Family’s young child joins Ramadan fast – Nashville, Tennessee – Sunday, 09/24/06 – Tennessean.com

Link: Family’s young child joins Ramadan fast – Nashville, Tennessee – Sunday, 09/24/06 – Tennessean.com.

One day beckons 3 faiths to mark holy celebrations – Nashville, Tennessee – Sunday, 09/24/06 – Tennessean.com

Link: One day beckons 3 faiths to mark holy celebrations – Nashville, Tennessee – Sunday, 09/24/06 – Tennessean.com.

Underreported: Politics in The Gambia

Link: WNYC – The Leonard Lopate Show: Power Dynamics (September 28, 2006).

BBC NEWS | Africa | Gambian president is re-elected

Link: BBC NEWS | Africa | Gambian president is re-elected.

Gambia leader signals firm rule after election?|?World News?|?Reuters.co.uk

Assalamu alaikum / greetings, what was it Sallah said, "working with the Jammeh government"?  "the opposition needs to chart the way forward".  OK not his words, but this is what I got from the Voice of America article!

     I think that talking about voter apathy and the NADD split gives Sallah someone to blame, and leaves him a reason *not* to reject the results!  But, whether you’re talking about Ousainou Darboe or Halifa Sallah, if the opposition lets Jammeh take this election, you can forget about a multiparty democracy in The Gambia.  Jammeh has seemingly made that clear!  It is past the blame game or talking about why NADD initially split!  We are way beyond that now!

Link: Gambia leader signals firm rule after election?|?World News?|?Reuters.co.uk.

VOA News – Gambian Opposition Leader Reflects on Election

Assalamu alaikum / greetings, "voter apathy"?  What voter apathy?  What evidence is there of this?  Waht if people were not *allowed* to vote?  Anyway…

Link: VOA News – Gambian Opposition Leader Reflects on Election.

Gambia, Oh Gambia!

     Assalamu alaikum, as some of you may (or may not) know, The Gambia had its Presidentail election on Friday, September 22nd.  As I’ve been gone and not had access to a computer since Thursday night, I’ve not had a chance to blog about this.

     I don’t know where to start, I’m fighting a migraine, so I’ll just try to keep it short and sweet!

     Firstly, it seems that Jammeh is determined to steal these elections!  Secondly, if the opposition doesn’t want to completely be neutralized by this guy, they, and by extension, thier supporters, need to do everything they can *not* to let Yahya Jammeh run away with another election!

     This is a guy who has stated that he doesn’t care what either his people, nor the international community want, think, or feel!  And he has threatened violence against anyone who stands up to him!

     It has come to the point that the Gambian people, as a whole, need to decide what they want!  Do they want to continue to live under a tyrannical, wicked ruler, who clearly cares nothing for htem, and only wants power for himself?  Or do they want good governance, transparency, the rule of law, etc.?

     This is no longer for those of us outside of The Gambia to decide!  The Gambian people, "on the ground", as they say, need to make a clear, uniquivocal statement as to what they want.

     I know it’s easy to tell other to stand up and possibly die for a cause.  However, you can bet that if George Bush started acting like Yahya Jammeh and blatantly tried to steal an election, I’d be the first one out in the streets voicing my discontent!  And if I had to die so that my children and grandchildren could live in a peaceful, decent, non-tyrannical country, then I’d do it in a second!

     However, at this point, it doesn’t really matter waht I, Ginny, want, or would do!  It is up to the Gambia people to stand up and fight for their rights!

     How sad, though, that this has come during the Holy Month of Ramadan.  However, maybe this means something, but then again, maybe it doesn’t!

     Whatever the case and wahtever happens, my thoguths and prayers are with the people of The Gambia!  Whatever happens, Allah will deal with Yahya Jammeh at some point!

The Pope must die???? ? Tariq Nelson

Link: The Pope must die???? ? Tariq Nelson.

Indigo Jo Blogs: Pope criticises, Anjem embarrasses

     Assalamu alaikum, Indigo Jo seems to have tackled this issue better than I could have.  And I was going to tackle it, but, well, I’m kind of bogged down with my interest and well, trying to follow the goings-onin The Gambia, regarding the upcoming Presidential election, not to mention all of my other interests, not to mention getting ready for Ramadan, as well as other things like work, home, etc.

     But anyway, I’d received a call from my friend, well, one of my friends from Indiana, who happens to be Catholic.  And just after I said hi, how are you, she said something to the affect of, "if you’re going to have dialogue with Muslims, don’t quote from a Christian emperor who says that Islam, or the Prophet Muhammad, is evil." 

