By Mohammad Ghazal, Jordan Times

AMMAN – Inconsistency in determining the start of lunar months, particularly Ramadan, casts doubt on the credibility of astronomy, according to Mohammad Odeh, chairman of the Islamic Crescents Observation Project (ICOP).

“There are different approaches among countries in determining the start of the lunar month. Sometimes there are agreements among some countries on when to start the holy month of Ramadan. Politics plays a role sometimes,” he said in a meeting with the press late Monday.

“Some countries determine the start of the lunar month contrary to astronomical calculations, which harms astronomy and makes the public feel that science is inaccurate; for example, when a country announces the start of Ramadan on a certain day, while astronomical calculations indicate that it begins on another day,” Odeh noted.

“The inconsistency between science and state makes people doubt the credibility of astronomy,” he explained.

The traditional method for deciding the start of the holy month is sighting the crescent moon with the naked eye, or nowadays with a telescope, in accordance with a hadith (saying) by the Prophet Mohammad.

In Islam, people look for the crescent moon to determine the start of Ramadan, and anyone who claims to have seen it reports to court to testify. read more

A cleric looks for the new Ramadan moon using a telescope in Amman last year (JT file photo)