Multiple Eids: Nation to celebrate on August 20, K-P on 19
Addressing a press conference, Mufti Rehman said that no credible testimonies of sighting the moon were received from the provincial capitals, including Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta.
The various zonal Ruet-e-Hilal committees had convened a meeting to sight the moon in major cities of the country while the Central Ruet-e-Hilal committee meeting was held in Karachi.
The official announcement of the sighting of the Shawwal moon was made after consulting all the committees.
Eid in K-P on Sunday
Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai, chief cleric of the Qasim Ali Khan Mosque in Peshawar, announced on Saturday that Eid-ul-Fitr in the city will be celebrated on August 19, Sunday.
He said that testimonies were received from 23 men and one woman from across the province.
K-P senior minister Bashir Bilour, on behalf of the provincial government, announced that Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on August 19 across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The zonal Reut-e-Hilal Committee of Peshawar also lodged its protest against the central committee’s announcement of celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr on August 20.
The zonal committee said that the testimonies received from across the province were not given any consideration by the central committee.
Maulana Ehsanul Haq from the zonal committee, talking to Express News, maintained that their demands since several years have been the same. “The central committee should continue with its meeting till around 11pm. Because we keep receiving testimonies and it takes time to forward it to them. They always end the meeting around 9pm. The same happened this year.”
Haq added that the zonal committee has appealed to the provincial government to announce Eid on Sunday. “God willingly, we will celebrate Eid tomorrow.”
Reports of the moon being sighted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were received by the zonal Ruet-e-Hilal committee there, including 15 testimonies from Mardan.
Areas of North Waziristan, including Bajaur, Mardan and Banu will also celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr on August 19.
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@Waziristani: Yes, you are right in demanding the abolition of the Ruete Hilal Committee because it failed in the very purpose of its creation to enable all Pakistanis celebrate the Eid on a single day through out the country. It is a bitter fact of our 60 years history that Eid is never held on one day in all the five politically divided provinces nor due the religiously divided into 72 sectarian society it will never be possible to celebrate Eid on one day. In view of such an unenviable situation, the only way out of this laughing away situation is that the govt. should announce the dates of three days, allowing all to celebrated Eid on one of these three declared dates. In this way the Pakistanis will get rid of the confusion created by the ridiculous style of moon sighting and its too much delayed announcements causing a lot of heart burning in the innocent people.
How about mufti sahab move his moon-sighting meeting to Peshawar on next Eid! If the Pathans are so sure of seeing it a day earlier, mufti sahab will too... And we will have Eid on the same day.
@Dr. Anwar Hasan: Very rightly put Sir. God bless you. Amen.
@Umair Khan: So you want to rely on unconformed sightings based on hallucination and total lies and discredit a properly done arrangement with the help of scientific instruments and every thing. Shabash stupidity has no limits.
@Usman: Yet make their own area ungovernable Ilaqa ghair and go to Karachi and do all their thamasha and manifest jahalath all through. They want to convert Karachi into another Ilaqa ghair.
This is the right way to go about. This every Tom Dick and Harry saying he saw the moon must stop. There were two problem guys of Masjid Mahabath Khan and Masjid Khasim Khan. Now there is one more to contend with. These fake watchers of moon must be put down with a heavy hand. Shahadathen from where do they get. When it is not possible astronomically they have seen it. The non-sense should stop and stop now. Next time any unofficial claim must get a jail term. I hope the parliament is listening. Make a law such that they dare not make such stupid claims.
How ironic, these Thekedars of Islam are using Kafir technology to determine Eid.
3 eids
Maulvi using technology. LOL
@Umair Khan: Yes they are credible pecause they belong to your sect, face it that is the basic issue im pretty sure one a deobandi chairman comes up everything would be just fine with kpk.
Mufti Muneeb is not a singel person in committee...there are people from meterological dept, SUPARCO, Pakistan navy and Karachi Univeristy along with many ulema from all over the country....from scientific calculations it was not possible to see the moon in whole asia region....
@Bakhtawer BIlal: Wow what a typical ignorat comment, did the prophet use internet, tv , cars , aeroplanes, mobile phones ??? This speaks volumes for your level of thinking...yes science defies people in kpk so yeah go oh celebrate eid.
Why make an issue of this matter. Let whoever wants to celebrate Eid on whichever day, be accepted quietly. When the controversy is given importance regional mullahs want to come to the limelight by declaring Eid on different days.
Come on guys this is his moment of BEING IMPORTANT ... let him be .. he is useless for the rest of the Year anyway; OQAF is providing them with Free Money AKA Salary; they have other businesses to attend to during the year; now this is the only month when someone is ACTUALLY listening to them; waiting for them to say something; so let them have their fun.