     She then said that it wasn’t right, either, for Muslims to react violently and she mentioned the story of the Catholic nun in Somalia who was killed.  My first reaction was to condemn this, although I hadn’t yet known of the story of the nun, and the second was to start with a "but you gotta understand why" speech.  Which obviously didn’t go down well with her, because she said "there is no excuse for it", etc.  And she was right.

     I mean, while questioning, self-examination, etc., is a good thing, on thinking about the conversation, I don’t think that saying that, at the time that I did, was a good thing.  Although I did also state that even Muslims need to ask questions.  So I don’t know.  But when you have Muslims, or should I say so-called Muslims or those professing Islam, killing nuns and damaging churches, etc., I think to some, it sorta proves the Pope right, in their eyes.  And that is just too sad.

     However, I’m no longer going to defend Islam from the actions of misguided, probably ignorant, people.  I know what Islam says about this sort of thing, and so I’m just done with it!  My reaction to the whole controversy was something along the lines of, "This isn’t the first time that someone has said bad things about Islam and our prophet (peace be upon him), and this isn’t the last", and I just resolved not to get terribly upset about it.  We can condemn, yes, we can speak out against this sort of thing, yes, but violence, no.  That just makes us look bad.

Link: Indigo Jo Blogs: Pope criticises, Anjem embarrasses.

Darul Uloom Al Madania-Moon Sighting

Link: Darul Uloom Al Madania-Moon Sighting.

From MoonSighting.com today.

From MoonSighting.com today.  Now, if I’d not already settled on a position, I’d be *really* confused.  So calculations are OK, but I thought they weren’t?  And a month can have 28 days?  Seems like a lot of "waffling" / changing of positions is going on here.  But hey, I don’t know.  I have to say that, though I applaud some groupss / people’s efforts in trying to allay the yearly "moon sighting controversy" which envelops the Muslim community in North America every year, discarding the Sunnah in favor of calculations is not an opinion / principle that I’ve seen enough evidence to be able to follow.  And the article alluded to in the below quote is in Arabic so I can’t read it anyway.  Is there any English-language articles that can explain to us how "calculation only" is a valid fiqh position? Or is this just about "creating ease and convenience" for the Muslims so we can "be like everyone else", and "be able to get our days off work and plan ahead", etc.  So, I wonder, is this trying to solve a confusing problem which plagues the Muslim community every year? Or is it trying to "be like everyone else"? 

     I’m all for creating an "American Muslim identity" and all of that, but let’s not throw away the Qur’an, along with the Sunnah of our noble prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), in the process of "trying to fit in".  We can use science, yes, we can carve out our own niche, we can do all of that, but we can do it and still "follow the rules", as it were.  I mean, while we are at it, if we’re going to be "like everyone else" and dispense with calculations, then let’s stop wearing hijab, let’s just stop eating hilal meat, etc.  Basically, in my "sarcasm" I think this is getting dangerously close to the "slipperly slope" that I referred to in an earlier post on this matter, and I’d just rather not go that way.  Anyway, quote from MoonSighting.com follows:

"An Article in Arabic:
——————————————————————————–
An article in Arabic is worth reading, for why Fiqh supports calculations.
Click Here
——————————————————————————–
Month of 28 days is possible if we rely on sighting:
If two months successively are such that they both are destined to have 29 days (we know this by calculation of visibility), and in the first month clouds
make the visible moon invisible, then the month will start after completing 30 days. In the second month moon will be visible on 28th day. Think for a
moment!"

Perhaps a scholar from the various other sites I follow regarding this issue will research the "Arabic piece" referred to and let me, and others, know if this is still a valid fiqhi position or not.  Hmmm.  At least I’m not confused anymore.

allAfrica.com: Gambia: What Was/Is Plagiarized? (Page 1 of 2)

Link: allAfrica.com: Gambia: What Was/Is Plagiarized? (Page 1 of 2).

allAfrica.com: Gambia: Welcoming a Genocidal Racist

Link: allAfrica.com: Gambia: Welcoming a Genocidal Racist.

allAfrica.com: Gambia: Signs of Desperation in the Jammeh Camp

Link: allAfrica.com: Gambia: Signs of Desperation in the Jammeh Camp.

allAfrica.com: Gambia: Murky Voter Registration Mars Election Run-Up (Page 1 of 2)

Link: allAfrica.com: Gambia: Murky Voter Registration Mars Election Run-Up (Page 1 of 2).

