Wednesday, 23, November, 2005 (21, Shawwal, 1426)
| OIC Summit Urged to Adopt Unified Islamic Calendar P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News |
| JEDDAH, 23 November 2005 An Indian researcher has called upon the upcoming Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Makkah to discuss a unified Islamic calendar which would be followed by all Muslim countries. Ali Manikfan, founder of the
Calicut-based Hijra Committee of India and creator of an Islamic calendar, said a political decision on the matter would enable Muslims across the world to celebrate Eid on the same day. Leaders of the 57-member OIC will assemble in Makkah for a two-day summit on Dec. 7. The extraordinary Islamic summit will discuss ways of strengthening Islamic unity and solidarity. "Eid Al-Fitr should be celebrated on the first day of the lunar month of Shawwal. Muslims around the world are now celebrating it on three different days due to the lack of a unified calendar," Manikfan told Arab News. Manikfan, who has devised a lunar calendar for the whole world, said this year Shawwal 1 was Thursday when people in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf and Arab
countries celebrated Eid Al-Fitr. "Muslims in many other countries celebrated it on Friday and Saturday. This is wrong," he said. Manikfan, who was born into a Maldivian aristocratic family, is fluent in 16 languages including English, Arabic, Latin, French, Russian, German, Persian and Sanskrit. Apart from astronomy, his fields of interest include marine biology, geography, traditional shipbuilding, education, fisheries, agriculture and horticulture. He is in the Kingdom to perform Umrah. He said Muslim scholars have misunderstood a Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him), which said Sumoo Lirueyatihi Wa Aftiru Lirueyatihi (Fast when you see it Ramadan crescent and end fast when you see it Shawwal crescent. "The Hadith actually means the date should be based on the lunar calendar," he pointed out.
"Islam is the most advanced and scientific religion. It's impossible to believe that the Prophet would instruct his followers in this age of science and technology to search for the new moon with their naked eyes when lunar and solar dates can be determined in advance on the basis of scientific calculations," he said. Manikfan said a mistake made in the past should not mean Muslims have to live with it forever. "When we realize it is a mistake, we must have the courage to correct it in order to protect the common interests of the Islamic nation," he added. Manikfan hopes that Saudi Arabia will take the lead and prepare a unified Islamic calendar for distribution in all Muslim countries. |
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(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
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