Eid Controversy: Source of Disunity in the American Muslim population?
Published by Haseeb January 7th, 2006 in Current News, Islam, Zaid ShakirI would argue (conditionally) no. Of course it would be better if we all celebrated Eid on the same day, but this is the least of our problems here in America. The whole controversy of when to have eid is based on the simple moonsighting issue of whether or not the sighting of the new moon locally or globally signals the start of the new Islamic month. Both opinions are valid, and its fine to take either opinion. There is nothing wrong with that. But if your local community decides (local masjid shura council, or what not) decides to pick one date, then of course, for the sake of unity you should follow your masjid. Thats the issue, thats it, there shouldnt be any further debate. Unless we develop a viable, real American fiqh council that is respected by all Muslims across the US to make a decision for us all to accept, there will be no solution to this quarrel, and we will have the same issue arise again and again every Ramadan and Dhul Hijjah.
As for this eid, the moon was not sighted on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 31, so the month of Dhul-Hijjah began on Monday, January 2nd (based on the opinion of local moon sighting). However, across the world, the moon was sighted on the evening of Dec. 31, so Dhul Hijjah began on January 1st, on the other side of the world, including Makkah. So those of us following the local moon sighting, will be doing Eid one day later (Wednesday) than our counterparts across the globe. This is the opinion held by ICNA, and Zaytuna. ISNA, however, has decided to go with the global sighting opinion on this issue to celebrate eid in accordance with those in Mecca (Tuesday), another respectable position (Ironically enough, they followed the local sighting opinion for Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr - weird right?).
Regardless of that, whatever opinion your local masjid follows, we should follow that -> END of discussion. This matter gets worse when issues such as tribalism or nationalism come into play. Lets say your local masjid is the Muslim Center of New York, which follows the opinion shared by ICNA and Zaytuna, that Eid is Wednesday. But you claim that ur relatives ‘back home’ in Afghanistan or Egypt or something are praying Eid on Tuesday, so you should pray eid on Tuesday. I believe this opinion is a little shady. For the sake of unity, we should forego tribalistic and nationalistic ties and just basically follow the majority of the population in your area. Unfortunately its a sad reality that my local masjid (back @ home), Masjid-Al-Taufiq, is planning on doing Eid both days, because regardless of whatever decision their board makes, there will be stubborn Muslims who are unwilling to follow any opinion other than the right opinion, their own.
As Muslims we must learn to realize that it is perfectly FINE for us to have different valid opinions on these types of aspects of our deen. It is important to note that during the pinnacle of Islamic civilization, there were over 300 madhabs. So we had Muslims across the world, from Africa to Asia holding many different opinions on many matters. Yet this by no means at all contributed to any sense of disunity. Every person following a madhab, although confident in their madhab’s reasoning for such an opinion of a matter, fully accepted and was aware of the fact that their brothers and sisters following a different madhab was also correct! Only in recent history has this become such a disgusting source of conflict among our ummah.
Now look at this. I recently was searching Salatomatic.com (from the creators of zabihah.com) for the phone number of a local masjid here in brooklyn.
(swt), not as a resource for sectarian divide. Imam Zaid Shakir has an excellent article in his latest book. We frequently hear terms such as a Salafi Masjid, an Ikhwani Masjid, a Sufi Masjid, and other such aberrations. Although the orientations that form the basis of these appellations may have great benefit for their individual adherents, when they become exclusionary appendages affixed to the Masjid, they can be extremely alienating….
This politicizing of the Masjid sometimes leads to excessive arguing and disputation. In many cases, heated disputes among the defenders of varying interpretations of Islam, repulses many Muslims. This is especially true in the case of converts from Christianity, who were attracted to Islam because of its clarity, and the unity of its theology. Muslims in this category are extremely idealistic. Nothing shatters that idealism like sectarian bickering.
Shakir, Zaid. “Flight From The Masjid.” Scattered Pictures: Reflections of an American Muslim. (Hayward: Zaytuna Institute, 2005), 106
Salatomatic.com to remove these labels from our Masjids!