THE GAMBIA: Jailed state TV journalist released without charge and then fired

Link: CPJ News Alert 2006.

UDP/NRP/GPDP Releases Statement to IEC about Illegal Voters / other Thoughts

     Assalamu alaikum / greetings.  I am really trying not to be cynical about the upcoming Gambian elections, but I have a growing apprehension that Jammeh / the APRC is just going to do what they did back in 2001, and the Gambian elections are once again going to be determined by illegal voters!  There was just an article published about this very thing by the Integrated Regional Information Network.  So what is the opposition going to do?  What *can* they do?  Well, it looks as though they’ll do like they did in 2001, pursue all legal channels, which, in The Gambia, are corrupt and this skewed to the APRC / Jammeh side, and then, after the elections, after they knew full well they were not going to be "free or fair", they made some protests to the international community about how un-free and unfair the elections were.

     And as much as I’d like to say I’d like a "better response", what "response" that would be, I can’t say for sure.  I mean, what else can the opposition do? 

     I just have this growing fear that Jammeh’s going to steal this next election too!  And then proceed to maybe murder, intimidate, or deny "development projects" to people / villages / districts who "did not support him".  Let me quote from a recent article from

"APRC: Protecting Youth Against Witchcraft

President Jammeh has been promised by a Foni chief 100% of the votes of the Gambian leader’s native district. He said Foni speaks with only one voice and
that they know they and President Jammeh are one and the same.” He said if it were not for legal and constitutional restrictions they would have simply
collected the voting cards of all the people of the district and hand it over to the President.

President Jammeh said he was assured of the loyalty of the Foni people and was not there to campaign, He said he was just around because it was a constitutional
requirement for the country’s president to be going on periodic tours round the country. He said it has come to his notice that there is “widespread practice
of witchcraft in the district and that as a result many young people were fleeing the district to move to the Kombos.” The President advised his kinsmen
to desist from witchcraft other wise he would be compelled to protect the youth. He also said that the youth, in turn, should respect their elders. 

APRC National Assembly member Borry Colley, told the people of Foni that voting for President Jammeh was like voting for themselves."

        This quote came from an article noting the campaign highlights of the various election campaigns going on in The Gambia.  But, it gets worse than that, in another campaign update article, when noting the APRC campaign highlights, the article, entitled "Signs of Desperation in the Jammeh Camp"  notes:

About ten days to the presidential election, there appear to be a strange sort of desperation hovering over the Jammeh campaign.  Wherever he goes now Jammeh
has been swearing by the Holy Koran, which he holds like a magic charm, to impress upon voters that he can be unseated neither by the ballot or the bullet.
“Bilahi Wallahi Taalahi, “ he screams, “I will not be removed from the position as President of this country, that I have toiled for so much, neither by
votes or by coups.” He has also warned listeners in campaign rallies in many places that “ IN 1996 some of you did not vote for me, but that did not stop
me from bringing development to your area. I did this because I thought I should give you the benefit of the doubt since you had just known me for two
years. In 2001 too many of you did not vote for me, but that did not keep me from bringing development to your doorsteps.

This I did because of my Muslim heart of forgiveness. But this election will be after my twelve years in power. If you do not know me enough now, you will
never know me better. If you do not vote for me this time, I will know you do not want development and I will treat you accordingly. If you do not vote
for me, do not expect any development from my government. Yes, it is tit for tat now.” The 2006 presidential elections, Jammeh has said repeatedly, is
between those who want “progress” and the others who are for “retrogression.”  Yesterday, Monday September 11th, addressing crowds at the Foni district
town of Sintet, where many of his close associates, including Army boss Lang Tombong Tamba, hail from, Jammeh shocked his listeners by saying that though
he is aware that people there were witches who wanted to feed on his body, they will find it impossible if and when they try it on him. The signs of desperations
are not just to be found in Jammeh’s queer rhetoric, but also in his comportment and in the make up of his massive entourage. 

