On Friday, April 1, some astronomers and mosques made statements about Ramadan, although the HM Nautical Almanac Office – a British government agency that produces astronomical data for organizations including the armed forces, police, religious groups and religious groups – said The moon would not be visible in the United Kingdom, the Middle East, or anywhere else in Asia or Africa that day. It will be possible to see the first thin crescent of the new moon only in a few locations, including areas of South America, the US and the Caribbean, the agency said. READ MORE: Ramadan 2022 Schedule for prayers, fasting, suhoor and iftar meals
Where has Ramadan 2022 been announced?
Saudi Arabia deployed telescopes to look for the faint miniature of the moon against its clear blue sky on Friday afternoon. Officials later said they had seen it in Sudair, meaning Taraweeh prayers on Friday night and then the first full day of Ramadan on Saturday, April 2nd.
The Green Lane Masjid in Birmingham’s Small Heath follows the news of Saudi Arabia and then said it would also see April 2 as the start of Ramadan for its devout community. The Amanah Masjid on Henley Street in Sparkbrook will similarly receive April 2 as the start date, and the Stechford Mosque on Albert Road had earlier set up a prayer schedule accordingly.
Around the world, the Fatwa Council of Australia announced that it had already decided that Ramadan 2022 would begin on April 2, because it knew from astronomical data that it would be easy to see the moon on April 1 in this part of the world.
Where will it be on a different date?
In other places, including Morocco and Pakistan, the month of Ramadan will not begin until Sunday, April 3rd. Officials at these locations will search for the moon on Saturday, April 2nd. Any communities in other countries that follow these views will also set a Sunday. date. These differences result in Ramadan – and other Islamic dates – being different days in different countries, and sometimes within the same country or even the same city. Saudi Arabia lunar eclipse announcements tend to keep pace with the Umm al-Qura Calendar, which sets key dates for many years. Some have raised doubts about the accuracy of his reported appearances. The Middle East Eye reports that Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Iran, Morocco and Turkey rely on local views of the Moon, but in other nations, many are waiting for Saudi Arabia, the seat of Islam’s holiest sites. to make the call.
What about moon views in the UK?
Iqbal Sacranie, founding secretary general of the British Muslim Council (MCB), said in a statement: “By the 1980s, the majority of Muslims would have followed Morocco because Islamic law stipulates that if you can not see the moon in your country, then you should watch the view of the nearest Muslim nation. “But the problem would be that we would receive news after midnight in the UK from Morocco and we would not know if it was Ramadan or Eid the next day until it was too late or that the moon was not on our horizon.” Mr Sacranie says different dates in the UK make it inconvenient because friends and relatives do not celebrate at the same time – and it also means that it is not possible to decide on a public holiday for Eid ul Fitr at the end of Ramadan. He explained: “When I spoke to the British government in 1997, they were ready to make Eid a national holiday for students, but when they asked me which day, we could not agree on one, because there was division.” Most recently, a lunar eclipse board of scientists and religious scholars was set up at Birmingham-based Islamic television station Noor TV to co-operate in verified crescent views in the United Kingdom. After confusion over the dates in 2019, Noor TV and a number of other Islamic organizations in the UK have agreed on a memorandum of understanding to work together on the issue. Raja Zahid Nawaz, a member of the Noor TV Moonsighting Board and an adviser to the diversity council of the British Scientific Association, said that holding important events on two different days – sometimes in the same city – “makes it difficult, not just for families who want leave for the holidays but for organizations, employers, schools and colleges “. “Seeing the first crescent of the new moon is a profound spiritual and emotional experience and we must do it right,” he said. Other British Muslims are also trying to pressure people to stop looking abroad for news of moon sightings, despite concerns that the weather in the UK could make it difficult to locate the crescent. Imad Ahmed, founder of the New Crescent Society, said: “We started looking at the moon with a mission. Is it really too cloudy to see? And what we found is, no, it’s not too cloudy to go and see the moon. “It may be cloudy in London, but that does not mean it is cloudy in Birmingham or Scotland on the same day. If you have snipers all over the country, then you are more likely to see the moon if it is on the horizon.” Get all the latest Ramadan news and what’s happening in your Midlands with our free daily newsletters – sign up to receive it directly in your inbox. Subscribe to our Brummie Muslim email for a story on the day of Ramadan