Here is what scientifically possible.
http://www.crescentwatch.org/cgi-bin/cw.cgi?action=2
what is wrong with multiple Eids? I would rather like this diversity though I would like the provicincal government and not the mullas to declare Eid
Lunar charts are available for the next 100 years and they tell you exactly what time the moon can possibly be seen in any given area. Acording to that chart for today , from lahore to kabul, moon can be seen from 7 to 7; 20. At that time, alhough moon is still there, the sunlight is too strong to see it. But the moon is there. Saudia sharia requires that if moon is there as per science, its there. Our concept is that we must actually see it. If thats the concept then its a simple scientific fact that u COULD NOT SEE MOONTODAY ATER 7 30 pm AS PER LUNAR CHART UPTIL KABUL. So if someone says they saw it at 10 pm they r clearly lying.
For Seri the order is to eat till u can distinguish between a black thread and a white one, but we want to follow science n note exact time eg 3;23, but for moon sighting we r not intereested in wat science says abt position of moon n want to search all night for what is not even there. Beats me.
@Bakhtawer BIlal:
You're obviously ignorant of the fact that there are some astronomers that serve on the Pakistan Ruet-e-Hilal committee alongside religious scholars. Their approach is holistic in nature - combination of science and eye-witness accounts.
That's because the mullahs are too busy tearing down minerats and removing quranic verses from ahmadi graves and mosques
On Saturday, it would have been hard to spot the young moon on sky in Karachi. As it was quite close to horizon as well as the setting sun, it would have moved out of sight fairly soon after the sunset.
@Wiki Even met department said that it was impossible that moon can be sighted today! but no wonder even science fails in KPK or better to say in Pakistan!
hmmm This is a failure of the central government. While we admit they don't have the mental capability to fix major issues like electricity and law & order. At the very least, the central govt can announce and implement strict guidelines that'll take away the eid-announcing rights from these many smaller committees and the whole nation would have to celebrate eid on a single day.
What a shame. Eid tou mil kr mana nahi sakty, ye dushmano ko shikast deny ki baat krty hain
What a nonsense? The Shawwal moon has not been spotted across the country, Chairman Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Mufti Muneebur Rehman announced on Saturday, What about the 20+ Pashtuns who spotted the Moon. In Islam, two women evidence is equal to one man but in this case 20 Pashtun evidence is equal to zero. Mufti claimed that tomorrow it will prove that who is following whom judgement? Dear Mufti, with due respect, Punjab and Sindh will definitely follow you but can you tell who many in the said provinces are fasting? It is high time for the people of the country to demand the abolition of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee as it is creating problem rather solve it.
@Sima: Pakistan is among the few countries where moon is sighted locally otherwise most of rest of world follow Saudi Arabia. I will not balme Popalzai or Muneebur Rehman but will accept the verdict of Muneebur Rehman because it is more relevant to the astrological data.
@Wiki, he has Met Dept and technical experts vouching for his decision... Dont tell me u wud also see moon when scientific evidence suggests otherwise?
2nd, he's the one entrusted with authority and responsibility... so others wishing for their own (vested) councils shud just let him do his work!
then, how come its the KPK Mullah's who see a disputed moon (always ahead of rest of Pak - which is not possible tecnhically)??? By clamoring every year (only on Ramadan and Eid) for neglecting advice of KPK maulvis, these Mullahs are widening ethnic divide...
I wud simply suggest we dont confuse this issue with ethnicity or sectarianism!
@Cautious:
Its not just pakistan, Its all Desi's who cant find or see the moon. They have all come to North America now and we also have two eids not because they dont know when will the moon come out , its just they want to be different from the rest of the world and the term they use it is called Sunnat.
Testimony of KPK Zonal Committee was rejected by Hazara People so Pakistan the only country in the world will be celebrating three Eids. May Allah bring harmony amongst the Pakistanis.
@ sima, Pakistanis are not different. Most of the countries west of Pakistanare are celeberatig Eid on Sunday, whereas East of Pakistan, all Muslims are celeberating on Monday. Population wise majority of Muslims are celeberating Eid on Monday. The population of Pakistan, Indian Muslims, Bangladesh, Indoneshia, Malaysia etc is more than 70% of all Muslims and they are celeberating Eid on monday. The problem is not with Pakistanis or any other muslim. Infact problem is with the lunar calendar. It will never be solved, therefore we should learn to live with it.
why didn't MM(mufti muneeb) considered the testimonies from its Zonal Committee? Why? Its not fair because the zonal committee was supposed to be an official committee.... and if you don't accept testimonies from the zonal committee of KPK the why are u having this committee?
Dear and Near, Instead of your own discussion go and set with a cleric and ask them that Two or Three Eids can be celebrated or not , Please note the following: Itiha al-Matali (unified horizons=Seen anywhere is seen everywhere) and Ikhtilaf al-Matali (Every town by its own sighting)
So Please dont discuss if you dont know, Wallahu Aalamu Bi Sawab.
My Good wishes for all k-p`s brothers and sister. no matter 19 or 20 september :)
Mufti Muneeb is 100% credible. who can prove that he is not credible.
Lucky nation we are too. Too many Eids!
@a&a: If you keep considering every body's testimonies then why all this government? It is non-sense to even entertain such maverick sightings. It is a shame that we do. Ek se ek maskharay TV par baithay rahthay hain and hamara mazaq uda rahay hain.
