Speeding Up the Unification of Islamic Calendar
The Religious Affairs Ministry has decided this year’s Ramadhan fasting month (or 1438 Hijriah/Islamic calendar) will start on Saturday (27/5). That decision was similar with the time set by most Islamic organizations in Indonesia. Given the similarity, Muslims will also celebrate Idul Fitri at the same time. Yet, such synchronicity is only temporary.
In the past few years, Muslims in Indonesia have been relieved to be able to begin the fasting month of Ramadhan at the same time. The togetherness has strengthened the faith of Muslims because the decision on the beginning of Ramadhan, on Idul Fitri and on Idul Adha,has also determined the time when they are obliged to perform fasting and when they are not allowed to.
However, it is believed that this synchronicity will not last long. Based on astronomical data, Muslims in Indonesia will markthe start of Ramadhan (and therefore the end of it) at the same time only until 2021. After that, there will potentially be differences among groups in determining the dates.
The trigger for people to set different times for Ramadhan, Idul Fitri and Idul Adha in Indonesia was due to the various methods in defining hilal among Islamic organizations and the government. In fact, the hilal was used to set the new moon of Hijriah (Islamic calendar). Hilal is the soft crescent moon visible after the sun sets.
Today, there are at least two criterions of hilal being used in Indonesia, wujudul hilal or the formation of hilal and imkan rukyat or the visibility of hilal. Imkan rukyat has two different standards of measurement, namely the standard from MABIMS (The Religious Affairs Ministry of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore) and the standard of Lapan (the National Aviation and Space Institute) 2010.
The different decisions in setting a Hijriyah month were not triggered by the methods being used, either hisab (calculation) or rukyat (vision). The two methods will not generate different results as long as the criterion of determining the early moon is similar.
“As long as the criterions can not be integrated, the potential differences in setting the date of fasting and Idul Fitri will be still there,” said Religious Affairs Ministry Hisab Rukyat Team member Moedji Raharto, who is also an astronomy lecturer at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), on Friday (26/5).
Global problem
The anxiety due to the absence of single criterion for setting the start of Hijriyah was also felt by Muslims across the world. Although some Middle East countries followed the decision of Saudi Arabian government as a reference, some other Islamic countries have their own standard.
Besides, the decision of governments, including Saudi Arabia’s, sometimes also triggers debates or even opposition from astronomy experts. The opposition rises because the decision is seen as not compatible with empirical data and astronomical facts.
Based on data from the Global Hilal Monitoring Project (ICOP), until 10 p.m., other countries that are also marking the start of Ramadhan on Saturday are Iraq, Turkey, Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia. In many cases, the difference in setting the date of Ramadhan and Idul Fitri happened in many countries. The discrepancy was not only one day but, in some areas, even two days.
For years, the difference has become a source of anxiety among Muslim leaders, astronomy experts and Muslims around the world. “The problem is that the will to integrate the Hijriyah calendar has not been structured. Very often, each group shows their strong ego,” Moedji added.
Global effort
The need to have a single Hijriyah calendar, which applies globally like the Gregorian calendar, has been fought for. The need is getting urgent because the number of Muslims is increasing and spreading over all continents. By 2075, Islam is estimated to be the largest religion in the world.
Therefore, some groups have tried to integrate the Hijriyah calendar. The efforts being taken are different, starting from drafting the criterion of hilal, building communications with religious groups and other countries and organizing global hilal monitoring.
One last effort was the meeting of Muslim leaders and astronomy experts initiated by the Turkish government during the International Hijriyah Calendar Unification Congress (IHCUC) in May 2016.
Hendro Setyanto, a member of Nahdlatul Ulama Lajnah Falakiyah who attended the congress, said participants wanted to have a single Hijriyah calendar. That would mean the start of a Hijriyah month would begin on the same day across the world.
They agreed that the criterion of the start of a month was imkan rukyat on the condition that a new month starts when at dusk throughout the world, the angle between the moon and sun must be larger than 8 degrees and the elevation of the moon more than 5 degrees.
Yet, the hilal must be visible before 00:00 GMT or 7 a.m. in the western time of Indonesia. That means the hilal must be visible anywhere in the world before the sunrise in New Zealand.
Nevertheless, Religious Affairs Ministry THR member and Lapan head Thomas Djamaluddin saw the criterion had problems especially when it was applied in Indonesia. If the moon elevation is more than 5 degrees in America, then in Indonesia, which is in the eastern hemisphere, the moon would be below the horizon.
“Such rule will be hard to accept in Indonesia because from the criteria being used in Indonesia hilal could be accepted if the moon is above the horizon,” he said.
Thus, Thomas said, MABIMS countries planned to propose MABIMS criterions for discussion during a conference for the global unification of hijriyah calendar in Indonesia in November.
MABIMS criterions require the angle between the moon and sun is 6.4 degrees and the moon elevation is 3 degrees. The criterion is an improved version of the existing MABIMS criteria, which requires that the angle between moon and sun is 3 degrees and the moon elevation is 2 degrees.
The improved version of MABIMS criteria was drafted by a Team of Astronomy Experts established by the Indonesian Ulemas Council in 2015 consisting of astronomers from Lapan, ITB, Geospatial Information Agency, Indonesian Education University and some Islamic organizations.
The improved version of MABIMS criterions will be based on the hilal position in Indonesia. That means if hilal is visible in Indonesia, then in places in the western hemisphere like America, hilal will also be visible. This criterion will also make hilal in countries with easternmost time zones like Samoa and New Zealand already above the horizon even though it is difficult to see.
“The improved version of MABIMS also accommodates wujudul hilal criterion," Djamaluddin said.
Single authority
Some criterions that emerge, either Turkey’s IHCUC or the improved version of MABIMS will enrich the criterions for the beginning of Hijriyah.
Aside from the two criterions, previously there were many criterions for Hijriyah calendar unification such as the ones proposed by Malaysia astronomer Moh Ilyas, about the lines of lunar calendar qamariah or Moh Syaukat Audah (Mohamed Odeh) from Jordan who managed ICOP.
Those criteria need to be agreed upon and examined to prevent problems in other countries. After agreement, it needs a single authority to keep it. Djamaluddin said the presence of single authority is a prerequisite to realize an established and single Hijriyah calendar.
In today’s context, the single authority must be a multilateral institution involving the states, not mass organizations. Therefore, in Southeast Asia, MABIMS can be the authority to realize the improved version of its criterion.
“Today, MABIMS criterion is still a draft whose validation will be made at a ministerial meeting,” Djamaluddin said.
On an international level, there is the Organization of Islamic Conference that can maintain it. OIC is expected to be able to abridge the political interests of all Islamic countries in unifying the Islamic calendar.