Saudi Arabia allows telescopes to determine Ramazan start

[Naveed Yaseen]

RIYADH (August 19 2009): For the first time, residents in Saudi Arabia will be able to use telescopes, not just the naked eye, to sight the crescent moon that marks the start of the holy fasting month of Ramazan. In a statement issued Monday, the Supreme Court called upon the public to sight the new moon on Thursday evening.

"The Supreme Court urges those who see it with the naked eye or the telescope to register the sightings with the nearest court,' said the statement. Previously, the Supreme Court did not include telescope sightings in its statements. The new decision narrows the gap between Muslim scholars and scientists over the moon-sighting issue.

Last year, the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars rejected suggestions that the beginning and end of lunar months should be determined on the basis of astronomical calculations. Only Lebanon's Shias rely on astronomical calculations rather than moon sightings by the naked eye. On Monday, Lebanon's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, said Ramazan will begin on Friday based ``on accurate astronomical calculations.'

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=950610