by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
We are not sure if Eid-ul Fitr is declared in Delhi for Friday, 15 June, following 29 days of Ramadhan, will it be for Mumbai too because then they will have observed only 28 days of Ramadhan and in the lunar calendar a complete month is either of 29 or 30 days only?
By M. Burhanuddin Qasmi,
From the early days of Islam, Hilal, Crescent in English, is very significant in all Muslims’ social and religious functioning across the globe. The Islamic or Hijrah calendar, which began from the day when Prophet Mohammad (saws) first set for Hijrah (migration journey) with his friend Abu Bakr from Makkah to Madinah on 12/13 September 622 CE, is officially followed by most Muslim countries in the world. This is lunar calendar and revolves around the moon sighting in each month. Similarly all major Muslim festivals and worship like the beginning of the month of Ramadhan, Eidul Fitr, Hajj and Eidul Adha are actually based on moon sighting around the world.
The 57 OIC member states or Muslim countries, including 22 Arab nations, have developed some sorts of moon sighting mechanism. Among them are Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Malaysia, which are equipped with advanced technological means and both astronomical and religious resources to deal with one of the very important issues of Muslims – the new moon or the crescent which impacts their day-to-day business as all as religious practices. Majority of independent gulf countries, though place their own means to see the Eid and Ramadhan crescent, they follow the announcement from Saudi Arabia only.
One hardly finds any dispute among the citizens of a Muslim country with Ramadhan or Eid moon. All citizens of a country, at least, begin fasting with unity and celebrate Eids together without much botheration about moon sighting as how, where and who sighted the new moon. This is mainly because the moon sighting mechanism there is unified and controlled by the governments under the supervision of expert scholars. The case was the same in India too in the pre-British Muslim era with even a larger size and landscape of the country.
The modern India with nearly 180 million Muslims living here, which is 11 percent of total 1.8 billion world Muslim population and roughly half of the total population of 22 Arab League countries put together, could not develop a system with all easy means of communication and advanced technology of twenty first century era by which one country one date, one day of Eid, same day of beginning of Ramadhan for all Muslims and a same day of national holiday can be assured for all Indians. The religion of Islam in India is as old as it has been in any Arab country. The shores of Malabar in the South and the coast of Konkan in the West found the light of Islam as early as during the life time of Prophet Mohammad (saws) in 624 CE and during the reign of second caliph Umar bin al-Khattab (634 – 644 CE) respectively.
This year in 2018 the Islamic month of Ramadhan began in two different dates in India and this can be the case with Eidul Fitr too. The metro city of Mumbai along with a few adjacent cities to it and some other places here and there began fasting on Friday, that was 18 May and rest of the country from South to North and from East to West began their Fast on Thursday, 17 May, 2018. The new moon for the month of Ramadhan was sighted in three Southern states of India – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana on Wednesday, 16 May besides Kerala, which generally follows Saudi Arabia in matters of moon sighting, Arab countries and other neighboring Muslim countries. The Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad Hilal Committees, therefore, officially made announcements for the beginning of the month of Ramadhan from Thursday, 17 June, so was the announcements from Riyadh, Kabul and Islamabad.
The Indian Hilal Committees in rest of India like Imarat-e Shariah Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa, Jamiat Ulama-e Hind and the Central Hilal Committees of Jama Masjid Delhi and Nakhoda Masjid, Kolkata after due consideration went with South Indian announcements thus declared Thursday, 17 May, the first day of Ramadhanul Mubarak for the year 1439 AH or 2018 CE. On the other hand, the Hilal Committees of Mumbai both from Deobandi and Barelvi schools rejected announcements from southern states and did not consider witnesses or proofs of moon sighting from that part of India positively thus they declared on 16 May that the moon of Ramadhan was not sighted this evening, therefore, the first day of Ramadhan would be on Friday, 18 May, 2018 only.
