Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai of Peshawar's Qasim Ali Khan masque seems to think he is in competition with the official Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, and that in order to win every time he must declare Eid day ahead of the official committee. The Mufti came out on Thursday evening to announce having received 13 eyewitness accounts - five of them from Peshawar district, as many from Nawshehra and seven from Bara in Khyber Agency - declaring that Friday would be celebrated as Eidul Fitr. The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee has regional presence in all parts of the country, including the districts from where the Mufti claimed to have received eyewitness reports. It is unfathomable as to why only he always gets reports a day earlier than the official committee with a much larger arrangements in place. Unfortunately, the previous ANP government preferred to follow the Qasim Khan Mosque committee rather than that of the central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee thereby lending legitimacy to its act of dissidence.
The observance of two Eids on two different days in the same country, aside from creating unnecessary inconvenience for individuals and families, makes little sense. For in this day and age when the man has left its footprint on the moon, calculating the exact, to the second, motion and hence the appearance of the Earth's only natural satellite should not be a problem. Seeing the Eid moon with the naked eye is something that gives certain people a sense of power, and others the satisfaction of retaining a happy tradition. The happiness is often marred, like this time, by divisive decisions. An idea worth a thought is celebrating the occasion the same day by following the lead of Saudi Arabia where, because it is located to the west of this part of the world, the moon rises a day earlier. Notably, the countries which celebrated Eid on Friday, alongside Mufti Popalzai and his followers, include Indonesia and Malaysia. Considering that these two countries are situated farther east, they cannot be relying on seeing the moon with the naked eye, binoculars or telescope; they are following Saudi Arabia. It is about time something is done here too to ensure every Muslim in this country observes Eidul Fitr the same day.
The government should also have had better sense than to declare five holidays for the occasion. The ambiguity about the Eid day cannot be an excuse. The official notification should have simply declared three holidays, leaving the specific days to be determined on the basis of the central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee's announcement. The present decision is to cause a huge loss - an estimated $360 million - to the national economy. Even the banks are to remain closed for almost a week, with the result that the business class, exporters as well as importers in the oil and gas sector, is worried about staying out of contact with the outside world. Those responsible for the decision, no doubt, are Islamabad-based bureaucrats - many of whom go back to their respective hometowns for Eid and hence gave themselves some extra time for a longer stay. The next time they must think of the economic cost of a five-day business closure and act with a sense of greater responsibility.
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