Re: CHAT: Passover

>Raymond Brown scripsit:
>
>> ...and if the latter, then where?  Otherwise the festival will not be the
>> same day everywhere in world.
>>
>> Muslim festivals are regulated purely by the moon phases and, if I've
>> understood my Muslim students properly, it's the moon phases as at Mecca.
>> Presumably anyone using the actual moon (as opposed to the "calendar
>> moon"), would use the full-moon at Jerusalem for calculating the date.
>
>The phases of the Moon depend solely on the relative positions of the
>Moon and the Sun, and are quite independent of one's position on
>the Earth.
Historically, the Islamic months were based on sightings and testimony of
sightings -- as Steg noted was true of the old Jewish calendar. It was
subjective, and because the Islamic sprawl was vast,  there could be a
difference of several days between the "sighting" in one Muslim land and
"sighting" in another.

Ofcourse you're right that the lunar month begins with the actual phase of
the moon which can be objectively calculated, but for Muslims the issue is a
highly charged political one. There is strong disagreement among those who
believe in the more "authentic" method of "sightings" and those who believe
in using technology for this purpose, as part of the Islamic value of
seeking and expanding knowledge in all forms.

Add to that the inherently political conflict between solidarity of the
Islamic "ummah" (nation) and modern nationalism -- which manifests itself in
one school of thought saying that the month begins officially for all
Muslims at the same time (with the first testified sighting of the moon, by
any Muslim, anywhere in the world *or*  by means of technological
calculation) and on the other hand the school of thought that says that each
locale must sight the moon itself. This latter school of thought has given
rise to a very political distinction between nations, as one country may
begin or end fasting for Ramadhan one or two days earlier than it's
neighboring nation.

Anyone stating that Muslim months begin with the sighting of the moon in
Mecca is probably subscribing to a version of the school of thought which
says the months begin for all Muslims simultaneously, as a political act of
solidarity, coupled with a belief that Mecca is the only Important Place on
Earth (tm). As a Muslim for 14 years, I've never heard anyone but a Saudi
assert that Islamic months are based on the lunar cycle as sighted in Mecca,
but it's quite possible there is a sect that holds this belief.

Ty