You could almost say it’s an Eid tradition. Every time a Muslim festival approaches the question is the same – when is it, exactly? The Islamic calendar is a lunar one, which means holidays move around the seasons. For Eid an exact date is only calculated after a new moon is sighted. But this year the debate around when Eid al-Adha takes place has been more intense, thanks to fears it might have – for the first time since 2001 – taken place on 11 September, the 15th anniversary of the al-Qaida attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
Muslim groups in the US said they feared a backlash if Muslims were seen to be celebrating on the anniversary – especially after the recent killing of an Imam in New York and an apparent increase in hate crimes. Ibrahim Hooper from the Council of Islamic Relations told Reuters he was concerned it might allow “Islam haters to falsely claim that Muslims were celebrating on 9/11”. Mosques that host outdoor prayers on Eid were considering moving indoors amid worries about security. Now that fear has been calmed after Saudi Arabia’s religious authorities have declared the festival – which celebrates the sacrifice of theprophet Abraham – would land on 12 September.
But the attention has renewed calls for Muslims to be more united about Eid celebrations. The problem is that the date is set when a new moon is sighted, but there are arguments whether this should be spotted by the naked eye, whether the moon should be sighted in the country it is being celebrated, or even the difference between a new moon being born and being seen. All of which means that different mosques, sects, countries and even family members can observe Eid on different days.
Timothy Winter, lecturer on Islamic studies at Cambridge, says the principle is that “it is spiritually healthy for us to regulate our lives according to natural cycles”, and the unpredictability of moon sightings was “part of the festive fun” of Eid. For diaspora communities, he admits, it can be complicated because dates can depend on ethnicity of communities; British Moroccans are more likely to celebrate when the moon is seen over Morocco.
Meanwhile Turkey and some central Asian countries have given up relying on sightings altogether and use astronomical calculations, and most scholars now agree that using night vision binoculars is acceptable while Saudi Arabia has been known to send up fighter jets. But, he says, while some might find it annoying, “there are more serious issues for Muslim communities to worry about”.
