With all the technology we have access to (and yes, this phrase itself is starting to make me sound like a broken record!) we can’t seem to deliberate one day when we celebrate Eid. A muslim celebration marking the end of Ramadan, the month of Fasting, is announced at the sighting of the moon.
There is a committee of religious scholars sit atop the highest locations in several locations across the country to try and get a glimpse of the moon, at which point the official announcement is made through a television press conference. Millions of SMSes and calls pass through the cellular gateways confirming the same, greeting people’s complete address books, and the verdict is final… or is it?
Pakistan celebrates Eid over the course of at least 2, sometimes 3 days. While one might be able to understand the discrepancy another time zone might cause, there really can’t be a time difference of a day between the sighting today and the next day for certain parts of the same country. Cameras, powerful telescopes and large-scale printouts can be used to document the sighting of the moon in a location to eliminate any doubt. Using the online media can help to make the collaboration and knowledge-share easier.
There are a number of interesting articles available for reading and research online that talk about the sighting of the moon and the means used in various countries.
