Citizens demand an end to the moon sighting committee.

For millions of years, stars and planets have followed their well-defined orbits and trajectories in space, uninterrupted by the quality of our beliefs or our knowledge of solar system. Galileo was accused of heresy and sentenced to life for defying the once commonly held belief that the Sun revolved around the  Earth.

Today virtually every child grows up learning that the Moon orbits around the Earth and the Earth around the Sun. The trajectory, location and sighting of moon are entirely predictable.  They follow the laws of  astronomy and physics and are not dependent on our views or wishes.  Pakistan’s Ministry of Science and Technology has already issued a calendar  that gives the exact dates for Eids and Ramzans for next many years.

It is therefore no longer imperative for the Government of Pakistan to engage a group of religious scholars, with no background of science or astronomy, to peep through massive and sometimes non-functional telescopes to determine the visibility or absence of the moon. The event widely covered by media, is an embarrassment for every sane Pakistani who believes in science and common sense.

Pakistanis hold their ‘Ulemas’ and Muftis in high esteem.  This image is greatly compromised by unscientific, unreasonable and unnecessary moon sighting expediency.  We request the government to end this perpetual uncertainty, prevent potential conflicts, save tax payers’ money, do away with the moon sighting committee and help Pakistan become a state that seeks reason, science, humanism and enlightenment in all its actions.

The demand is endorsed by the following citizens: