is about 4.3 million. Nearly half of them are people of Pakistani origin, about 2.2 million.

The number of mosques and Islamic centres belonging to all schools of thought in the UK is 2,411; 47.2 percent are Pakistani, 25.4 percent Bangladeshi and 9.4 percent Indian. These mosques usually follow the religious traditions of Saudi Arabia, Morocco and South Africa.

The leaders at these mosques have failed to give British Muslims a single Eid and Ramazan calendar, leaving the youth frustrated and worried about which of their ulema to follow.

Despite the efforts of some organisations and individuals, British Muslims have not been able to agree on the commencement of the holy month of Ramazan and Eid. In some cases, members of the same family have been fasting according to different rulings.

The British Muslims also stand divided over the issue of the sighting of the Ramazan moon. Many discussions were held to reach a consensus on the start of the holy month, but in vain.

The differences between the celebration of Eid and the commencement of Ramazan have been present for decades. Many attempts have been made to eliminate them. The new generation is confused and worried about what to do and who to follow among their elders.

Due to differences over the sighting of the moon, Muslims cannot declare a single day as the Eid holiday. It becomes more difficult therefore for the working class to get leave from their jobs to celebrate Eid.

Talking to The News on Sunday (TNS), scholar Maqsood Ahmed says that these differences have nothing to do with the religious needs. He says these are linked to economic issues of the relevant schools.

“Each religious leader wants to retain his following. They keep contentious issues alive to stay relevant,” says Ahmed. He says that modern equipment and measurements have eliminated the chance of any error in determining the position of the moon. “If these differences are fundamental and not related to economic interests, why do they not arise in the rest of the months,” he asks rhetorically.

He says there are no differences on moon sightings among the Muslims in jails. “On the eve of Eid or commencement of Ramazan, every Muslim must abide by the decision announced by the authorities. A grand mufti should be appointed with the consensus of all schools of thought to resolve the issue of moon sighting,” Ahmed suggests.

“If these differences are fundamental and not related to economic interests, then why do they not arise in the rest of the lunar months? The disputes have nothing to do with religious needs. Each religious leader wants to control his followers. They keep contentious issues alive to stay relevant,” says Maqsood Ahmed.

On the issue of disputed moon sighting, Mufti Abdul Wahab says that the issue is indeed sensitive and needs immediate attention of all leaders of mosques and Muslim communities. He says that he has tried hard to build consensus in the past but remained unsuccessful.

“Tablighi Jamaat, Deobandi school of thought and Ahle Hadeeth are settled on the birth of the moon while following the Saudi Arabian decision of moon sighting. However, the Hanfi school is unwilling to follow the Saudi decision regarding the moon’s birth,” states Mufti Wahab while talking to TNS.

“Followers of the Hanfi school accept the Moroccan calendar despite having a different time zone. They are not ready to join the other sects,” says Mufti Abdul Wahab.

“The UK is a multiethnic country where people belong to different backgrounds. Most of them try to follow the traditions and rituals closest to their countries of origin, like Saudi Arabia, Iran, South Africa and the Middle East,” he says.

“Since there is no single crescent sighting authority in the UK, the problems are increasing. Thus, the ulema from all schools of thought have a duty to form a unanimous committee to decide regarding the moon sightings.”

He says that all Muslims living in Europe and Britain face criticism and questions from the younger generation. “They are rightly asking us which version of Islam and jurisprudence they should follow,” says Wahab.

Qazi Abdul Aziz Chishti, the central general secretary of Jamaat Ahle Sunnat UK and Overseas Trust, says they cannot be expected to follow Saudi moon sightings. Talking to TNS, he says that sharia allows us to follow the nearest Islamic country’s moon sighting decisions, and that country is Morocco.

“The prayer timings are according to the local geographical conditions, not remotely based,” he adds.

Chishti says he is ready to sit down with other religious leaders to chalk out an acceptable plan for all sects for moon sighting and Eid prayers. “A plan of action can result if all scholars and religious leaders agree. It appears to be a hard task,” Chishti says.

An alliance of dozens of mosques in West London was formed three years ago, to work out a common strategy for moon sighting and Eid prayers but failed to achieve its goal due to ideological differences that came to light during that process.

The writer is a correspondent for Geo News, daily Jang and The News in London