This, however, was again rejected by Ahle Hadith group in Mumbai which officially went with its main body in Delhi and declared 17 June, Friday, as the first day of Ramadhan. Members of Ahle Hadith School in Mumbai and a few individuals from Deoband School who did not find the decision of Central Hilal Committee of Jama Masjid Mumbai convincing went with rest of India and observed Fast from Thursday. Mumbai itself is a divided city as far as beginning of Ramadhan is concerned in this 2018, majority of Muslim Mumbaikers began fasting from 18 June, Friday, but a section of Muslims within the city did observe Roza from the previous day.
The pertaining question arises here is, why this is so? If Hilal Committees situated as far as in Guwahati, Kolkata, Patna, Lucknow and Delhi find it acceptable to go with Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, then why the same Hilal Committees of Mumbai who are just a few hundred kms away from some of these South Indian cities find it unacceptable? If rest of India considers the Crescent in the sky over the Indian city of Chennai is same for whole of India then why some of the members of Mumbai Hilal Committees make it an issue and decide otherwise? Are these gentlemen religiously and scientifically capable enough to make such a bold overturn which impacts millions? They might have, of course, some arguments to put forth but the main issue is not done. There is a confusion among common Muslims, when will be Eid and whom to follow.
Something is seriously wrong somewhere. Muslims of India need to fix it sooner than later and once for all. At one point of time both Mumbai and rest of India cannot be right or wrong in the same issue with different decisions. One party is right and the other one is obviously wrong, this is common sense.
This is uncalled for and against beautiful unity of Islam that two Muslims living as neighbors in the same city but one is fasting and the other is celebrating Eid! There is no complication in Islamic Fiqh (jurisprudence) in this issue. Muslim scholars have unanimously resolved the issue of moon sighting much earlier in India. The Hanafi school of Fiqh which is followed by majority Muslims in Indian sub-continent makes it clear that matla (astronomic boundary of moon) will be considered same for an entire country. Therefore, moon sighted in Karnataka or Chennai will be considered for all of India. The same is placed in the constitution of Central Hilal Committee of Jama Masjid Mumbai under article No 12, it reads: “(A) the difference in Mataly (plural of matla) is valid. (B) Our country India is a single matla.”
It is obviously clear that the problem is not with Islamic text, nor with Fiqh, it may be with the understanding or explanation of the text by certain individuals. Hence, this whole mess of Roza beginning in different dates within India and subsequently a possible Eid on different days in Delhi and Mumbai is a creation of various Hilal Committees which cropped up like unwanted plants in the rainy season on streets at all major district centers, big cities and the states of India. We have a Hilal Committee in Kishanganj of Bihar which makes announcement contrary to what the one in Patna has done from Bihar’s capital city. Similarly, Bhatkal of Karnataka and Malegaon of Maharashtra have their own Hilal Committees in addition to those in their capital cities. Pune which is just 150 kms from Mumbai has a different Hilal Committee which decided to begin with Ramadhan Fast from 17th June this year, with rest of India, and did not follow Mumbai.
The issue has been of lack of coordination and trust among various Hilal Committees in India. There seems to be a race of branding and marketing among some Muslims NGOs with this pure spiritual issue of moon sighting as whose letterhead would go first in public with a text message for media and social networking groups with news of the Crescent either sighted or not sighted, hereby the particular name of NGO avails popularity.
Muslim Indians can permanently resolve this serious issue by adopting one of the following three options:
(1) Form a Central Hilal Committee taking members from all major Muslim denominations with headquarter as Jama Masjid Delhi; and Jama Masjid Mumbai, Nakhoda Masjid Kolkata and Jama Masjid Chennai as regional headquarters. The final announcements should come from Delhi only and rest of India and Muslim institutions should voluntarily accept it. The headquarter and the regional headquarters be equipped with modern technological means like advanced telescopes and tools for smooth communication. This would be the best way and Muslims of India can do it.
(2) India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are one nation (qaum) and were one country just 71 years ago. Following a national consensus on this particular issue among Muslim scholars and the Government of India Muslims of India may decide to adopt official announcement of either Pakistan or Bangladesh, the two neighboring Muslim majority countries, where moon sighting mechanism and the follow up announcements for Ramadhan and Eids are under the supervision of the elected governments. This one sounds un-Indian and Muslims of India would hardly give it a chance because they do not appreciate any of the two countries on anything religious or political.
