As Ramadhan draws closer this year, the usual questions about moon sighting and calculations will come up. I have written in the past about this but it is always important for the worldwide Muslim Ummah to get perspectives and gain knowledge. One person with a lot of knowledge and an understanding about human behavior is Prof Qadri. I present here his talk (given in a previous year) on this subject.

One thing he does not cover is the reality that in our modern society the ability to have instant communication with people all over the globe further confuses the matter. For instance – if the moon is calculated (or sighted) at 3:00pm on July 20, someone in North America can then in form his or her brother or sister in New Zealand. The date in New Zealand is already July 21. This confuses people. So, in fact, they are both starting Ramadhan at the same time as far as the phases of the moon are concerned but according to the common calendar date it APPEARS as different. The truth is that they are both starting Ramadan at the correct time – which is 1 Ramadan!!

[subscribe2]