Glad you agreed with me<\/div>\n
<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n
Eid Mubarak, we say today. Mabrook! Have a Blessed Eid.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a wholesome, almost New Age greeting.<\/p>\n
But within the community, we all know there is a whole lot of whining and carping, with almost all of us taking one of three stands: a) the need to stay true to tradition and actually sight the moon, b) the need to follow the dates in the Holy Land (currently manifested in the form of the geo-politicaly entity known as Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) or c) the need to get with the times and use the wonderful blessings of science, taking the uncertainty out of the calendar (never mind that the suggested \u201cfixed\u201d calendar has been around for centuries \u2013 our wonderfully well-educated friends still insist it is the fruits of modern science that make this possible, but I digress). All three sides complain that it is a sign of the state the Ummah is in that we don\u2019t all just agree on one date \u2013 of course, with their preferred option being the one that should be adopted.<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s look beyond the carping: what happens in practice is pretty cut-and-dried. Some mosques hold prayers one day, some do it on others. And for the common Muslim, that rarely-mentioned aspect of Islam \u2013 Ijma, the democratic consensus of the community \u2013 rules the day, and you go to pray where your neighbours and friends \u2013 that is, your community \u2013 does. And all the while the three types of whining proceed without interruption. A very few of us, in my experience, point to that one tradition of The Prophet that we have been told about \u2013 the one that says that even if you see the moon yourself but your community celebrates on the \u201cwrong\u201d date, you should celebrate with the community.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the point I would really like to make on this eve the festival \u2013 a night our elders tell us is one of the most blessed, sanctified nights of the year, right up there with the Night of Mi\u2019raj (the Acsension) and the Night of Qadr (Power): Why not look at the issue of community from the opposite angle? Consider the possibility that, uncertainty or not uncertainty, this is a test. If we can\u2019t stay civil while we disagree on this matter and continue to love each other as fellows in one faith, what chance do we have of ever rising above other disagreements \u2013 like the ones that so often lead some of us to call others kafirs and murtad and so on?<\/p>\n
Think about it. We never tire of telling others that Ramazan is the month when we are supposed to work on building the spirit of charity, patience, and compassion within ourselves \u2013 but the moment it\u2019s over \u2013 in fact, on the very topic of when it\u2019s over \u2013 we turn into inflexible, it\u2019s-my-way-or-you\u2019re-a-braindead-bigot fanatics. And I\u2019m talking about all<\/i> sides \u2013 those who would rather follow traditional interpretations as well as<\/i> those who would rather follow the Holy Land as well as<\/i> those who love science and go on endlessly about how much wonderful progress humanity has made and how we can now determine to the milli-microsecond the birth of the new moon. <\/p>\n
If this wasn\u2019t such a holy night, my next sentence would have included the words \u201cpox,\u201d \u201call,\u201d and \u201chouses\u201d. Instead, in the language of the industry I spend my days working for:<\/p>\n
The uncertainty is a feature, not a bug. Read the doc.<\/p>\n
Let us try to see if we can agree to disagree with each other in Peace, with patience and compassion, as a community, a Jama\u2019ah, an Ummah.<\/p>\n
We never tire of saying that the word \u201cIslam\u201d comes from the root \u201cSalaam,\u201d or peace. When we claim to be Muslims, we are saying we are \u201cthose that have Peace\u201d (Ma\u2019As Salaam), we are the community that adopts peace as our way. So my brothers and sisters \u2013 let\u2019s adopt peace in our own persons and within the community. Let us, in this holy season, not just tell CSPAN and CNN about it. Let us start with our own communities and practice it towards each other. Let us feel it, let us live it.<\/p>\n
As Salaam Alaikum, and Eid Mubarak. Peace Be On You and have a Blessed Eid.<\/p>\n
<\/i><\/p>\n
Sabahat Ashraf is a digital media professional that lives in Silicon Valley, California. You can read more of his work at iFaqeer<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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