tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post5112504549195046620..comments2024-03-19T09:06:21.507-04:00Comments on Irtiqa: Islam and Astronomy: the tug-of-war continuesSalman Hameedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327330113822656571noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-81913506045662379812011-09-20T01:48:42.439-04:002011-09-20T01:48:42.439-04:00Thank you, Gary, for your feedback and additions.
...Thank you, Gary, for your feedback and additions.<br /><br />What I and most writers usually mean by "Islamic world" is "countries with Muslim-majority populations", so that covers most countries between Indonesia and west Africa. But in this post, I was referring to (though perhaps I should have made that clear) a rule that many Muslim jurists use, namely that countries where the crescent could be seen must "share part of the night" with the country that is to accept and adopt that sighting. So that puts South America outside of the acceptable range for the Asian countries, though not for North African and European countries, and that is why the European Council for Fatwa and Research did accept the South American visibility of the crescent, but most of the "Islamic world" did not. (Does this clarify things?)<br /><br />ICOP doesn't have correspondents; it only has members. Most of them have no prerogative to speak for ICOP, which has an Administrative Board, a Scientific Committee, and a Communications Committee. People are free to make proclamations of any sort, though they should be honest and clear enough to distinguish their views from those of any organization they subscribe to.Nidhal Guessoumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12638764091228065424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-13121179714352473132011-09-19T22:01:29.044-04:002011-09-19T22:01:29.044-04:00Nice summary of the controversy. I would dispute y...Nice summary of the controversy. I would dispute your definition of the Islamic world though. There is a reasonable population of Muslims in South America where naked eye sighting was possible. In any case the world is supposed to be our mosque. I know it seems like it but there is no "Planet Islam" and "Planet Others" although the disputes over the moon/s does suggest otherwise<br /><br />While ICOP is trying to achieve a more modern and scientific approach to this issue your Australian correspondent insists on a confirmed local sighting to the extent that his followers start and finish fasting on different dates to the rest of their families. His actual sighting point is a park in the inner city of Sydney where you have to contend with the city haze and light pollution. It is pretty self defeating but he does co-ordinate reports from sighting points elsewhere.Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16976993335975487293noreply@blogger.com