GNGEO NEWSSeptember 02, 2016

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Zilhaj Moon Sighting: Mufti Muneeb unhappy with Met Office predictions

KARACHI: The moon for the month of Zil-Hajj has not been sighted, Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Mufti Muneeb Ur Rehman. Eidul Adha will now be on Tuesday, September 13th, he said. 

According to the committee chairman, credible evidence could not be received for sighting of the crescent of Zil-Hajj, 1437 AH.

Should scientific methods be utilised for Zil-Hajj moon sighting?

Earlier, our analysts and experts discussed whether scientific methods be used in sighting the moon.

Earlier today, the chairman expressed concerns over the Met Office's moon sighting predictions.

The cleric wrote a letter to the Ministry of Religious Affairs demanding that the Met Office should not make moon predictions for Zilhaj. A copy of the letter was sent to the Met Office.

The Met Office website stated that the Zilhaj moon would be visible to the naked eye in Karachi for 40 minutes after sunset today. In Balochistan, the moon would be visible to the naked eye tonight for 42 minutes, said the Met Office. The moon would be visible at an angle of 8 degrees, it states. The weather is cloudy in Balochistan and partially cloudy in Sindh, the website adds.

When Geo News contacted the Director-General of the Met Department, he refused to make predictions over the Zilhaj moon or comment on Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman's letter. But at the same time he added that science can predict the lunar calendar for a 100 years.

"The letter is with the Ministry of Religious Affairs," he said.

When Geo News contacted Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, he said, "In any Muslim country, such matters are not criticised."

Twice every year, Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman becomes a celebrity of sorts when he comes into the limelight of the media for the sighting of the two Eid moons. News channels and leading dailies publish his statements.

On Eid-ul-Fitr this year, television screens showed an angry Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman disconnecting a telephone cord, angry at his spokesperson for leaking news of eyewitness accounts to the media.

News of Eid came well after Isha prayers when mosques were preparing for the last Taraweeh prayers of the holy month of Ramazan.