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{"id":506,"date":"2006-12-29T23:55:08","date_gmt":"2006-12-29T23:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/akramsrazor\/2006\/12\/29\/information_ove\/"},"modified":"2013-05-07T18:47:31","modified_gmt":"2013-05-07T23:47:31","slug":"information_ove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/akramsrazor\/2006\/12\/information_ove\/","title":{"rendered":"Information Overload on Eid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Well, ISNA\u2019s saying it\u2019s Sunday, but my local mosque in Athens and the biggest one in Atlanta (Masjid al-Farooq) have declared Saturday Eid al-Adha<\/a>, so Eid mubarak, folks.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

For those of my dear infidel friends who are not in the know, Eid al-Adha is greatest of the Islamic holidays.\u00a0 It commemorates the Prophet Abraham\u2019s (AS) willingness to sacrifice his son at God\u2019s command.\u00a0 A familiar story to Christians and Jews (who refer to it as the Akedah<\/em><\/a> or \"binding\"), but with the twist that Muslims believe it was the Patriarch\u2019s firstborn Ishmael rather than Isaac who lay on the altar when the angel stayed Abraham\u2019s knife at the last minute.\u00a0 This holiday concludes the Hajj ritual each year for the pilgrims who\u2019ve gone to Mecca.<\/p>\n

We tend to think of the intellectual consequences of Globalization as exclusively positive, but here\u2019s one that\u2019s negative and disruptive.\u00a0 The wonders of the mass media\u00a0 complicate immensely what should be a very simple thing.\u00a0 As I understand it, in the old days the moon was sighted in your area, confirmed by the appropriate authorities, an announcement was made, and that was it.\u00a0 There was no second-guessing (however well intentioned) based on charts, or what people in other regions (much less countries or continents) were doing.\u00a0 And there was no guilt or anguish over whether one was celebrating in perfect unison with the Ummah because you probably had no way to know what people in the next town much less the world were up to until after the fact, anyway.\u00a0 Nor did you\u2013unless you were an astronomer\u2013probably find yourself feeling the need to take stand against a debatable decision by some body and go it alone.\u00a0 Unity came naturally.<\/p>\n

Like many in the Muslim diaspora\u00a0 I lament ever year how
\ncomplicated this has become, but I don\u2019t buy the line that this is simply because we \"lack unity\" or \"lack knowledge\" (though many of us, myself foremost of all, certainly do).\u00a0 Those are real problems, but this perrenial confusion does not spring from them in my view.\u00a0 It\u2019s an inevitable consequence of the way the modern world works, which means it\u2019s doubtful that a solution is
\npossible, much less imminent.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

In the modern world\u00a0 people are too independent, up to the minute astronomical data is too accessible, and our worldview is too macro-oriented
\nfor the masses to fully accept a traditional, localized system of moon sightings.\u00a0 \u00a0Unlike our forebears, we see the
\nworld through the lens of nation states and other overarching geographical concepts like regions, which
\nnecessitates centralized decision-making that override or at least
\nimplicitly call into question the authencity of local determinations. <\/p>\n

And even when people do in principle accept the traditional system,
\nthe modern (and in this case quite disruptive) phenomenon of instant
\nglobal communication sows dissent and doubt, no matter what our intentions are. <\/p>\n

Sometimes, less<\/em> knowledge is better.\u00a0 A new dimension to the iconic intellectual scourge of our time, \"Information Overload\".\u00a0 All I need to know is what my local mosque is doing. <\/p>\n

In other news,\u00a0 my local mosque not only does not have Eid prayers info posted on its website.\u00a0 (Remember my complaint<\/a> a few months ago for Eid al-Fitr prayers?)\u00a0 But luckily they have links to random articles on Islam on the web.\u00a0 I guess people can read them while they should be praying and greeting people in the community.\u00a0 Sigh\u2026<\/p>\n

I heard through word of mouth that we\u2019re having it at the mosque, which bodes ill given how small it is, even with the modest recent addition.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

A hearty Eid mubarak (including a disembodied but warm hug if you are the proud owner of a Y chromosome), though.\u00a0 Whether you celebrate it tomorrow or Sunday, enjoy it and spend it with friends and family. <\/p>\n

Which is easier said than done in Western countries, but that\u2019s a topic for another time.\u00a0 Need to hit the hay to catch my one local Eid prayer.\u00a0 Sleeping in on Eid is a luxury of spoiled big city folk.\u00a0 We small town Muslims got one chance and one only.\u00a0 (Could be worse, I suppose.\u00a0 At least I don\u2019t have to drive a long distance.\u00a0 I wonder how many people in rural America have to get up hours in advance in order to make their local service.)<\/p>\n

All I know is that I need to score me some sevian<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0 Need to worm our way into an afterparty with the local aunties.<\/p>\n

Update (31 December 2006):\u00a0 <\/strong>A few stylistic tweaks.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"