Title: Our Goal
1Our Goal
- The goal of the Islamic Computational Astronomy
Network (ICAN) is to - Set up a single, global standard for the Islamic
calendar based on - Islamic requirements
- Astronomical facts
- Results
- The entire Islamic world can establish a uniform
global Hijri calendar - Muslims everywhere in the world have the same
Hijri dates (not two or three)
2The Format of the Talk
- The talk will be broken down into three parts
- PART 1 CALENDARS
- How a calendar is made
- How Muslims fixed their calendar
- Question and answer session
- PART 2 THE MOON
- How the moon is sighted
- Question and answer session
- PART 3 A NEW GLOBAL CALENDAR STANDARD
- A new proposed global standard
- Question and answer session
3Part 1 - Calendars
Muslims in North America follow THREE Hijri
Calendars - Calendars from ME countries. - Moon
SEEN anywhere in 48 contiguous states - Locally
visible moon (CT Council of Masajid) Muslims
started Ramadan 2005 on four solar days/dates
(instead of one lunar day/date). Oct. 3 Monday
Nigeria (some Sunday, Oct. 2 also) Oct. 4
Tuesday S. Arabia, M East, followers of Saudi
dates) Oct. 5 Wed. Australia, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Brunei, Turkey, Africa, Europe,
Americas Oct. 6 Thurs. Bangladesh, India,
Pakistan, Central Asia Eid al-Fitr 2005 was
celebrated on four different days/dates Nov. 2
Wed Nigeria, Libya Nov. 3 Thurs. S. Arabia, M
East, Indonesia, EU, USA (ISNA) Nov. 4 Friday S.
Africa, UK, Canada, USA, India, Pakistan Nov. 5
Saturday Northern India, etc. Why
this chaos? Muslims do not agree on when to
begin an Islamic month.
4Calendar Making Options
- You can make a calendar by using the sun or the
moon - People have used different methods to make either
calendar for thousands of years - The Islamic calendar is lunar, unlike the solar
calendar - Lunar calendars
- Babylonian
- Jewish
- Hindu
- Chinese
- Islamic
- The New Moon time and date could be fairly
accurately calculated for more than 2000 years. - None of the lunar calendars starts from the New
Moon (Conjunction)
5Two Major Challenges
- Accurately predicting moons earliest visibility
- Uniform global fixed dates of Hijri Calendar
6Calendars are Global, not Tri-Zonal
7Why Muslim Dates Are a Mess?
- Some start Ramadan
- By a visible moon (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Morocco, S. Africa) - From the Moonset after the sunset (Saudi Arabia,
Egypt and the M. East) - On the New Moon date (Libya, Tunis, etc.)
- Moons fixed elongation or altitude (Indonesia,
Malaysia, Turkey, etc.) - Only dates based on the earliest visible moon at
sunset fulfill the Shariah requirements. - Do we have to see the Hilal to start and end
Ramadan and other months? YES.
8Lunar Calendar
- A lunar calendar depends on the moons phases
- Earlier, you could not predict exactly when and
where a moon would be seen - Now we can do this with modern computers
- Before the modern communication age, people
observed their lunar calendars locally. It was
not possible to coordinate between towns,
countries and continents - If it was cloudy, people couldnt see the moon.
They had to complete 30 days though the moon was
seen in the nearby town - CONCLUSION
- The old ways of calendar-making, where every
village and town observed its own dates, is no
longer correct. Tri-zonal or bi-zonal calendars
are equally invalid.
9QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION
10Part 2 - Quran Hilal is Miqaat
11Hilal and Not the New Moon
12Ittihad vs. Ikhtilaf al-Matali
13Lunar Calculation is Fine
14Moon-Sighting Controversies
------?