(3) If the first one is hard to adopt or Muslim NGOs do not come together to resolve it permanently by their own then the third option is obviously doable and quite Indian too. The Government in the Centre should take up the task and set up a standard mechanism under the purview of its Ministry of Minority Affairs and manage this issue of moon sighting for its Muslim citizens in India as it has been managing Hajj services for years with expert opinions from Muslims scholars. A government authorized body or individual will only make announcement from Delhi to begin the month of Ramadhan or celebrate Edis in India. This will gradually disband all uncalled for Hilal Committees which are mushrooming unabated in the length and breadth of this country.
The issue needs to be addressed by Muslims themselves first, before it takes an ugly shape. It doesn’t make sense that an employee is not sure if it will be Eid in Mumbai too if it is already declared in Delhi. It disturbs work everywhere – Government offices, private sectors and schools. Eid is a national holiday; it should be in the same day for all, in all places of India. We are not sure if Eidul Fitr is declared in Delhi for Friday, 15 June, following 29 days of Ramadhan, will it be for Mumbai too because then they will have observed only 28 days of Ramadhan and in the lunar calendar a complete month is either of 29 or 30 days only? If Delhi and rest of India observe 30 days of fasting and celebrate Eidul Fitr on Saturday, 16 June, then only there will be a way out without much chaos and confusion among common Muslims.
Jamiat Ulama-e Hind, with pan India mass bases, and All India Muslim Personal Law Board, an umbrella body with members from all Muslim sects, may initiate the process if they wish to keep it free from government influence. Else now or then a Central Government will take the call to settle the boiling issue without much opposition from common Muslims.
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(The author M. Burhanuddin Qasmi is Director of Markazul Ma’arif Education and Research Centre and Editor of Eastern Crescent, Mumbai. He can be contacted at mb.qasmi@gmail.com )
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News
Ramzan month (Eid- Ul- fitr, June 16 2018) is the period of observance of piety, abstinence, fast, righteousness, so as to be proximity with Allah. The believer is required adherence to human values, good work/ conduct to be paragon for the entire humanity.
Ramzan binds every Muslim to refrain from unsocial activities, violence and terrorism. Ibadat during the month has a special connotation and profundity which is evident from a quote ‘ one good conduct in Ramzan is equal to 70 such acts during other 11 months and one namaz prayer is equal to 27 sababs’.
Observance of Roza (varying to 16 -17 hrs. in a day) during the moon marks love to Allah. Aftari (opening of the fast in a form community meal) conveys the message of mutual tolerance, respect, brotherhood, peace and harmony among fellow residents. Any sort of violence is strictly prohibited during Ramzan. India is the country with tradition of Hindu- Muslim brotherhood/amity, has numerous examples where Hindus observe Ramzan with inner piousness while majority of Muslims voluntarily practise in Hindu festivals, besides common obeisance to sufi saints, highlighting ‘Ganga – Jamuni’ Tehzeeb Which should be strengthened during this holy period.
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Dubai : An Indian-origin man who is the head chef of a popular Indian restaurant here is facing criticism for his “anti-Islam tweet”.
Michelin-star chef Atul Kochhar of the Rang Mahal restaurant at the JW Marriot Marquis hotel received flak after taking a dig at actress Priyanka Chopra for her tweet over a “Quantico” episode that portrayed Hindu nationalists as terrorists, the Khaleej Times reported on Tuesday.
“It’s sad to see that you have not respected the sentiments of Hindus who have been terrorised by Islam over 2,000 years. Shame on You (sic),” Kochhar tweeted on Sunday.
He later deleted the tweet and put out an apology, saying the “major error” was “made in the heat of the moment on Sunday”.
“There is no justification for my tweet … I fully recognise my inaccuracies that Islam was founded around 1,400 years ago and I sincerely apologise. I am not Islamophobic, I deeply regret my comments that have offended many,” he wrote.
JW Marriot hotel distanced itself from the chef’s comments.