To embark upon his campaign trail, which is being masqueraded as a non-partisan Meet-the-People-Tour, President Jammeh and his men have commandeered the
whole civil service and their flashy vehicles, half of the army, many police men, divisional Governors, almost all the militants of his APRC party to take
along in a countrywide show of numbers and support. On his way around the country, President Jammeh has been throwing out close to a million T-shirts,
base-ball caps and the APRC party’s green flags to crowds running after his long entourage of hundreds vehicles, according some estimates. Meanwhile all
office and public buildings, police stations, schools, hospitals, military camps and premises of public enterprises have been draped in the ruling APRC
party’s green color. It reminds many of the days of one-party era of the 1960s in Guinea Conakry or Mobutu’s Zaire.

It looks as if there is no Independent Electoral Commission that is independent and non-partisan enough to put a stop to these anomalies and clear violation
of all the laws, regulation and spirit of fair play and leveled playing field. It also looks as if there is no Memorandum of Understanding signed between
the country’s political parties, initiated by a special envoy of the Commonwealth Secretariat and sponsored by Nigerian President Obasanjo earlier in February
this year. What it looks like, or what Jammeh and his henchmen are trying hard to make things look is that a Jammeh victory is inevitable.  The irony is
that President Jammeh, while painting this picture of inevitability seems to be confronted with more and more doubt that has been steadily leading to what
looks like desperation. Perhaps the cause of the desperation is explained by what Secretary of State Edward Singhateh told the people of Basse a couple
of days ago. He told them “While we in the APRC appreciate the warmth of massive welcome you have just shown us, records show that you are not as enthusiastic
when it comes to actually voting for us.”  But Jammeh and his men are also not civil to communities that do not welcome them jubilantly enough.

Those communities are branded as “tribalist” and at times even get insulted at APRC rallies.  This has been the electoral tactic of the Jammeh regime since
1996. By presenting a picture of inevitability to a largely fatalistic population Jammeh hopes to win the elections without default. But he also wants
to avoid depriving the electoral process of acceptable legitimacy and international endorsement. The later being an important ingredient or the requirements
for access to badly needed IMF, HIPC, Millennium Challenge Corporation and other international facilities. Therefore, though international opinion have
a responsibility in ensuring free and fair election in The Gambia, opposition parties, civil society organizations and right groups should expose and condemn
these flagrant violations of the country’s constitution, The Gambia’s laws and the IEC’s regulations. Thanks God Jammeh’s sojourn of two weeks has been
cut short and ended without any loss of life. He must however hold back his bands of thugs who have been constantly source of traffic hazard, nuisance
to calm and order and even perpetrators of harassment against innocent onlookers and passersby.   

     I find the above to be scary / unfortunate, to say the absolute very least.  Anyway, taking all of this, along with the below statement from the UDP/NRP/GPDP, well, I feel sad / disheartened.  May Allah help The Gambia and protect the Gambian people from this madman that is Yahya Jammeh paradaing around as a so-called "good Muslim"!  Really!  Ameen!

                                  1A, Rene Blain Street, Banjul, The Gambia       
                                                      Phone:    (220)  4201730/  4227442    Fax:  (220)  4224601
                                                      Website:  www:udpgambia.org;   Email:  udpgambia@info.org

   
   
   
  The Chairman,
  Independent Electoral commission,
  Kairaba Avenue,
  Latrikunda, KSMD
                                                                                                         14th September, 2006
   
  Dear Sir,
   
  UDP/NRP/GPDP Alliance declaration ahead of the Presidential election of 22nd September, 2006
   
  The last presidential; election in 2001 was characterized by massive and widespread irregularities unprecedented in the Gambia’s long political tradition.
The main opposition party – the United Democratic Party – UDP – documented scores of registration and voting irregularities in favour of the heavily militarized
incumbent APRC candidate Yahya Jammeh.
   
  During the final weeks of that presidential campaign, the United Democratic Party vehemently protested to the Independent Electoral commission (IEC)
about the accelerated clandestine voter registration exercises being carried out at non designated places and at unusually odd times of the day.
   
  After initially conceding publicly that voter legibility depended on one’s name being listed in the Master Register, Mr. Gabriel Roberts, the then IEC
Chairman succumbed to pressures exerted on him (and by extension on the entire Commission) by the APRC. As a result of this pressure, Mr. Roberts adopted
a very different position and declared that anyone with a voter’s card will be allowed to vote even though his or her name does not appear on the list
of registered voters compiled by the Commission.
   
  This horrendous declaration of the IEC and the catastrophic loss of confidence in the IEC’s credibility and capability to run impartial election significantly,
contributed to the UDP decision to withdraw in protest from the subsequent National Assembly elections of 7th January, 2002.
   