15Moon-Sighting Involves Two Parts
- There are two parts to moon-sighting
- How the moon revolves around the Earth
- How, when, and where people on the ground see the
moon
Moon Basics
- The moon revolves around the earth (need an
animatic to show this) - As the moon moves around the earth, its phases
change from the new moon to full moon and back to
new moon
16Computed New Moons for 2000-2019
17Data for Ramadan 1427
18Moons Rotation Around Earth
19Sidereal Synodic (Conjunction) Month
- The moon rotates around Earth
- Sidereal rotation takes 27 Days, 7 Hrs, 43 Mins,
11.6 Sec - Synodic month (Conjunction to Conjunction) is 29
Days, 12 Hrs, 44 Mins, 2.9 Sec - The moon is not visible on the conjunction date
20This is the New Moon (Geocentric Conjunction)
- Arabic term for the conjunction phase of the moon
is not Hilal but al-Qamar al-Mawlid (new
born-moon) - Hilal (plural Ahilla) is the earliest visible
waxing crescent moon after Mahaaq - Mahaaq are the dark nights between two lunar
months when the moon is hidden for observers from
the surface of the earth. - The New Moon (Geocentric conjunction) could not
begin a lunar month because - The New Moon occurs at all times of day and
night. - A date has to start always from a fixed point of
time. - Every month the New Moon occurs at a different
point on the globe
New Moon
Hilal
21A NASA Photograph at the New Moon Phase
- The infra-red scan of the moon at the conjunction
shows a full black moon with no crescent
22This is the Islamic New Moon (Hilal)
- Hilal (plural Ahilla) is the visible waxing
crescent moon of the first two or three days. - The term is derived from the root Halla to
raise voice at the first sight of the waxing
crescent moon
23Moons Paths in Various Months
- From different locations on Earth in different
seasons, the crescent moon appears of a different
shape and at different heights. - If the moon is not seen on the 29th evening then
on the next day it appears 24 hrs. bigger,12
degrees higher and brighter. It stays in the sky
52 min. longer too. - It does not mean the moon could be seen in the
previous evening.
24Fixing Dates of Ramadan and Eidain
- Islamic dates are not fixed because Islamic month
may be 29 or 30 days long - Islamic day and date begin at sunset after a moon
is seen - The earliest visible moon can now easily be
computed for any point on Earth - Earliest visibility may be by naked eye or
binoculars followed by naked eye or telescope
followed by binoculars or telescope only
25The New Moon or Hilal?
- The New Moon (Geocentric conjunction) cannot
begin a lunar month (as Qaradawi, Shakir and
others believe) because - The New Moon occurs at all times of day and
night. (A date must always start from a fixed
point of time) - Every month the New Moon occurs at a different
point on the globe - A rotating dateline and floating time made the
New Moon useless for any lunar calendar
- The Quran, the Sunnah and Fiqh make the earliest
visible waxing crescent moon (Hilal) the fixed
point (Miqaat) to begin an Islamic month (2189) - Can we accurately predict moons earliest
visibility? - Yes. For any region, though not for every village
on the Earth) - Visibility should be consistently verified by
naked-eye sighting
26How Astronomers Compute Visibility
- The Moons earliest visibility is no longer a
scientific inquiry, and there is no scientific
test to prove or disprove a sighting claim. So
how to determine the first date of an Islamic
month? Since ancient times, astronomers have
tried to predict the likelihood of seeing the
waxing moon by defining minimum visibility
criteria. Monzurs MoonCalc currently supports 13
such criteria. - Babylonian.................... Age at
sunset24hrs Lag48 min. - Fotheringham (1910) Alt, Rel Azi
- Maunder....... (1911) Alt, Rel Azi
- Indian/Schoch.......... Alt, Rel Azi
- Bruin ........... (1977) Alt, Crescent width
0.5 modified to 0.25 min. - Ilyas_A........ (1984) Alt, Elong
- Ilyas_B modified Babylonian Lag41-49 min for
0-40 degrees Latitude - Ilyas_C........ (1988) Alt, Rel Azi
- RGO/CFCO (1981) Alt10 degrees at sunset,
Elong12/- - SAfrican Astro Obs Topocenteric Alt, Rel
Azi - Shaukat........ (?)