@Umair Khan: What I don't get is that how can you observe Ashura and other significant religious events with us (rest of Pakistan)? Is it possible? Where does the "one day" difference go? Does it automatically disappear or something? :/ KPK should observe all such events a day ahead of us ( with Saudia and Middle East) since they've sighted the moon early!
Killa Abdullah Khan/Chaman: Eid is announced, firing in the air is heard, though Pakistani Hilal Committee announce Eid on 20th of August.
This Eid fiasco, tells non-Muslims that the Pakistani Muslims are still illiterates and incapable of using modern scientific methods to predict new moon, also still living in stone age thanks to mullas and mufties?
sorry its North Waziristan not South Waziristan
New Moon on 17 August 15:55 Universal Time. Phase of Moon on 18 August: Waxing crescent with 1% moon's visible disk illuminated. Phase of Moon on 19 August: Waxing crescent with 3% moon's visible disk illuminated. Reference U.S. Naval Observatory. Astronomical Applications Department
That is not a telescope, that is a "theodolite."
Also, the images on moonsighting.com are NOT "satellite images" as someone mentioned, rather they are calculated curves of visibility plotted over a map.
Why every body is blaming PK and Mulana Populzai. They might be wrong and might be blamed for but why not you people are cursing the rest of the Muslim world?
Will only Pakistan will have to follow scientific method not the rest of the Muslim World or the rest of the Muslim World is living in Stone ages and only Pakistan is living in Scientific ages?
One Allah gave us one Koran, One Prophet, One Kalma, One Mecca, One Medina but we are not united. Now we want one day Eid for all Muslims, otherwise we will keep on killing each other. Allah must enhance Moon size bigger than the Sun and change its orbit to make it visible throughout the world. Its a very small demand, hope He will accept it.
Dear Mufti Muneeb: You are doing a wonderful job as the head of Ruet-e-Hilal. You are using the instruction according to the Quran and corroborating this information with scientific knowledge. Your information is correct and accurate every year. Because of you we are having one Eid in almost the whole of Pakistan every year for the last 10 years or more. Please keep up the good work. I remember the year the husband celebrated Eid one day and the wife the next day. This was in the 1970's-80's.
You will find people who will swear they have seen God and also the Prophet. If a person has an obsession he will see things that do not exist. This is a medical condition. They are not lying but they claim honestly to have seen things that is not possible to see.
Something not visible to millions of people but seen by 10 has to be investigated. Again thank you for the good work!
@Salman waziristan and other agencies are not part of kpk.These are federally administrated ares
Islam has got a lunar calendar. I do not, understand that why this behavior is exibited by KPK only on the issue of Eids. If the moon is actually sighted there before rest of the country, then this should happen in all the 12 months of the Hijri calendar. But this is not the case, which very well indicates that their actions are meant to create divisions. If they want to celebrate Eid with Saudia then why this testimony Drama?
Its a political issue not a religious one. the ANP lead mullahs in KPK just want to prove that they are separate than the rest of the nation.
Why can't all the maulvis use good "away-flutes"... Or Doorbeens, as Azizi would say :D :D That should solve the issue, shouldn't it?
Three eids. 1. Eid e Miransha 2. Eid e popalzai 3. Eid e Muneeb THE MORE THE MARRIER
if you go to a Moon Sighting website, moon wont be visible to naked eye in Pak untill sunday evening, so any Eid on Sunday is nothing but to further divide a confused nation...
@Cautious: In Canada we have three Eids (Saturday, Sunday and Monday) depending on who you ask. Alas we have the same confusion here !
its sad that while the west is sending rovers to mars, we refuse to use astronomical calculations to predict lunar sightings. Here is a link to satellite picture maps predicting moon sightings around the world:
http://moonsighting.com/1433shw.html
Is the title of this post suggesting K-P is apart from the nation?
Why didn't KP Govt accepted the moon sighting claims in South Waziristan yesterday before criticizing federal moon sighting committee ? Is S. Waziristan not in KP ?
Try the lost and found.
Rest of the world & Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will celebrate Eid tomorrow; rest of Pakistan the day after. Eid Mubarak, world! Pakistan, hold on.
Well we wanted to have eid on same date but if Mufti Muneeb will not accept witnesses of KPK then we do not care :) Happy Eid mubarik to all :)
We can't even celebrate one eid - how sad is that
@Soldier Bazari:
that's a telescope not a parking meter
There was no moonighting anywhere in Pakistan. If you want to celeberate Eid with Saudi Arabia, then go ahead. Nobody can stop you but if you want to celeberate after sighting the moon, then wait for monday.
Moon is sighted only if Mufti sees only himself. I never remember he saw moon and Eid after 30 days.
Why is sighting the moon always a problem in Pakistan? You do share the same planet with the rest of us don't you?
@Soldier Bazari: u r right....lolzz
Can't they just use an astronomy software?
My friend in Lahore is claiming that he has sighted the moon....Allah knows best
Mufti saab!!!
May this Eid ul Fitr of 2012 which is falling on August 20, 2012 may bring peace, prosperity, happiness collectively for the entire PAKISTAN.
Aameen.