‘Breakaway’ Blackburn imams launch campaign for ‘one Eid day’
In an unprecedented move, leading imams and scholars from Blackburn have launched a campaign urging people to follow local moonsighting criteria when deciding when to celebrate Eid.
It comes after growing concerns by some scholars that Muslims in Britain were ‘blindly following’ the announcements made by Saudi Arabia.
In recent decades, Muslims across the UK have commenced the holy month of Ramadan and hosted Eid celebrations on different days.
These differences are dependant on the sighting of the new moon as per the Islamic lunar calendar.
The almost yearly disagreements and controversies have led to neighbours and families celebrating Eid and beginning Ramadan on different days.
Much of this has been due to differences of opinions amongst imams and scholars and therefore the mosques.
In 2022 about 150 people in Blackburn with Darwen held Eid prayers, according to a local moonsighting criteria.
At the most recent Eid ul Fitr in April, this number increased to around 350.
Ahead of Eid ul Adha, it is expected this number will increase again.
The Blackburn Moonsighting Working Group (BMWG) which comprises of eight scholars from Blackburn said this was not a ‘numbers game’ but a campaign to educate the wider Muslim community on why local moonsighting matters.
The group said they had the full support from prominent Muftis and scholars and a further 32 scholars have supported the cause from within Blackburn.
They said the ‘lowest common denominator was to follow local UK only or Morocco moonsighting’.
A statement read: “All the scholars unanimously agree that there is nothing at all wrong with that.
"Saudi Arabia was only used for convenience purposes. That reason does not exist anymore.
“First and foremost, every effort must be made in the UK on the 29th of every Islamic month to try and sight the moon with the naked eye.
"Once all efforts are exhausted, then we will take the moonsighting reports from the nearest Muslim countries like Morocco that are in the same or similar time zone and have a very rigorous moonsighting system in place.
“Saudi Arabia is very blessed, as it houses the holy cities of Makkah Mukarramah and Madinah Munawwarah. There is no denying that fact.
“However, when it comes to the issue of moonsighting, our Shariah advises us to look for the moon locally and if not sighted, then to follow the nearest Islamic country, which has a robust reliable system as regards moonsighting.”
The BMWG is made up of Moulana Hashim Limbada, Moulana Sulaiman Palanpuri, Moulana Shabbir Limbada, Moulana Yusufali Makda, Moulana Hanif Dudhwala, Moulana Rafiq Sufi, Moulana Saeed Nagori, and Moulana Master Shakil Patel.
Since the arrival of the Muslims into the UK from the early 1950’s through to 1984, the majority, if not the whole of the UK Muslims, were following sighting from Morocco.
The statement adds: “That was the ruling issued by the scholars of the sub-continent at that time and that is the criteria that we are adopting today.
“South Africa also has a very robust moonsighting system in place and scholars have allowed the UK Muslims to take the news from South Africa as well. However, that is very rare.
"Predominantly, the moonsighting reports are either from the UK or Morocco.”
Over the years, there have been concerns that the news received from Saudi Arabia would at times ‘contradict astronomical calculations and observation charts’.
The group said: “Our Shariah does not allow us to base our Islamic months on astronomical calculations or observation charts. The teachings are very clear. The moon must be sighted every month with the naked eye.
“Having said that, there is no harm at all in taking assistance from the astronomical predictions when ascertaining if a sighting claim is credible.
“Saudi Arabia’s sighting reports do not take this point into consideration and accept the testimony from a handful of individuals even when it is contradictory to astronomical calculations that state it is impossible for the moon to be visible to the naked eye for that certain day.
"Because of this stance, Saudi Arabia’s moonsighting becomes doubtful.
“In matters of doubt, our Shariah advises us to leave the doubtful in favour of the undoubtful. Hence, we err on the side of caution and do not follow the sighting news from Saudi Arabia.”
The BMWG said ‘over the last 35 years, the news from Saudi Arabia has become more and more doubtful’.
The group added: “One of the most important points to note is that the move in 1984 from Morocco to Saudi Arabia was only because of the inconvenience caused by the late arrival of news from Morocco.
“We had the push-button telephones and fax machines. Alas, we have moved leaps and bounds in terms of technology and communications.
“Hence, information from Morocco is received within an hour of sunset at the latest. There is no more inconvenience left.”
Islamic scholars urge Muslims to celebrate Eid under a British moon
The move would ensure that in different parts of the UK the festival is always marked on the same day
Some mosques will celebrate Eid al-Adha on June 28 this year while others will do so the day after
Wednesday June 21 2023, 12.01am, The Times
The date for Eid celebrations in Britain should be based on when the moon is first spotted in or near the UK rather than in Saudi Arabia to ensure all British Muslims can mark the festival on the same day, a group of Islamic scholars has urged.
Next week sees the festival of Eid al-Adha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice to mark the willingness shown by Abraham to sacrifice his son, but not all Muslims in Britain will celebrate it on the same date. It was decided in the past few days that the East London Mosque will mark Eid next Wednesday, June 28, while the Manchester Central Mosque will celebrate next Thursday.
In future, British Muslims have been urged by scholars from Blackburn to “follow local UK only or Morocco moon sighting” reports when setting the dates for the two Eid festivals each year.
Islamic months follow the cycle of the moon and last for 29 or 30 days. If the first waxing crescent moon after a new moon is spotted on the 29th day, a new Islamic month starts on the following day. Otherwise, that Islamic month will continue for a 30th day before a new month begins. Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, falls on the first day of its month while Eid al-Adha falls on the tenth day.
The system must rely on actual sightings of the moon with the naked eye and not on astronomical calculations.
Cloudy skies over the UK often make it difficult to spot the moon, leaving British Muslims reliant on religious authorities abroad when setting dates in the Islamic calendar. Some rely on sightings in the nearest Islamic country, Morocco, in the same time zone as Britain, but some prefer to rely on rulings from Saudi Arabia, home to the most sacred sites in Islam, which is two hours ahead during a British summer.
This can lead Muslims in the UK to celebrate Eid on different days if the moon is spotted in Saudi Arabia a day earlier than in Britain or Morocco.
The Blackburn Moonsighting Working Group is made up of eight scholars. They said that until the mid-1980s most British Muslims relied on sightings from Morocco but had switched to Saudi Arabia “for convenience purposes” because it was taking too long to receive news of moon sightings from Morocco via “push-button telephones and fax machines”.
“We have moved leaps and bounds in terms of technology and communications,” they said. “Hence, information from Morocco is received within an hour of sunset at the latest. There is no more inconvenience.”
The group added: “First and foremost, every effort must be made in the UK on the 29th of every Islamic month to try and sight the moon with the naked eye. Once all efforts are exhausted, then we will take the moon sighting reports from the nearest Muslim countries like Morocco that are in the same or similar time zone and have a very rigorous moon sighting system in place.”
The group said that reports from Saudi Arabia had become “more and more doubtful”, with sighting claims being confirmed even if they came from only “a handful of individuals” at times when it would be “impossible for the moon to be visible to the naked eye”.
Qari Asim, an imam from Leeds who was not part of the group, said some Muslims who were more “ideologically aligned to Saudi Arabia” may see it as a “big step” to change, but said there was “a movement that people should following the UK sighting”.
He added: “There really seems to be a north-south divide. People in the south tend to go more with the Saudi announcement because of ease and finding out earlier in the day. In the north they tend to go more with the Moroccan sighting.”
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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