  In total vindication of the UDP on this issue, the High Court of the Gambia in a landmark ruling of September, 2005, upheld the application of the National
Alliance for Democracy and Development – NADD – (then constituted by some leading members of five political parties) that mere possession of a voter’s
card does not  ipso facto vest in a person the automatic right to vote unless his or her name is on the Voters’ Register.
   
   
   
  Interestingly enough the present Attorney General and  APRC stalwart, and the IEC immediately filled an appeal against that judgment in October, 2005
confirming what everyone already knew – that Mr. Gabriel Roberts and the IEC were merely holding brief for the political interests of the IEC.
   
  We cannot understand why the IEC in tandem with  the APRC government should find it necessary to appeal the judgment. After all, in the first instance,
we cannot see what constraint or difficulty would have forced the IEC to leave out thousands of names from the Master Register. We could understand a few
hundreds being  left out because ostensibly as a result of " computer error",  but thousand, indeed tens of thousand cannot be attributed to the incompetence
of the IEC. It is a deliberate and well calculated attempt to illegally provide non Gambians with voter’s cards after the registration exercise has long
been concluded. This is not only undemocratic but totally aberrant. In the whole world it is only in the Gambia that persons whose names are not on the
official voters’ list are unashamedly allowed to vote in elections.
   
  Consequently, as we approach the presidential election, the UDP/NRP/GPDP Alliance takes this opportunity to place on record the following:
   
  While congratulating you on your appointment as the new Chairman of the IEC, we hope that you will remain steadfast to your trademark virtues of candor,
fairness and courage borne out by your highly religious and aesthetic background. We need not remind you that there have been FOUR different  IEC Chairman
appointments and dismissals in the space of ten years and that you and your newly reconstituted Commission have an excellent opportunity to invent a  new
legacy of  credibility and respect for the IEC that we all look up to as one of  the most important   institutions safeguarding our democracy in this our
beloved  nation.
   
  1.                                     Since 1994, tens of thousands of  mainly unskilled workers have migrated into The Gambia from all parts of the
Sub Region. The greater number of these non Gambians have sought and obtained Gambian ID cards as well as Voters Cards to enhance their job prospects and
residence status. They have now preceded even further to access the hitherto exclusive Gambia political establishments. During the 2001 presidential election,
a record number migrants from the sub region voted thus distorting the political balance of power particularly in the three Kombos thereby giving  Yahya
Jammeh an unfair numerical advantage over his opponents.
   
  2.                                     It is a known fact that in Arafat Grand Yoff, in Dakar, Senegal, a committee whose membership was ethnically from
Cassamance, Southern Senegal, identified and organized sixteen villages in Cassamance including  Balandor, Marakesh Jola kunda  and Kamayo Badjikunda specifically
to campaign and vote for Yahya Jammeh.
   
   
   
   
   
   
  The scale and scope of this massive political intrusion is a provocative and blatant interference in the Gambia’s internal affairs. The Gambia respects
the territorial integrity of the sister Republic of Senegal and it is not in our culture to meddle in Senegalese party politics.
   
  The UDP/NRP/GPDP Alliance would take this opportunity to remind non Gambian illegal voters waiting to crawl into our polling booths on September, 22nd
that  the people of Gambia deserve freely and without outside interference to elect a Government of their choice.
   
  By a copy of this letter, the UDP/NRP/GPDP Alliance would like to appeal most respectfully  to the distinguished high Commissioner of the sister Republic
of Senegal to kindly convey to the Government and brotherly people of Senegal our growing concern and exasperation at the subversion of our election process
by the uncontrolled intrusion of  their citizens from Cassamance in Gambia elections.
   
   The recent judgment of the Appeals Court allowing the Attorney General’s and the IEC’s appeal to the earlier ruling of the High Court barring from voting
all persons whose names do not figure in the Master Register once again opens the flood gates to a repetition of  this nefarious practice. Consequently,
the APRC is placed in a position of advantage and this indeed runs counter to the hopes and aspirations of  the Gambia people to see a free, fair and transparent
election and is unacceptable to all peace loving Gambians.
   
  The UDP/NRP/GPDP Alliance challenges the reconstituted IEC to commit itself  fully not merely in words but also by action to the spirit and letter of
their oath of office despite threats and pressures from the Executive as was demonstrated during the swearing in ceremony of the new members. The UDP/NRP/GPDP
Alliance challenges the Commission members to execute and perform their responsibilities fairly and responsibly in the supreme interest of the  Gambian
people.
   