33 Responses to “Eid Controversy: Source of Disunity in the American Muslim population?”
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I’ve been telling Muslims this all week long. SubhanAllah! Everyone is crying and whining for unity. Why can’t we have one Eid? Go pick up the Quran and read it. Or go MAKE UP SOME missed prayers. Damn yo! Stop worrying about which day is right and just go follow the masjid your going to with your family. BOTH ARE CORRECT! And that site with the ‘different types’ of masjids is WACK! I feel disgraced now that masjids are being labeled. First muslims, then organizations, now masjids!!! What the jahanam is going on with our ummah! I am going to email the webmaster and complain. Haseeb I think you should too! SubhanAllah
Haseeb GREAT POST!! mashaAllah!
true…
canada’s celebrating Eid on tuesday
totally agree with Haseeb and MR
The city I live in (somewhere in canada) had a HUUUUUGE conflict on Eid Al-Fitr about the sighting of the moon and etc. Some thought we should celebrate on Wednesday, some on Thursday and some of friday…. all in one city! but alhamdulilAllah, in the end, we all ended up celebrating together on thursday.
The way I see it, scientific calculations just cause conflict, I don’t think they should be used because when someone sees the moon with their naked eye, people actually disagree because of calculations. The prophet (pbuh) said you only need one witness to see the moon.
Its supposed to be the Muslims stay one Ummah, and celebrate together, but if that can’t happen then it should be that atleast the Muslims in the city stay united no matter what.
It’s sad what he Muslims have come to. We argue of the stupidest and most pathetic over every little thing. People are just power trippin. Everyone just wants to prove their write, its pathetic!
“I feel disgraced now that masjids are being labeled. First muslims, then organizations, now masjids!!! What the jahanam is going on with our ummah!” lol… so true
Well, check these out:
http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=12660&dgn=4
http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=1602&dgn=4
http://moonsighting.net/pages/4/index.htm
http://www.hilaalcommittee.com/articles/article13.html
http://www.jas.org.jo/hilaal/
salam, thank you for posting this. I found it very informative. Do you know how might access the RIS notes that you posted earlier? JazakumAllah khair! wasalam
To resolve this conflict once and for all out of love for all my bretheren i think youre all wrong. Eid is clearly on Febuary 1st and i’m starting my own tribe/sect-whatever, anyone can join as long as they’re willing to pay membership dues, a certain percent of your yearly earnings, something between the tithe of the catholics and the traditional zakat but it will be undisputed and uncontested forever, thats whats most important- no arguments. As to why its Feb 1st well i cant really explain it, just trust me cuz logic leads to argument ergo sum conflict…if u allagree to do it on feb 1st every year the conflict will be resolved, peace restored. Talk to your local councilsman, your masjid’s imaam and any other like minded busybodies you can find who simply cannot stand diversity and view things in a very collective and political fashion. Trust me, this is a simple matter than can easily be resolved.
Actually, all jokes aside Theres actually a hadith that runs to the effect of the Prophet saying if my ummah all with the exception of one man stand upon whats wrong and one man by himself stands upon what is right, then that one man is my ummah. I went to this masjid in Jersey, only time i was there and the guy talking there definately came from a school of thought very different than mine but as he elaborated his points for why he thought certain practices were wrong and then finished it off with this hadith i couldnt help but thinking that i was a peon and that i had walked into just the right masjid with just the right imam to guide me to one of the chief lessons of faith, you must not oppose truth even if it disagrees with you and you have no choice but to agree with truth if you know it to be true.
Eid is also on Wednesday in Canada… not that Im trying to create a conflict because whatever was posted is soo true ! There is valid evidence for it to be celebrated on tuesday or wednesday so lets stop tearing each other up about it…. salam !
Takbir!
Basically, you’re saying:
Guys! Chill out.
What I would like to see though is masjids having to publish details of how they came to their decision. If they’re just blindly following Saudi they should justify why. A very senior Saudi Islamic figure when he visited the UK a couple of years ago told us to ignore the Saudi declaration because it was invariably wrong. I’ve posted more about this on my site http://www.osamasaeed.org/osama/2005/12/time_to_end_the_1.html and http://www.osamasaeed.org/osama/2006/01/tuesday_or_wedn.html
Thanks again for the link to our online store. We recently held a contest in Ramadan and the prizes included an autographed copy of Scattered Pictures. We were thinking of having another contest with more autographed copies of Scattered Pictures. Anyone interested?