“We are aware of the comments made by Chef Atul Kochhar. We would like to stress that we do not share the same views as stated in the remark, nor is it a representation of the culture of diversity and inclusion that we pride ourselves on at the hotel,” the hotel tweeted on Monday.
The anti-Islam tweet created a furore on the social media, with twitterati calling for firing the chef.
Responding to the hotel’s tweet, a Twitter user, Irena Akbar, said: “But now that there is a clear clash of values (your tolerance vs his bigotry), how can you carry on such a relationship? His contract should be snapped.”
Popular commentator and Arab journalist Khaled Almaeena tweeted: “You (Kochhar) have offended me… As a person who loves India its people no matter what their caste or creed. As a secular and liberal, it truly is a horror statement.”
Some residents have said that they would boycott the restaurant.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
Writer Devdutt Pattanaik
By Saket Suman,
New Delhi : A marriage is not just about the bride and the groom, asserts mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik who has done considerable work on ancient Indian scriptures. In fact, according to him, it has always had a much larger connotation than what is normally perceived of it.
In his latest book “Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik 3,” he presents two primary reasons for marriage being a big deal in India: firstly, “it became more important out of the fear that if people didn’t get married, they would become bhikkhus or sanyasis”, and secondly, “the parents fear that if their children didn’t get married “they would go astray, get ‘corrupted’, and would not become responsible.”
But is a married man or woman free from the desire to become a sanyasi or going “astray” and getting corrupted and becoming irresponsible?
“Marriage is a social institution, about family, about responsibility, and most importantly transmission of property, and lineage. Marriage forces you to think about others — the duty towards spouse, children and family estate. This is a burden. Sanyas is about thinking about yourself, only yourself. So is the life of hedonism, pleasure, one-night-stand, tinder.
“One can say, the journey into marriage is about ‘we’ and the journey away from it is about ‘me’. This me can be the flesh as in case of a hedonist and it can be the soul in case of the hermit. Householder stands in contrast to the hermit and the hedonist. If others matter, then the householder life becomes important. This does not mean marriage as much as responsibility for others, being dependable, rather than independent,” Pattanaik, who has authored over 30 books and 600 columns on mythology, told IANS in an interview.
In the book, he also considers marriage as a responsibility and refers to the Pandavas and Draupadi to highlight that “with marriage, wealth and power are exchanged.”
In this context, asked about the evolution of dowry to the shape that it has taken today, Pattanaik said that marriage has always been about exchange of wealth and power along.
“Dowry marriage is the result of a society that values women over men, and the men are seen as doing a favour by marrying a woman. In many communities, dowry is a way to show the value of a boy. The more dowry he gets, the more valuable he is. In a poor country like India, many parents see dowry as a way to earn money, increase their wealth, often to compensate for wealth lost via a daughter. No religion teaches anyone to disrespect anyone — however people often use religion as a tool to disrespect people.
“Just as Muslims justify hijab as part of Islamic tradition, and some Christians justify denying women rights over their body in matters of abortion as part of Christian tradition, some Hindus use dowry as part of Hindu tradition. These are just men who use religion to assert masculine power over women. Hinduism, unlike Christianity and Islam, is not a rule- based religion that prescribes how people should behave,” he said.
In the book, he further points out that “the males always seek out the females” and gives examples of the animal or bird kingdoms to establish that “there is rivalry among the males for the females”. He observes that the males suffer an anxiety about “not getting a female to mate with” and contends, in this context, that “every female is precious, whereas a male is not.”
When asked if he was suggesting that a disbalance in the sex-ratio (where there are more males to females) has been a rule of nature, Pattnaik differed and said that he was not suggesting anything.
“I am showing how the process of creating mating pairs in nature in animal and plant kingdoms is full of violence, competition and anxiety. There is always a lot of tension in matters of creating mating pairs in human society — which is why marriage is associated with a lot of violence, with parents controlling who their children marry, men forcing women to have sex with them, women being forced to bear children even if they do not want to. Hindu scriptures observe, without judgment, how we have not risen above our animal nature. How we are still anxious and dominating and territorial. It recommends ways to outgrow animal nature,” he said.