  Yours in the service of the truth,
   
   
   
  A.N.M. OUSAINU  DARBOE
  For the UDP/NRP/GPDP Alliance
   
   
  Cc:  – H E  the Senegalese High Commissioner
            Kairaba Avenue, Fajara
   
               

   
  Justice                                    Peace                              Progress

 

Moon Sighting, Etc.

          Assalamu alaikum, I’d posted the ISNA decision regarding the start of Ramadan / Eid, etc., and well, all I can say is, well if I want to be short and sweet is, "ISNA’s done it now!" What do I mean by that statement? Well, hmmm, let me try to explain. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the "moon sighting is not an act of worship in and of itself", etc. Huh? What? Hmmm, I didn’t know that!? Let me just say that in my unscholarly, everyday, "common people", mind, I somehow internalized that when you put the acts of worship, the "do’s and don’t’s" of Ramadan together, one of the first things I can think of is, "in order to start Ramadan, one must have sighted the moon". Now of course, one can disagree on whether the sighting must be unaided, i.e., without the use of binoculars, telescopes, etc., or whether the sighting has to be with the unaided eye only, what is termed as a "naked eye sighting". However, using calculations only? Not even trying to sight the moon? or making an assumption / calculation that if the moon is born before 12:00 GMT, that it will be able to be seen somewhere on the globe, that night, in North America, so the next day is the start of the new month? Huh? Where is the Qur’an and the Sunnah to back this up? I’ve read the Fiqh Council’s decision regarding this and though they say "we used fiqhi principles" to come to this decision, I don’t see how, except for "here are some papers presented" that say x, y, or z. But I don’t even see any quoting of Qur’an or ahadith to back this decision up, though I do see the phrase, "after careful research". Yeah, that makes me feel better. OK, sarcasm aside, I *do not* feel the least bit comfortable with ISNA’s decision, simply because in declaring that "sighting the moon is not an act of worship in and of itself", they seem to be throwing out the confirmed Sunnah of sighting the moon, and that bothers me. Seems like a "slippery slope", if you will, and I’d just rather not slide down it.

     OK, before I move on, the Lantern Torch blog quoted this best when they said: "I know there’s a lot of controversy in North America about how we are to determine when Ramadan starts. My advice to everyone is to follow the scholars you trust and don’t worry about what other people are doing. Allah will accept your intentions."

     And essentially, that’s what I believe also. If you believe in following a global sighting, or Saudi Arabia, or now ISNA / the Fiqh Council, or local / regional sighting, it’s on you, and at this point, Alhamdulillah, as with following a madhhab / other decisions I’ve made as a Muslim striving to please Allah, I’ve become comfortable with the decision I’ve made regarding the matter. Allah knows I’ve done enough reading and agonizing, etc., to finally come to a place where I’m at peace.

     The only matter would be, that if I ever find myself closer to an established community of Muslims, what to do then? My first answer would be that I don’t know, as right now, I have limited contact, sadly I might add, with the closest Muslim community to me, and I’m far enough away from them that what I decide to do isn’t going to be of too much consequence. However, if I find myself living close to or in an established community of Muslims, that would be a different matter. Because then, I’d come face to face with the idea of "doing what the community is doing", or "fulfilling the spirit of the Sunnah", etc. Let me explain further.

     For the start of Ramadan, I can follow Zaytuna and / or other organizations that take a verifiable North American, i.e., the US and Canada, crescent sighting, to determine the start and end of Ramadan.

     Now, if I decided to do this, and if my local community differred from that date, that would be OK with me. I would not say anything, I’d just quietly do what I felt was the best decision. However, the Eid, the end of Ramadan, I’d be a bit troubled about. Because, again assuming that the local community’s end of Ramadan / start of shawwal / Eid-ul-Fitr, differed with the people that I have chosen to follow in declaring the start / end of Islamic months, then it wouldn’t be such a quiet matter, because what to do then? Do I celebrate with the community, to participate in the "spirit of the Sunnah", and partake in the "community spirit" that was intended by the Eid? Or, again, do I just quietly do my own thing?

