The Unlikely Sighters
By Imad Ahmed
Director, New Crescent Society
A personal blog from the Director of New Crescent Society.
2. Family Astronomers
3. The Asian OG Uncles
They may look like unassuming Asian uncles wearing shelwar kameez, but when engaged on the topic, you'll find many to be expert moonsighters.
South Asia and South Africa have very strong moonsighting traditions, so migrants from these countries have brought their experiences with them. I've heard Bengali ladies in my own family recount fond childhood memories of scaling a local hill or climbing onto the roof, searching for the Ramadan moon.
And here in the UK, they continue. From Walthamstow to Walsall, Croydon to Cardiff, Blackburn, Preston, Bolton, Bradford and York, we find Asian Uncles climbing hills or their mosque minarets, hoping to spot the new crescent. It's been a pleasure to meet many of these older, unassuming Asian gentlemen who have built great expertise on this topic through years of experience.
Thank you, our moonsighting heroes!
Director, New Crescent Society
A personal blog from the Director of New Crescent Society.
This blog is a personal tribute I would like to make to the Unlikely Sighters: 3 groups of people that I have met or trained that one might not expect to be trailblazers in this field. Each of these 3 groups have a great understanding of astronomy, and the science behind moonsighting.
1. The Towerblock Skygazers
They go to the top of their estate once a month in Hackney, East London, to sight the moon. As an ex Hackney school teacher, I'm extra proud of this group; it's heartening to see the enthusiasm from the youngsters too.
After a year of moonsighting at this estate, they've decided they want to try out some other locations. I've been particularly impressed by their local knowledge and ingenuity whilst they scout public parks, or map which person in their community has access to which rooftop.
Their tower block features in our most recent video - Bring the Moon Back Home this Eid. These guys are literally bringing the moon back into their homes!
Their tower block features in our most recent video - Bring the Moon Back Home this Eid. These guys are literally bringing the moon back into their homes!
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| Still: Bring the Moon Back Home |
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| Towerblock Skygazers |
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| One of the best views of the Western horizon in London |
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| All ages welcome |
2. Family Astronomers
The biggest demand for the New Crescent Society comes from mothers who want to teach their children about astronomy and moonsighting. Our inbox is full of training requests from them!
New Crescent Society runs a family friendly moonsighting location in Northala Fields, a public park in West London. I trained a group of mums and their children to sight the moon there in September 2018 (Muharram 1440), and they have been consistently conducting moonsightings there every month, without fail, since. Even in the harshest weather, the mums have told me that their children insist on returning to Northola fields, determined to sight the new crescent for the month. When the weather is warm, they bring a football and have a picnic too!
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| New Crescent Society & SOFA College: Northala Fields Moonsighting Group |
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| Climbing the hill at Northola |
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| Autumn, 2018. Can you see the New Crescent? |
At this location, New Crescent Society will be holding a special large gathering for the upcoming Eid sighting, in collaboration with a several West London organisations (poster below).
Now, these mums and kids have become the most experienced practical sighters in the area. They are more experienced than any of the local imams, and so they will be guiding the crowd through the moonsighting procedure itself.
Hooray for our young astronomers, and their mums, leading the way!
Now, these mums and kids have become the most experienced practical sighters in the area. They are more experienced than any of the local imams, and so they will be guiding the crowd through the moonsighting procedure itself.
Hooray for our young astronomers, and their mums, leading the way!
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| Mums and kids will be training the crowds |
3. The Asian OG Uncles
They may look like unassuming Asian uncles wearing shelwar kameez, but when engaged on the topic, you'll find many to be expert moonsighters.
South Asia and South Africa have very strong moonsighting traditions, so migrants from these countries have brought their experiences with them. I've heard Bengali ladies in my own family recount fond childhood memories of scaling a local hill or climbing onto the roof, searching for the Ramadan moon.
And here in the UK, they continue. From Walthamstow to Walsall, Croydon to Cardiff, Blackburn, Preston, Bolton, Bradford and York, we find Asian Uncles climbing hills or their mosque minarets, hoping to spot the new crescent. It's been a pleasure to meet many of these older, unassuming Asian gentlemen who have built great expertise on this topic through years of experience.
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| Masjid e Umar, Queens Road Walthamstow. They sight the moon from this roof every month, and have done so for over a decade. |
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| Eng. Qamar Uddin with local Imam Foyzul Hassan. They've just seen the crescent! you can see it just behind them. |
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| Imam Suliman Gani (r) & Eng. Qamar Uddin have been conducting moonsightings for over two decades. Here they are presenting with me and another astronomer at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. |
Moonsighting for the Many
These unlikely sighters have truly inspired us. To borrow a phrase from the recent zeitgeist, they have showed us that Astronomy is for the many, not the few.
You can live in the countryside or you can live in a towerblock. You don't have to own a telescope or be an Islamic scholar.
The sky belongs to all of us. It costs nothing to look up.
You can live in the countryside or you can live in a towerblock. You don't have to own a telescope or be an Islamic scholar.
The sky belongs to all of us. It costs nothing to look up.
The moon is yours for the taking. If you want, you can bring the moon back home.
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