The government has decided to buy modern machines for sighting moons to determine Eid in coming days.
Ministry of Religious Affairs took the decision after the debate rose over Shawwal moon sighting during the Eid-ul-Fitr this year.
“The ministry will buy modern machines, like the ones used in Saudi Arabia, to sight moon in coming days,” Dhaka 16 lawmaker Elias Uddin Mollah told the Dhaka Tribune.
Elias, also a member of the standing committee for religious affairs ministry, made the disclosure after meeting of the committee held at the parliament yesterday.
“As an Islamic country, there shall be no incident over sighting Shawwal moon that can confuse people. I have proposed the standing committee meeting to buy modern machines and the secretary of the ministry has assured us that it will be considered,” said Elias, also a member of the standing committee.
Once bought, the machine will be installed at a place in Dhaka or a suitable place so that the committee members can also sight moon by themselves, he added.
This year, the state minister for religious affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah on June 4 said the new crescent moon was not sighted anywhere in Bangladesh and the Eid will be on June 6.
Later at about 11am, he said the Eid will be on June 5 as the moon was sighted.
Meeting sources said some members of the committee raised the question over why there was such situation over moon sighting this year.
As the standing committee chair State Minister for Religious Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was absent in the meeting, the ministry's secretary Md. Anisur Rahman explained the situation.
Later, responding to a question over why the modern machines will not be purchased, the secretary said the government will buy machines so that such machines are brought.
In Bangladesh, moon sighting committee under the Islamic Foundation decides when Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated in Bangladesh. Usually, the committee holds their meeting on the 29th day of Ramadan and declares Eid to be cleberated next day if moon is seen anywhere in the country on the day.
If the moon is not sighted on that day, then Eid is celebrated after the end of the 30th day of Ramadan.
The moon sighting committee usually takes information from its sub-committees in every district of Bangladesh.
The National Moon-Sighting Committee also maintains close contact with Bangladesh Meteorological Department, that has 78 stations across the nation, in case of adverse weather. If the moon cannot be seen with the naked eye, the powerful telescopes at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department’s disposal assist in confirming the sighting of the moon.
Other decisions:
The meeting also discussed over performing Hajj this year where it decided that the ministry and the standing committee will work together to resolve different problems including seat crisis in Hajj camps, maintaining schedules of Hajj flights and identify and resolve other problems in Saudi Arabia once the pilgrims reaches there.
“The immigration for Hajj pilgrims will now done in Dhaka. Also, we have asked the ministry to take proper care of pilgrims so that they can perform Hajj without any hassle,” said Elias.
The committee also gave instructions over reading Khutba's in mosques to aware people on consequence of drugs and Yaba and on militancy.
Standing committee members, ministry officials, Islamic Foundation director general and officials of Jatiya Sangshad secretariat attended the meeting.
