WHILE making his announcement about the sighting of the crescent moon, Mufti Muneebur Rahman begins by first reading out the names of those on the committee. This wastes time.

I request Mufti Muneeb to come to the point directly and tell us whether the moon for Ramazan or for Eid has been sighted. He can announce the committee members’ names later.

Many Muslim scholars are of the opinon that in this scientific age it is not necessary to sight the moon by the eye and that science has reached a stage where the rise and setting of the moon can be predicted accurately to a second. I think we should too follow this suggestion.

Cdre (r) Dr Anjum Sarfraz
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2018