New Crescent Society
@NewCrescentSoc
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FALSE MOONSIGHTING CLAIM ON 30 DHUL HIJJAH
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT POSTS OLD MOON PHOTOS WITH FALSE CLAIMS
On 26 June 2025 (30 Dhul Hijjah 1446) a tweet by Hamza_Bhuta tagged us, claiming to see the moon in Manchester with a picture. We retweeted this picture.
However, team members in our network raised concerns about this claim. Hamza’s moonsighting was unusual due to multiple technical reasons (beyond the scope of this message). As a result, we contacted Hamzah to investigate. We asked him some questions which he struggled to answer. Yet Hamzah confirmed and insisted multiple times that the photo was taken at 21:57 on 26 June.
We asked him to provide a testimony for the moon of 26 June but he refused (huge red flag), insisting “I’ve already shown you picture of it [sic]”.
Sadly, it was a false picture, Hamzah. 😞.
MUHARRAM MOON MISINFORMATION.
Hamza’s "June 26 Muharram" photo was actually an old picture from almost four months ago - please see the tweets from his own X feed (see picture - tweets are still up as of this post).
30 Mar 2025
x.com/Hamzah_Bhuta/status/1906423306733199645
25 Jun 2025
x.com/hamzah_bhuta/status/1938342726044422495?s=46&t=...
There are many other discrepancies, but for now, the false claim about the picture should help explain why we reject his claim.
We offered Hamzah a chance to retract, but he chose not to, nor delete the photo - and as a result, we felt compelled to issue a public statement clarifying.
Though Hamzah may be well-meaning, or mistaken, he often tags us, implies he has special links with us (he does not - he is not a moonsighter in our network), and he styles himself as some kind of moonsighting reporter.
We regret retweeting his photo. As it was not on the 29th (it was the 30th), it didn’t receive our standard scrutiny - but it was, in any case, a false UK sighting claim, and lessons must be learnt. Moon sighting is a sacred trust, underpinning the integrity of dates and acts of worship, and we will strive to improve our processes of verification as we go forward, inshallah.
Special thanks to Juned Patel & brother Christopher who aided in the investigation.
Alhamdulilah, this did not impact the calendar. The dates of Muharram remain unchanged: 10 Muharram will be Sunday, 6th July.
New Crescent Society
Monday 30 June 2025 / 4 Muharram 1447
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