     Now, if I am not in a position to fast on the "day of the Eid", assuming that I feel that it is really supposed to be the "last day of Ramadan", according to the scholars / organizations that I’ve chosen to follow regarding this issue, then it wouldn’t matter much what I did, since I’d not be able to pray or fast anyway. But if I *could* pray or fast, well, then what would I do? Again, I’d be tempted to follow "what I thought was right", i.e., follow the scholars / organizations that I trust on this, because I wouldn’t want to "miss the last day of Ramadan", etc. And I’d be less at peace with "following the community", than I would be if I followed the decision that I felt most comfortable with. Because when I think about it, I don’t believe in "following the community", just for the sake of following the community. Especially when they are following a methodology that seems to be contradictory to what I was taught as a Muslim.

     "Following Saudi" to me, is just as invalid as following calculations solely, to determine the start / end of Ramadan and the other Islamic months. And many sites including this site, as well as this one and this one have enough articles regarding the Saudi method of determining the beginning of Ramadan, as well as the other Islamic months, to give me much, much pause, in deciding to follow them. What I find interesting is the same sorts of people who accuse those of us who follow madhhabs as "blind followers", are the same sorts of people who will unquestioningly follow whatever Saudi Arabia does. However, I think a lot of this is just plain ignorance. I mean, before I started researching this whole moon sighting thing, I followed whatever ISNA or my local community did, because I didn’t know any better. Though I do remember when I’d gone to Eid prayers for Eid-ul-Adha once a few years ago, and the sister I had gone with was explaining to me why they used two different criteria for determining Ramadan, i.e., North American crescent sighting for Ramadan / Eid-ul-Fitr, and "whatever they were doing in Saudi Arabia for Hajj" for Eid-ul-Adha. I remember asking the sister why this was, why they couldn’t just use the same criteria for both events, and from what I remember, she said she didn’t know, and the discussion was dropped.

     My next foray into the "moon sighting mess", came when I saw one sight asking Muslims to fast a day earlier than another sight, and I’d wanted to know why this was. And this was when I spent hours on the www.moonsighting.com site. And while I think it’s a good site for reading articles on this mess, and seeing moon sighting reports from around the world, etc., I am not sure I’d rely on it for trying to ascertain whether it’s the start of Ramadan / Eid, etc. And here is why. I vividly remember one time, I think it was either for Ramadan or Eid-ul-fitr, and this has happened a few times since then, I’d go to the site, read what they had to say on the "possibility" of sighting the moon. It would say something like "moon cannot be seen on this date", etc. Now, in the meantime, I was "following the community", in my local area for Eid / Ramadan, because again, I didn’t know any better. Again, going back to what I was saying earlier, I think most people, when they hear that their local masjid is starting Ramadan on "X" day, they assume it’s because the moon was sighted *somewhere*, although one time, at a masjid I was at, the imam during Jumua said "they’ve declared Eid to be tomorrow in "X" country (in the middle East", so we won’t be having Tarowih prayers tonight, and Eid is tomorrow, Eid Mubarak". I remember standing there like "Huh"? But at that time, I was not in a position where I could fast so I just celebrated anyway, even though I thought that that was just so wrong! No mention of moon sighting, etc. Just "X" country has declared tomorrow to be Eid, etc., so we’re going to celebrate here in "X" city in North America, all because of what "X" country, halfway across the globe, is doing.

     Anyway, back to what I was saying. So this site says, "moon can’t be seen", etc. Now, the night of the 29th day of Ramadan, I think it was, I was traveling, so I was on the bus when the sister I was going to visit called me and said "Hey, they’ve seen the moon, Eid is tomorrow!". I remember thinking, "but I thought the moon couldn’t be seen"? And then I thought, "well maybe they’ve seen it anyway", etc. Now, on this particular occasion, after I’d gone to the Eid prayer, celebrated Eid, not fasted, etc., I went to this site, and it said "Well, ISNA / FIQH Council said it’s Eid, but I think differently", etc. And listed which organizations were celebrating Eid on "x" day, and which days were completing 30 days of Ramadan and waiting until the next day. Now, this was not so bad, however, one time the site said "Tomorrow is Eid", and then the next day followed with the "such-such says it’s Eid but I think differently". Sure is consolation for those of us who took the first initial "tomorrow is Eid" statement and followed it! And then the sight goes and changes.

     And I’ve also seen this and other sites for a whole month say "moon can’t be seen", and then change their sites to, "it’s a small possibility that moon can be seen", etc., right before the end of Ramadan. And that seems a little, I don’t know, like they’re saying, "we want to follow what Saudi does to be "united" with the Muslims, but we don’t want to come out and say it, so we’ll just say the moon could be "kinda sorta sighted" so we can cover ourselves if someone wants to challenge us later on the validity of said sighting reports", etc. And personally, I feel like if you want to follow Saudi Arabia, just be honest about it, and don’t use so-called "calculations" and "bogus moon sighting reports" to achieve that goal. Just announce that you’re "following Saudi", and be done with it.

