When is Eid? Time has come to end confusion

Every year Muslims wait patiently for a committee to sight the moon for Eid to be declared. And most often there is confusion. Now religious scholars say the traditional ways of moon-sighting must be stopped and scientific methods adopted. The new moon will be detected with pin-point precision with the aid of modern technology.

This year the confusion has come a bit earlier – on Ramadan 28. The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia decided to meet yesterday evening to decide whether Eid would be today. As you read this the confusion may be sorted out, but if Eid has not been declared, you will have to brace yourself for another round of suspense. Will Eid be on Thursday or Friday?

The question religious scholars ask is why do Muslims put themselves through this confusion every year. Science and technology can detect the birth of the new moon.

Dr Ahmad Al Qubaisi, an expert on Islamic Sharia, told Gulf News that he has been calling upon the Muslim world to adopt scientific methods instead of depending on a committee to sight the moon. The committee faces a tough task which is made even more difficult if conditions are cloudy or hazy.

“We need to implement the achievements of science and perform our rituals. Development has been achieved by humanity. I have been calling for an end to this confusion – first at the start of Ramadan and then the declaration of Eids for years, but I admit that I have not succeeded