Scienc­e and techno­logy minist­er says common sense must be applie­d when it comes to moon sighti­ngFederal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Monday hit out at the country’s clerics for trying to detach science from religion, saying that they must employ “common sense” when it comes to sighting the moon. “It is sad to see how our religious scholars have come out deeming science to have nothing to do with moon sighting,” he said in a press briefing in Islamabad. The federal minister shared that the meteorological department had opened all of its observatories for the general public so they could catch a glimpse of the moon. Chaudhry had earlier said that in his opinion Pakistan could do away with the traditional moon sighting methods used by the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee to end the moon sighting controversy on all important Islamic festivals. However, the ministry’s efforts to modernise the moon-sighting process have not been well received by all clerics and a last-minute change in the date for Eidul Fitr cannot be ruled out.

Source: The Express Tribune June 03, 2019 17:15 UTC