And hopefully the ummah can stop moonfighting and embracing each other.
LOL, love that “moon-fighting”. One Moon, one life Lets stick together and be alright! People do not realise the damage this creates on Islam’s united picture. How come it seems like all other religions with their different sects doesn’t cause such disgusting conflict? May Allah
(SWT) grant us mercy. Wasalam. 
alhamdullilah, great post ! Now do my freeipod offer
Be Excellent to one another and Party on Dudes!
Yo
Its really easy to calculate when the new moon will come for every islamic month for the next like 10 yrs. Its all math and astronomy. Turkey has every Eid date set for the next decade (eid al fitr). If all the muslims did that, then bam, problem solved.
I’m fine with that mosque finder thing though. I dont go to the mosque that often, but if I go to a new city or something, I would rather find a masjid that matches up with my beliefs. If the mosque finder already seperates between sects (shia/sunni), then why not be even more specific and choose the specific school of thought.
Yo they should add ethnicity and political ideology too. That way i can find a sunni liberal arab mosque in any city i go to, although they would probably just be sheesha places
a petition has been started:
http://new.petitiononline.com/masjids/petition.html
I don’t understand how people are syaing its on wednesday… people are standing on arafah on monday, therefore Eid is on tuesday… thats not the issue i was talking about earlier… i was saying that each city should unite not what day it is… people are standing on arafah on monday whether anyone like it or not, its a fact, and therefore eid is on tuesday. But each Muslim should follow your masjid even if you think theyre wrong to unite the city.
Seriously seriously, everyone needs to follow more than one source. its not a competition.. the facts are there. peopla on arafah tomorrow. Go to suadi chanel or some saudi website.. its all now based on saudi. They already said eid is on tuesday, no Muslims are going to be standing on arafah on tuesday during Eid?!
one more thing, “n/a”, Canada is celebrating on tuesday… and I’m sure of that, unless ur in a city that likes to rebel… im a 100% sure.. and im a 110% sure alberta and ontario are
canada’s always great at going with the rest of the world. toronto just decides to wait it out and jump a diff. boat every time. they’re doing it on wed.
ANYHOW, EID MUBARAK PPL! do remember why we’re celebrating eid though. pray for the hajis, and pray that their prayers get answer. and right, that the casualty rate by being trampled on during the stoning process isn’t too high this year. pray for their well-being, and pray that we all get to go sometime soon, iA!
Salams
Masha’Allah
, and with with beautiful advice, our lives in the US would be so much easier.
Eid Mubarak.
The reason we can’t have all these different labels for mosques is because what happens when a squirrel lives in one valley separated from another squirrel too long? Just because one squirrel likes acorns and the other one likes to eat walnuts.
They say we’ll go to diff sides of the valley because its what each of us likes. Then after a few generations, one squirrel doesnt know what the hell an acorn is and is instead all about walnuts; walnut peanut butter, walnut apple juice, walnut bread, walnut cough syrup.
Then the other squirrel from across the valley meets this squirrel and he’s like, bro check out this acorn weed, I gots me some acorn pancakes, acorn spaghetti, acorn Arizona iced Tea.
Neither knows what the other is all about, have such different tastes, and in 100 years i promise youve got Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic, Mormon, Jehovahs witness, Baptist, Mormon, etc versions of Islam. Completely separate, not united. Bunch of suckas
Kanye speaking to media: Everyone doesnt know that what im doing is im just being Real! …you know what im saying? im just being Kanye and if the media doesnt like it, wll what do i care?? the media dont know what they talkin about! Im kanye west, i got 3 classics already and nobody even knows it! Im rich and its cuz of jesus , only because of jesus, yeah thats right and everyone whos poor is only cuz of jesus, and people who gets run over by dump trucks, yeah jesus again…im kanye west!
Kaney West is brilliant!
anonymous :
if you read properly I wrote that it is also on Wednesday, yes people are celebrating it on Tuesday and I never denied this. Canadian Muslims that follow the Hilal Committe are celebrating Eid on Wednesday, so unless you live under a rock you should be aware of this. Just like in America, Canadian Muslims have the same issues of when to celebrate Eid so please do not say that all of Canada is celebrating it on Tuesday when that is not true for everyone (no offense) With that being said I totally agree with the fact that their on mount arafat today … but I am following my masjid. Eid Mubarak nyways everyone
As salaamu ‘alaikum
Roses are red.
