Moonsighting project unites science and religion
The University of Leeds has been part of a pioneering project teaching the Muslim practice of moongazing.
The Moonsighters Academy is the first course of its kind in the UK and will help train 38 Muslim community leaders across the country.
Used for hundreds of years, moongazing is a method of determining the Islamic calendar and marking important events such as Ramadan and Eid al-Adha, but it is not a common practice in the UK.
Imad Ahmed, the academy’s project coordinator, said the aim of the course was to “bring the moon back home and into our own view.”
The Islamic calendar is based on lunar cycles, with the beginning of each month marked by the sighting of the first crescent.
Lunar observation requires certain astronomical conditions and visibility; This is why most mosques in the UK rely on observations from other countries such as Saudi Arabia or Morocco.
Imad Ahmed aims to inspire Muslims in Britain to see the moon [University of Leeds/Mark Bickerdike]
“When Muslims first came to England, they encountered a problem that many people face in British astronomy, cloudy weather,” Ahmed said. “They agreed on a solution to track a different country’s moon.”
Because different countries see the crescent on different days, reliance on other countries has led to disputes or so-called “moon wars” between mosques in the UK depending on the country they follow.
This often means that communities do not celebrate events such as Ramadan or Eid al-Adha at the same time.
Ahmed added: “One thing that I and all Muslims in the UK faced when growing up was every Ramadan or Eid, we didn’t know when we should celebrate and this caused a lot of pain in the community.
“What we’re trying to do here is educate people about astronomy, not just because it’s a contemporary issue, but also because Muslims have a really strong history of astronomy.
“Moongazing is a national sport and we all need to work together. I want to move from moonfighting to moongazing and moon merging.”
The course, which starts in December and will last nine months, was created in conjunction with the lunar observation organisation, the New Crescent Society, of which Ahmed is director, and the University of Cambridge.
Includes use of the University of Leeds’ rooftop observatory and state-of-the-art 35cm telescopes.
University of Leeds astronomer Dr Emma Alexander (centre) is project co-lead of the Moonsighters Academy [University of Leeds/Mark Bickerdike]
University astronomer and co-chair of the project, Dr. Emma Alexander said: “One of my favorite things about working in astronomy is being able to share it with others, especially when I can help ignite sparks of curiosity about our universe and dispel stereotypes about who astronomers are.
“The course has led to greater interest in the connection between astronomy and culture in general, how people in different communities, of different faiths, interact with our night sky.”
Among the 38 participants are imams of various ages, school teachers, artists and business owners.
Aliyah Khan, who works as a science teacher and forest therapy practitioner, said she applied for the course in the hope of “educating the next generation” of Muslims in Britain.
“Where I grew up, we have two large mosques and neither of them recognize the same date for Ramadan or Eid,” he added.
“I was the only one at school who celebrated the holiday with my friends on a different day. This is quite isolating and divides society.
“We can see the moon from Britain, we don’t need someone looking at it for us in another country. This is a way of bridging scientific knowledge with Islamic practice.”
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