     So needless to say, I don’t trust ISNA / the Fiqh Council nor the moonsighting.com site, in trying to ascertain the start / end of Ramadan and other Islamic dates / months. Though I do still keep up with the moonsighting.com site to follow moon sighting reports / visibility curves / likelihood of sighting the moon, etc. I still think it’s a valuable sight, I just think they are trying to please everyone, or at least make *all* opinions regarding moon sighting available, and they clearly say that they are a "consultation website only", etc. So anyway, my solution, in short is to follow whatever Zaytuna is doing, as they are going with a local / north American sighting, I think, as well as the Chicago Hilal Committee, The Toronto Hilal Committee, and the Lampost Productions site has just put up some wonderful articles regarding this issue, what they feel should be adopted as the criterion for determining the start / end of Islamic months in North America. They also make reference to the "desire to follow Saudi" alluded to above, as well as the latest moon sighting controversy with ISNA / the Fiqh Council of North America, and they also deal with the paper presented which forms the basis of the Fiqh Council’s latest decision regarding the start of Ramadan / Eid. They deal with some other interesting points as well, namely the, what I’d say would be the "historical" way of moon sighting, i.e., what past scholars have had to say on this subject, and they also deal with how if you’re in a country where the government determines the start of Ramadan, then any responsibility for "wrongness" falls on the "ruler", whereas North America doesn’t have such a "ruler".

     So anyway, as I said, I’m at peace with my decision, and Inshallah, I’ve given you some links to browse through. So there you go. Again, do what you feel is right, whatever you’re at peace with. I’ve found what works for me. And it’s not "calculation", etc. I’m actually quite disappointed that ISNA has taken this decision, and contrary to what I’ve seen some blogs saying, I don’t think it has anything to do with Ingrid Mattson becoming President of ISNA. I’ve seen some blogs saying how this is "haram", because it’s declaring a "woman the leader of the Muslims", etc. I guess to each his own, regarding that opinion, but suffice to say that this woman is heading an Islamic organization, it’s not like she’s a Muslim ruler or something like that. So I don’t understand the "haramness" of her being elected President. Maybe someone can explain that to me. And that’s another topic for another day.

     Alhamdulillah, I think enough has been said on this issue. If you feel the need, research on it, or don’t research on it, whatever, but do what feels right/ comfortable to you.

Five Years Later

     Assalamu alaikum, well, what can I say?  I was watching this documentary on National Geographic, and well, I’m just not ready to watch these sorts of things without getting all teary-eyed and emotional, and all of that. 

     Watching it still brings all of the emotions of that day back:  the fear, the anger, the not knowing what was going to happen next.

     When I was a child I used to have nightmares that, at the time, I thought were war scenes.  I used to dream of people running out of burning buildings, I used to dream of buildings falling down, etc.  And 9-11 was like watching all of my nightmares come to life at once!  And I can’t tell you how absolutely paralyzing that was! 

     And the TV is on now, and I’m hearing "fighting jihad" "for the sake of Allah", etc., and I’m like "huh"?  And supposedly from Bin-Laden "we don’t make a distinction between those that wear uniforms, and civilians".  Huh? 

     Can someone tell me which methodology this guy follows?  Who says this is OK?  And how did Umm Zaid describe the music in those documentaries "the Yaaaayaaaayaaa" music or whatever?  That is so funny, and yet so true.  It seemed that every time they mentioned the hijackers, or Al-Qaeda or anything like that, there started that music again!  And they mentioned how on the tape, when the plane went down in Pennsylvania, the guy Said AllahuAkbar.  So now, if I’m praying or if at any time someone hears me say "Allahu Akbar", they think I’m going to do something crazy?  Inshallah, not.

     But it just goes to show you how a small fringe minority has corrupted the beautiful religion of Islam.  OK, I don’t know what else to say that has not already been said.  I’d thought of relating where I was, what I was doing, etc., but I didn’t sleep well last night, and I’m tired.  So I’ll end it with this. 

     May Allah protect us all!  I wish I could say something meaningful, something enlightening, but words did not do my feelings justice on that day, and that’s not changed 5 years later. 

MWA-Grand Mosque Equal Access Project

Link: MWA-Grand Mosque Equal Access Project.