Alt3.4, Elong 12.7 Crescent width arcmin
/1.2)1 - Yallop . (1997/8) Rel Alt, Crescent Width
- This criterion was developed from the Indian and
Bruin criteria by Yallop (RGO) from 295 published
moon (non)sightings compiled by Schaefer and
Doggett. A parameter 'q' is derived from the
relative geocentric altitude of the moon (ARCV)
and topocentric crescent width. In the original
technical note byYallop, q was derived at 'best
time' (ie sunset moonset lag). - Criterion q Range Remarks
- A q 0.216 Crescent easily visible (Not
always) - B 0.216 q -0.014 Crescent visible under
perfect conditions - C - 0.014 q -0.016 Need optical aid to
find crescent - D -0.016 q -0.232 Optical aid only
27Earliest Visibility
- How to verify the earliest visibility claim?
- Some 16-20 hours old moons
- Some 20-24 hours old moons
- Some 24-30 hours old moons
- 2 days old moon
28Tricky Part Observing the Moon
- The easy part is to understand how the moon works
- The tricky part is how people actually observe it
from the surface of the earth - How old a moon has to be before the human eye can
see it - If the sky is clear, why will some people see it
and others will not - Where it is cloudy or hazy, no one will see it
- We can now predict where it will be seen, and
when
29Moon Visibility
- In order to be seen, the moon must be approx. 20
hours old or more - 12 degrees away from the sun and
- 10 degrees above the horizon
- (Keep in mind that it will not always be seen,
and not everywhere even if these conditions are
met) - The moon is seen on earth starting at point Y and
its visibility extends westward in a parabola - Each month, the moon is observed from a different
place as the visibility maps show - Earliest point of observation is not repeated for
hundreds of years
30Moon-Sighting Historically
- The ancients had no way of predicting moons
earliest visibility accurately. So the older
lunar calendars such as the Chinese, Indian, etc.
used computational tables to check the actual
observation of the moon each month
In the Muslim World
- The month was fixed by
- Watching the new moon each month, or
- Official government or Islamic body proclamation
or - - Other options (fixed calendars, month
alternating 29 and 30 days)
31Moon-Sighting Challenges
- Computational modeling predicts when and where
the moon will be visible first, but - If you go by visibility, then you face several
hurdles 1. Sighting starts from a new point
each month(This means that in one month Chicago
may see the Hilal, but people 30 miles east of
Chicago will not. Does this mean that both
communities should observe separate Hijri
calendars even though they are only 30 miles
apart? This was quite common until the 1950s.) - The answer is NO
- You need to build a uniform calendar based on
Shariah and Geodesic rules
32Every Lunar Month is 29 and 30 Days Long
Ramadan started on Nov. 5 2002 at a different
point on Earth than Shawwal on Dec. 4 2002. This
makes Ramadan 29 days long for the Americas and
30 days long for the rest of the world.
33Earliest Visibility-Based Lunar Calendars
- Earliest visibility starts from a different
point on Earth each month, as we see here - Only W. Africa and the Americas could see Safar
Moon on 2/28/06. The rest of the world saw it on
2/29/06 - Visibility separator curve requires adjustments
for - political boundaries (Canada with the USA, etc.)
