October 24, 2006	Tuesday	Ramazan 30, 1427

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PESHAWAR, Oct 23: Eid did come to Peshawar, as expected and as always, one day ahead of the rest of Pakistan. And, as usual, the central Ruet-i-Hilal and its Frontier chapter indulge in verbal sparring, accusing each other of violating Islamic norms. Mufti Munibur Rehman, the chairman of the central Ruet-i-Hilal, has gone as far as describing the decision by the NWFP Ruet-i-Hilal Committee as against Shariah.

The NWFP as well as the adjoining tribal regions have always been at odds with the central Ruet, invariably marking the beginning or sighting of the moon one day ahead of the rest of Pakistan. The controversy is unending, creating not only national discord but also giving birth to cynicism leading at times to cryptic remarks about moon-sighting in the NWFP. Jokes, often offensive, abound.

There is an exchange of arguments and counter-arguments between those defending the arbitrary and unilateral decision to go it alone by the NWFP and those who question the integrity and credibility of witnesses sighting the moon.

The controversy continues and seldom has the federal government taken any initiative to resolve what seems to be an unnecessary issue that is causing confusion and discord.

One of those efforts, albeit half-hearted, was to hold the central Ruet meeting in Peshawar, about three years ago. Mufti Munib, who was still chairman of Ruet, presided over the gathering. But it was never to be an easy meeting. Soon, Mufti Munib, who at the time was not feeling well and had been brought to the meeting to examine witnesses, questioned their credibility. The meeting collapsed.

Two of its members, both from the NWFP, resigned in protest and the NWFP government decided to go its separate way and declare Eid.

That incident changed the course and shape of the entire controversy. Hitherto, it had been clerics who had examined witnesses and declared Ramazan or Eid in their own individual capacity, but this time, the acrimony and heat generated by the failed meeting involved the provincial government.

For decades, the provincial government had been making a deliberate attempt to stay away from the controversy and would generally follow central Ruet-i-Hilal decisions, although chief ministers and governors would invariably observe Ramazan and celebrate Eid with the natives.

Ever since that acrimonious meeting, the NWFP government has chosen to hold its own Ruet meetings, thus becoming a party to the controversy that has dragged on awaiting resolution.

One thing is all too evident: nothing that the federal government would do, including the involvement of the meteorological department, astronomers or observatories, would satisfy and convince the people of the NWFP.

They prefer to stick to their own time-tested tradition and techniques of moon-sighting. There are people in Charsadda, Mardan and a few other places who have devised their techniques to spot the crescent.

Some people attribute this to the Pathan’s independent mentality; others believe it is a manifestation of their adherence and strict observance of religion and religious rituals. Still others believe that it’s more of a cultural issue than a religious issue. For Pathans, they say, Ramazan is more a cultural issue than a religious one.

Whatever the reason, the bottom-line is they take the issue very seriously. The issue, therefore, does not only have political connotations but also have a bearing on inter-provincial harmony and centre-provinces relationship.

The supporters of the go-it-alone approach believe that the NWFP would never be able to convince or establish its credibility with the central Ruet-i-Hilal, which has come to view any evidence of moon-sighting from the NWFP with a measure of suspicion and cynicism.

They instead question the credibility of the central Ruet-i-Hilal and credentials of its members. The argument they give is that it’s not mandatory to commence Ramazan or celebrate Eid throughout the country on the same day. Why restrict it to Pakistan only, they argue, why not extend it to the whole Ummah.

The NWFP minister for religious affairs, Maulana Amanullah Haqqani, said the way out was to link the observance of Ramazan and Eid celebration with moon-sighting in Saudi Arabia.

“The problem is,” the minister points out, “one that of trust. We don’t trust each other. The central Ruet does not trust us and we have no faith in their judgment. Let’s resolve the issue once and for all and link it up with moon-sighting in Saudi Arabia. If Afghanistan can do it, why can’t we?”

That may be the possible way out. But then there could be people who would not feel comfortable going with the Saudi decision on moon-sighting. The solution to the problem lies at home, rather than in the far-away Royal Kingdom. Why not decentralise the decision of moon-sighting? Why not disband the central Ruet-i-Hilal and allow committees at the provincial level to make decisions on evidence available to them at the provincial level?

Let the four provinces decide for themselves.