The book is based on Pattanaik’s “Devlok”, a television series on Epic channel where he shares his insights on matters related to mythology and responds to questions in detail.
(Saket Suman can be contacted at saket.s@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News
By Jaideep Sarin,
Fatehgarh Sahib (Punjab) : This town of sacred pilgrimage in Punjab has been witness to one of the most tragic, painful and violent chapters of Sikh-Mughal history going back three centuries. Despite that, a 350-year-old mosque not only stands in complete harmony with a recently completed gurdwara but is looked after by the Sikh priest.
Chittian Masjidan (White Mosque), with its three white-washed domes, can be seen from a distance amidst the agricultural fields of Mahadian village. A few Mughal-era structures still dot the countryside here even as the area is dominated by Sikh shrines, the largest one being the main Fatehgarh Sahib gurdwara to which Sikh pilgrims come from all over the world.
What is unique about the mosque is that it stands just a kilometre away from the spot where the two young sons of the tenth Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh – Fateh Singh (7) and Zorawar Singh (9), were buried alive in 1705 by the Mughal commander Wazir Khan, who was the Nawab of Sirhind, a town five km away, because they refused to convert to Islam as per the diktat of the Mughals under the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb.
The name of Fatehgarh Sahib comes from the name of the youngest son, Fateh, of the guru. The town, around 45 km from Chandigarh, is a great draw especially during the annual Jor Mela fair to commemorate the martyrdom of the young ‘sahibzadas’ (sons of the guru).
The tragic and violent history, however, has not stopped Jeet Singh, a granthi (Sikh cleric) of the Mastgarh Sahib Chittian gurdwara from maintaining the mosque’s ancient structure.
“I have been maintaining the (mosque) building for the past four years. It was in a very bad shape when I came here. I clean it from inside daily even though no Muslims (who live in nearby villages) come here for prayers,” Jeet Singh told IANS, standing in front of the partially dilapidated structure.
Jeet Singh said that the mosque, which is believed to be over 350 years old, was abandoned for a number of years till a Sikh religious leader of the area, Arjun Singh Sodhi, got the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, kept inside. For nearly a century, the mosque building was used as a gurdwara.
“The Sangat (Sikh community) then decided to build a new gurdwara in the same complex as this (mosque) building was getting old and cracks were appearing on its walls and domes. The gurdwara is now complete and Guru Granth Sahib has been kept there. With whatever means, we try to maintain the mosque building and keep it clean,” Jeet Singh, 43, who shifted here four years back, said.
The mosque and gurdwara stand side by side in perfect communal harmony within the four walls of the complex. The mosque building gets a periodic whitewash and minor repairs, if required. There is nothing kept inside the structure.
“I have researched the history of this place, talking to old people (Muslims, Sikhs and others) of the area. The qazi (Muslim cleric) of this masjid (mosque) is said to have issued the fatwa (a religious edict) condemning the young sahibzadas to death. However, he is believed to have opposed the move initially saying that the children were too young for the ruthless punishment,” said Jeet Singh, who is in charge of the complex along with Hakam Singh (senior in-charge).
He says that the Muslims of the nearby area of Bassi Pathana had objected when the mosque was initially used as a gurdwara in the beginning of the 20th century. However, the then Maharaja of Patiala came to the place and resolved the matter and the gurdwara continued in the old structure for a number of years.
“A number of Muslims live in nearby villages but they have their own mosques. No one comes here for prayers but we don’t stop anyone. We have respect for all religions,” Jeet Singh, a soft-spoken man who lives in the complex with his wife and two children, said with a smile.
Historians believe that the mosque dates back to the period of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and was built between 1628 and 1658.
The mosque structure survived the fury of the Sikh-Mughal battles. Even though the Sikhs defeated Wazir Khan in 1710 and re-claimed the area, the mosque survived the onslaught and today stands as silent testimony to communal fraternity in troubled times.
(This weekly feature series is part of a positive-journalism project of IANS and the Frank Islam Foundation. Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at jaideep.s@ians.in)
—IANS