- Extending visibility to areas outside visibility
separator curve (UK on Morocco, Europe on Saudi
Arabia, or S. Africa)
34QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION
35PART 3 - Global Islamic Calendar
- Islamic lunar month is no less than 29 and no
more that 30 days long (Hadith Al-Shahru
haakadha wa haakadha) - Locally, the Islamic month starts from sunset
when the crescent moon is first observed and
continues until a moon is seen again after 29 or
30 days - A consistently west-moving dateline based on the
moons earliest visibility means - - Islamic month starts from a different point on
Earth - - Every month is 30 days long for some regions
and 29 days for the rest
36Modern Astronomical Computations (MoonCalc)
- MoonCalc. formalized various visibility criteria
- A strictly visibility-based criterion has
several drawbacks - a. Visibility is local and not global. Towns
only a few miles apart, even parts of a mega city
might see moon on two different days. - b. Atmospheric conditions hinder moons
visibility - c. Observers mistakes and illusions
- (Visibility reports collected from 1900-
contain unreliable claims. - d. Moon watches arranged in 1990s did not
produce reliable data. - e. Many moon observers now compete to break the
old records. - There is no scientific test to prove or disprove
a claimed sighting to be valid (i.e. Nov. 2,
2005)
37Global Lunar Calendar Standards
- Muslim astronomical computations for Global Hijri
calendar - Abdali (1978) First serious attempt to calculate
the predicted dates of global lunar visibility. - Minai (1980-81) Detailed analysis of issues
involved in global Islamic lunar calendar - Charles Evans (1960-) Photographic images of the
earliest visible crescent moons - Afzal (1986) Proposal for computing a global
Islamic lunar calendar based on the moons
visibility around 180E - Imad (1986) First suggestion to make Makkah the
starting point of an Islamic date - Ilyas (1986) suggested Probability of moons
earliest visibility for tri-zonal and bi-zonal
Hijri calendars - Turkish ( )
38Reference Articles on Moons Visibility
- Ashbrook, J. 1984 Astronomical scrapbook, Sky
Pub. Co. Cambridge. M.A. - Bruin, Frans. 1977 The First Visibility of the
Lunar Crescent, Vistas in Astronomy. V. 21, pp.
331-358 (1977). - Caldwell, John A.R. 1999. First Visibility of the
Lunar Crescent. South African Astronomical
Observatory. - Doggett, L. E. 1994 Lunar Crescent Visibility
ICARUS (v.107 p388-403) - Dershowitz N. E.M. Reingold 1997 Calendrical
Calculations. Cambridge University Press, New
York. - Fatoohi, Louay J et al. 1998. The Danjon Limit of
First Visibility of the Lunar Crescent. V. 118. - Loewinger, Y. 1995. Some Comments on the Article
of Dr. B.E. Schaefer Q.J.R. Astro Soc. - Odeh S.M. 1999. Taqweem Nasb al-Khata Fi Tahdeed
Awail al-Ashhur al-Hijriya. - Qasum et. al 1997 Ithbat al-Shuhur al-Hilaliyah
wa mushkilat al-Tawqit al-Islami. Dar al-Taliyah,
Beirut. - RGO Astronomical Information Sheets 1987-2005
- Schaefer, Bradley E. 1988. Visibility of the
Lunar Crescent. Q.J.R. Astro. Soc - Schaefer, Bradley E. 1991. Length of the Lunar
Crescent. Q.J.R. Astro Soc. - Schaefer et. al 1993 Records of young Moon
sightings Q.J.R. Astr. Soc. (v.34pp.53-56) - Schaefer, B. E. 1993 Astronomy and the Limits of
Vision Vistas of Astronomy (v.36,pp. 311-361) - Schaefer, Bradley E. 1996. Lunar Crescent
Visibility. Q.J.R. Astro Soc. - Taqweem min 1409 hatta 1440 1408 Madina al-Malik
Abd-Aziz lil-Ulum wa al-Taqniya Riyadh
39Technical Standards for a Lunar Calendar
- The only way to build a workable global Hijri
calendar is to fix - A fixed Lunar dateline
- A standard method to calculate the start/end of
every lunar month at the lunar dateline
Social Standards for a Lunar Calendar
- Compliant with Islamic law
- Predictable and computable
- Easily observed
- Easily verifiable
- Easily understood
- Sensible enough to be followed all over the
world
40Lunar Dateline
- Why International Dateline (Solar)?
- Two ships only 50 yards apart on the two sides of
IDL have different dates - Why International Lunar Date Line?
- For fixed Hijri dates
- Why ILDL cannot be at Makkah?
