Top Kashmir Ulemas Meet for Consensus over Ramzan Dates

Srinagar: Muslim scholars in Jammu and Kashmir will carry out the next sighting of the crescent moon on April 20, Jammu and Kashmir’s top ulemas said after a grand meeting was held in Srinagar on Tuesday to end the confusion over Ramzan dates.

“Any decision about Eid announcement will be made public after thorough consultation with ulemas. The meteorological department will also be consulted before any announcement,” Mufti Nasir said.

The meeting was called after people in the region were divided over the day the holy month began.

In the Muslim calendar, which follows the moon’s rotation, a month starts after witnessing the crescent. Earlier, following the customary practice, the Grand Mufti of Kashmir Mufti Nasir ul Islam announced that the month would begin on March 24. His announcement was, however, followed by the announcement by Ruet e Hilal Committee of Pakistan – a body which announces the moon sighting – that the crescent was sighted on March 23.

Even though there has been a Grand Mufti in Kashmir for decades, Muslims in the region have seldom been caught in the position where the Ruet’s announcement contradicted the Grand Mufti’s given the geographical proximity, according to Muslim scholars.

The Grand Mufti last week argued that he had received no witness about the sighting of the crescent and maintained his stance on the issue. However, it divided people, with many raising questions against the Grand Mufti for taking orders from the authorities, an allegation Mufti Nasir opposed vehemently following the meeting.

“I am not anyone’s agent, and I am here to serve my people and not create a wedge between them,” he told reporters.

In view of the confusion over the dates, the chairperson of J&K’s Waqf Board, Darakhshan Andrabi, said that the board will constitute its own high-tech Ruet e Hilal Committees for Jammu and Kashmir for moon sighting and decide on the days of beginning and end of months in the Islamic calendar.

Mufti Nazir Ahmad Qasmi, another leading religious figure, pointed out the ramifications of the division in opinions and said that he backs the formation of Ruet for Jammu and Kashmir. But he also argued that such issues may continue even after the Ruet’s formation.

“Such incidents have happened in the past, but the moon doesn’t belong to the east or the west. It belongs to everyone, and we have to take geography into consideration instead of political divisions or disruption,” Mufti Nazir said during the meeting.

Even as the Muslim Ulema backed the formation of an independent Ruet for J&K, they also cautioned Andrabi, a Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, to limit her work around management and not interfere in matters related to Islamic jurisprudence.

Anjuman e Sharie Shia’an Jammu and Kashmir, Aga Syed Mustafa Moosavi, said he supported the formation of a Ruet e Hilal Committee for Kashmir but argued that connecting politics with religious matters is not right.

“There were no such borders before 1947 and it was a matter back then as well. The people of Kashmir followed what was objective and it’s not a matter of borders which can change after 100 years,” Moosavi said.

The meeting was attended by all top scholars that included Moulana Rahmatullah Qasmi, Ghulam Rasool Hami and Prof Muhammad Tayib Kamili, Moulana Aga Syed Al Hassan Mousivi, Ghulam Muhammad Bhat, Moulana Fayaz Ahmed Rizivi, Masroor Abbas Ansari amongst others. They had gathered at Mufti Nasir’s residence to iron out the differences of opinions.

Following the meeting, Mufti Nasir said that Shab-e-Qadr will be observed on April 17, conforming to Ruet’s dates. He added that the people in Kashmir valley may have to compensate or offer a Qaza for the lost day if the crescent appears on time.

In the meeting, the Ulemas, including Mufti Nasir called for the immediate release of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who has been under house arrest since August 2019. “He should be released so that he can perform his duties of giving sermons at the Jamia Masjid Srinagar. We also call for the release of Moulana Dawodi and all the others who have been jailed,” he told reporters.