Most trees are green.
Fiqh of Love is coming to NJ
and the age limit is 17.
The Fiqh of Love: Marriage in Islam.
The students in New Jersey have been waiting for this class for a very long time. I mean come ‘on, the combination of Love and Marriage and New Jersey, it is beyond compare. Alhumdullilah, the class will be offered this February 10-12 and 17-19.
Tired of being the bachelor or bachelorette of your town? Do you want to get married but are unsure of how to start things off in the proper Islamic way? Or, you’re already married, but you don’t know why you’re not enjoying it. Your husband doesn’t listen. Your wife doesn’t understand you. Do you both claim the same thing as your right and the other’s responsibility? And does it seem that you’re both confused and shy about what’s permissible and what’s prohibited in your bedroom? What are Islamic etiquettes of marriage?
OK then: you NEED to learn “The Fiqh of Love”.
“Oh young men! Whoever is capable (of affording the expenses) of marriage, let him do so. (Marriage) helps one control his eyesight and chastise his private parts. But, he who can’t afford marriage, let him observe fasting, as it would (act) as a protector for him.” {Bukhari and Muslim}
For more information about enrolling in the upcoming class, please visit:
http://www.almaghrib.org/enroll.php
Want to know more about the class? What you will gain from taking a class like this?
http://www.almaghrib.org/fol.php
Yaser Birjas will insha’Allah
be teaching once again in NJ. For more information, please visit: http://www.almaghrib.org/moreinstructors.php#Yaser
209+ have already registered. Have you?
Insha’Allah
I hope to see you all there!
Wasalaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah:
Asslamu ‘alaykum wa’rahmatullahi wa’barakatuhu brother,
“If only we could take half a Salafee with their correctness and half a Sufi with their spirituality (and add a dash of modernist adaptability) and put them together in one body, then we would have the perfect Muslim!”
This above is an excerpt from the enlightening article titled “The Fight for the Soul of Islam in America” : Amidst the competing agendas of Salafees, Sufis and Modernists, Yahiya Emerick calls on “everyday Muslims” to remember that Islam is a balanced way of life.
to read the whole thing: http://www.islamfortoday.com/emerick12.htm
Happy Eid
“Eid ul-Adha” means the major festival. It is also called the “Eid of Sacrifice” or the “Eid ul-Hajj”. The “Eid ul-Adha” is a commemoration and a reminder to Muslims of several things; for example:
• The story of Prophet Ebrahim (AS) (Abraham) and Prophet Ismail (AS) (Ishmael) and their willingness to make great sacrifices for Allah
.
• To be ready to make sacrifices for the religion of Islam.
• For those who have not gone for Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mekka), it is showing support for their fellow Muslims who are completing the Hajj on that day (i.e., 10th Dhu al Hejja).
Please read complete article on my Site
http://malikpaki.blogspot.com/
Thank you,
thanks for advertising your website. im kanye west.
right on, br. hahmed! (or br. haseeb?)
eid mubarak to you, everyone, and your families… may it have been a most blessed and joyous time for all of you, aameen!
The below information is taken from this website:
http://www.gummyprint.com/blog/archives/eid-ul-fitr-2007-friday-october-12-2007-when-is-eid/
You can check it for updates
So When is Eid-ul-Fitr?
Thursday, October 11, 2007:
1. Nigeria
Friday, October 12, 2007:
1. Bosnia and Hercegovina
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Libya (Conjunction Before Dawn)
4. Lebanon (Shi’aa, Astronomical Calculations)
Saturday, October 13, 2007:
1. Board of Imams in Australia
2. China (30 days completion)
3. Oman (30 days completion)
4. Islamic Society of North America/Fiqh Council
5. European Council for Fatwa & Research
The Prophet Muhammed
(PHUB) said that the Ummah of the Ingeel will be in 71 sect, the torah in 72 sects, and the Qu’ran in 73 sects. Only one of the 73 will be correct and all the other 215 sects are doomed for jahanam….
so don’t let this surprise you.this is only the beginning..