- Regions east of Makkah even Taif would have a
different date - Islamic date/day (from local sunset)
- Global Islamic date from 180E (ILDL)
- The moon will be visible somewhere around 180E
but not everywhere the same evening
Proposed Lunar International Dateline
Monday
Sunday
180 E
180 W
International Dateline (Solar)
41Global Lunar Islamic Calendar
- Saudi dates for 1427-1435 (Moonset after the
sunset in Makka)
42Global Lunar Calendar (Based on Visibility Around
180E)
43ICAN
- Islamic Computational Astronomical Network
(ICAN) - Hijri calendars
- Global Prayers schedules
- Global Qibla directions
- Misc.
44Committee for Crescent Observations Intl (CFCO)
- The Committee for Crescent Observation
International (CFCO) is now part of ICAN, an
independent group of experts in the astronomy of
moons visibility, and lunar Islamic calendar.
CFCO have been helping the Muslims all over the
world since 1978 by accurately predicting the
moons earliest visibility in the USA and other
regions of the world. We provide the Dual
solar/lunar dates calendar, and the data to
observe the crescent moon (Hilal) for any place. - CFCO helps Muslims fast and celebrate Eidain on
correct dates -
- CFCO experts makes sure that the Ramadan and
Eidain dates are fixed according to the
observable Hilal of the Quran and the Sunnah. We
collect sighting claims from all over the world
each month, evaluate them by set visibility
standards, and publish our findings regularly. -
- CFCOs criterion is the earliest verifiable
visibility of the crescent moon somewhere (in
North America). - Islamic day/date/month begins from a clearly
visible crescent moon after sunset on day 29 or
day 30 of the lunation. If a moon is not seen
consistently then odd claims do not fulfill
Shariah requirements of Ghalabat-az-Zann
(overwhelming probability) for Ramadan and
Ghalabatal-yaqeen (near certainty) for Eidain.
- How to be part of CFCO?
- Support CFCO
45Summary of Explanation
- This is about making a calendar you can make
one using the sun or the moon - People have used different methods to make either
calendar for thousands of years - A lunar calendar works the following way show
with pictures - It used to be that you couldnt exactly predict
when it can be seen, now you can - Before modern telecommunications, people used to
observe their lunar calendars in a local fashion,
and it was not possible to coordinate between
countries and continents - Now we have a challenge TO OBSERVE ONE GLOBAL
LUNAR CALENDAR STANDARD - This standard must be easily observed, easily
verifiable, easily understood, and sensible
enough that it can be followed all over the world - There are two parts to an Islamic lunar calendar
how the moon behaves, and how people on the
ground organize their calendar based on its
movements - The movement of the moon can be tracked
scientifically, and through the use of computers
we can predict this - That is the easy part
- The tricky part is how people actually observe it
on earth - there is the issue of how old a moon has to be
before the human eye can see it, - Where the sky is clear, some people will see it
and some people will not - Where it is cloudy, no one will see it
- We can now predict where it will be seen, and
when - First big challenge agreeing that we can predict
when and where the moon is sighted (and this
should always be verified by eyesight, this is
not just a computer model) - Second big challenge making a calendar out of
this - Once you have a set of lunar times, to build a
workable calendar you need - A standard dateline
465 Ways to a Great Presentation
- Communication is very important in todays world.
What and how we deliver our information can be
the difference between success and failure. Here
are few tips that guarantee a great presentation. - 1. SLOW DOWN Speaking quickly means sacrificing
clarity and may turn off your listeners. Make
good eye contact, breath more frequently and
pause between new ideas. - 2. ORGANIZE your information Tell your audience
what youre going to tell them. Discuss your
ideas. Talking about your ideas help you chose
appropriate medium. - 3. RECOGNOZE your limitations You will never
deliver everything you know. We assimilate only 3
to 5 points of new information during a
presentation. Be selective of your information
based on your audience and their needs. - 4. PREPARE and PRACTICE Outline your
information, and practice the sequence within the
time limits. The words you speak in your head
sound quite different when you speak them loud.
Discuss the logic behind your ideas. - 5. BE Yourself Dont try to be or say what
someone else wants you to be or hear, regardless
of the truth. Bring your unique qualities to
your presentation.
47QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION