10-24-2006, 07:51 PM
<b>Moon row plays spoilsport this Eid</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Moon committees, which were unanimous in their decisions on Monday evening to celebrate Eid on October 25, mysteriously changed the stand after midnight and announced date for celebration on Tuesday.
<b>There was tussle between the hackneyed Mullahs and people with scientific tempers on the issue, which raised conflicts within the community</b>.
<b>The central moon committee in Lucknow had issued a statement on Monday evening that the moon was not sighted and that Eid will be celebrated on October 25</b>.
According to sources<b>, the committee backtracked under the pressure of the Deoband and made the fresh announcement in Lucknow at 3 am</b>.
Rashid said he tried to contact the Shia Ulema to apprise them of the changes but they were not available. Significantly the Barielvis seeing through the gameplan of the Deobandis, did not celebrate Eid on Tuesday.
However vice chairman All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and prominent Shia cleric Dr Kalbe Sadiq said,<b> "It was a result of a clash of egos amongst the Muslim ulema (clerics)".</b>
Dr Sadiq had announced nearly a month ago that astronomically the Eid moon would be sighted on October 24, which did not go too well with the traditional mullahs.
Highly upset Dr Sadiq told HT that clerics were not ready to accept changes. âUlema ki aankhe der mein khulengiâ (the eyes of clerics will open late) Dr Sadiq said and added, "Let the new generation come up, then we will see their value."
While pointing out that it was easy to calculate appearance of moon scientifically, Dr Sadiq said <b>the traditionalists were unwilling to accept modern changes in the festival. Once the communityâs new generation was fully acclimatized to computers, traditional moon sighting will become a thing of the past</b>.
<b>He said it was shocking to see a countrywide fragmentation of the community on Eid.</b> During the last few years, Dr Sadiq has been making desperate efforts to scientifically mould the community on the Eid moon issue so <b>the festival date could be announced at least one month in advance. But rigidity on the part of Mullahs had prevented him from doing so</b>. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Before leaving for Kenya, Dr Sadiq said that he had informed Khalid Rashid that the Eid moon could be sighted in the southern tip a day earlier. Mysore was the first one to report the sighting on Monday evening.
Dr Sadiq said that an all-India moon sight was only on October 24.<b> He said the situation would improve only when the community would go by âilmâ (education) and in this connection he said astronomical calculations were time-tested</b>.
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<b>There was tussle between the hackneyed Mullahs and people with scientific tempers on the issue, which raised conflicts within the community</b>.
<b>The central moon committee in Lucknow had issued a statement on Monday evening that the moon was not sighted and that Eid will be celebrated on October 25</b>.
According to sources<b>, the committee backtracked under the pressure of the Deoband and made the fresh announcement in Lucknow at 3 am</b>.
Rashid said he tried to contact the Shia Ulema to apprise them of the changes but they were not available. Significantly the Barielvis seeing through the gameplan of the Deobandis, did not celebrate Eid on Tuesday.
However vice chairman All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and prominent Shia cleric Dr Kalbe Sadiq said,<b> "It was a result of a clash of egos amongst the Muslim ulema (clerics)".</b>
Dr Sadiq had announced nearly a month ago that astronomically the Eid moon would be sighted on October 24, which did not go too well with the traditional mullahs.
Highly upset Dr Sadiq told HT that clerics were not ready to accept changes. âUlema ki aankhe der mein khulengiâ (the eyes of clerics will open late) Dr Sadiq said and added, "Let the new generation come up, then we will see their value."
While pointing out that it was easy to calculate appearance of moon scientifically, Dr Sadiq said <b>the traditionalists were unwilling to accept modern changes in the festival. Once the communityâs new generation was fully acclimatized to computers, traditional moon sighting will become a thing of the past</b>.
<b>He said it was shocking to see a countrywide fragmentation of the community on Eid.</b> During the last few years, Dr Sadiq has been making desperate efforts to scientifically mould the community on the Eid moon issue so <b>the festival date could be announced at least one month in advance. But rigidity on the part of Mullahs had prevented him from doing so</b>. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> Before leaving for Kenya, Dr Sadiq said that he had informed Khalid Rashid that the Eid moon could be sighted in the southern tip a day earlier. Mysore was the first one to report the sighting on Monday evening.
Dr Sadiq said that an all-India moon sight was only on October 24.<b> He said the situation would improve only when the community would go by âilmâ (education) and in this connection he said astronomical calculations were time-tested</b>.
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