International Astronomical Center

The following are some important achievements which the center has realized over the past few years:

• Sending monthly reminders of crescent observation to observers in different countries around the world, and requesting the observation reports to be sent for publication immediately on the center's website.

• Publishing the crescent observation results and the beginning of Hijric months in the different countries around the world on the ICOP pages: http://www.astronomycenter.net. This makes the website a reference for identifying the places where the crescent has actually been spotted. This information is important particularly to the Muslim communities residing in the non-Islamic countries.

• Compiling more than 500 new crescent observations which helped to produce a new precise criterion to work out the crescent visibility, and which was published in an international refereed scientific journal compact (Odeh Criteria).

• Crescent observation using non-conventional scientific methods such as observing the crescent via an aeroplane by the ICOP members in both of Iran and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan:
  1. Observe Shawwal month crescent through an aeroplane in Jordan on 04 December 2002.
  2. Observe Ramadan month crescent through an aeroplane in Jordan on 25 October 2003.
  3. Observe Ramadan month crescent through an aeroplane in Iran on 23 September 2006.
     
     ICOP Member Mr. Mehrani Tries to See the Crescent From the Plane!

• Spreading a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the crescent problem between the center's members and within the community through several methods including the mailing list of the members (available on the address: http://groups.google.com/group/icopmem through which some important matters related to astronomical applications in Islamic Shari’a are discussed such as crescent observation, criteria, and world record crescent observations.

• Spreading the ‘Accurate Times” program for working out the prayer times, solar and lunar almanac, and also for working out the crescent visibility, and drawing related maps. The program can be found on the following address: http://www.astronomycenter.net/accut.html.

• Spreading the scientific understanding for working out the prayer times and related problems through providing researchers in this subject with the relevant astronomical researches available on the center's site at the following address: http://www.astronomycenter.net/paper.html

• Commenting on some errors in determining the beginnings of the Hijric months. Most important of these comments is a statement which ICOP issued as a comment on the error in determining the beginning of the month of Thul-Hijjah for the year 1428(AH). The statement was signed by 24 participants including scientists, researchers, and jurisprudent. The statement has yielded a clear impact at the media and official levels, thereby prompting the Al-Jazeera Chanel to hold an interview with the ICOP's chairman for explaining the facts.

• Cooperating with the official authorities and astronomical societies in the different countries around the world for extending assistance and advice concerning astronomical-applications-related matters in the Islamic Shari’a, namely:
  1. An official invitation received by the center's chairman and addressed by the Moroccan Ministry of Endowments to discuss the calculation of the prayer times in the Kingdom of Morocco where the center's chairman delivered several lectures during the visit on the crescent visibility and the prayer times in both of Rabat and Fes cities in September 2003.
  2. An official delegation from the Sunni Endowment Bureau in the Republic of Iraq paid a visit to the center to discuss the crescent observation and detection-related matters in November 2007.
     
     ICOP Chairman with the Iraqi Delegation

  3. Request, made by the Islamic Jurisprudence Council of Muslim World League Makkah, to cooperate with the center for working out the prayer times in the high-latitude areas in May 2008. The center's chairman participated in several meetings held in Riyadh city for this purpose.
  4. Request, made by Azhar Al-Biqa’ University affiliated with the Dar Al-Fatwa of the Lebanese Republic, to cooperate in the issue related to working out the prayer times in the Lebanese Republic in April 2008 where the center's chairman met with both of the Mufti of the Lebanese Republic and the Mufti of Biqa’; and also delivered two lectures at the Azhar Al-Biqa’ University on the prayer times and the crescent visibility.
     
     From Left to Right: Lebanon Mufti, ICOP Chairman, ICOP Member Mr. Mordi Ghadban.

• Participation by the center's members in the regional and international Islamic astronomical conferences on the astronomical applications in Islamic Shari’a such as the Arab and Islamic astronomical conferences held in Jordan.

• Inviting the center to participate in the international conferences for discussing subjects pertaining to astronomical applications in Islamic Shari’a such as:
  1. Experts meeting for studying the issue of determining precisely the beginnings of the lunar months for Muslims held in Rabat/ Morocco during the period 09-10 November 2006 and which was organized by the Islamic Organization for Education, Sciences, and Culture (ISESCO) and the Moroccan Society for Astronomy.
     
     

  2. Seminar for consolidating efforts to unify the Hijric calendar held in Jakarta/ Indonesia in the period 04-06 September 20097 and which was organized by the Mohammadiya Society in Indonesia.
     
     

  3. Conference on the crescent visibility in the city of Sosterburgh/ Netherlands according to an invitation by the A’imma (prayer leaders) Society in the Netherlands in June 2008.
     
     

• Organizing an international astronomical conference in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in cooperation with the Emirates Astronomical Society to discuss the Shari’a astronomy-related issues (i.e. crescents, calendars, times, and Qiblah) during the period 13-14 December 2006. This was the first conference to have been organized by the center and whose elegant scientific level has been hailed by the participants. It is interesting to note that it was also the largest Arab astronomical conference in terms of the number of participants amounting to more than one hundred participants who came from 26 countries. Yet, it was this conference which provided the new vision of the center's objectives, management, and aspirations.
  
  

• Preparing the proceedings for the First United Arab Emirates Astronomical Conference in cooperation with the UAE Emirates Astronomical Society which is the first proceedings for an Arab astronomical conference issued literally. An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) was obtained for that book.

• Assisting both of the written and visual media organs in disseminating the general astronomical facts and news concerning the moon, crescents, and visibility such as:
  1. Al-Majd Satellite Channel interview with the center's chairman through the “News and Comments” program on 18 August 2007 for explaining astronomical information related to crescent visibility and possible visibility of the Holy Month of Ramadan Crescent for the year 1428(H).
  2. Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel interview with the center's chairman through the “Without Borders” program on 2nd January 2008 for discussing the errors in determining the beginnings of the Hijric months in the Islamic World.
  3. A wide coverage was provided for the crescent observation of the holy month of Ramadan 1429(AH) in cooperation with the Al-Jazeera Channel. On Saturday 30 August 2008, an on-line interview from Doha was carried with all of Mohammad Odeh/ ICOP Chairman, Prof. Nidhal Guessoum/Vice-Chairman, Prof. Sharaf Al-Qodah. The meeting discussed the basic concepts of the crescent visibility in terms of astronomical and Fiqh perspectives and the impossible crescent visibility on the same day. On the following day, Sunday 31 August, an on-line interview was carried from Doha with both of Dr. Ilias Fernini / ICOP Scientific Committee Chairman, and Mohammad Odeh. Dr. Ilias discussed with another guest the astronomical and Fiqh aspects while the results of the crescent observation by the ICOP members from different countries around the world were announced directly on the air by Mohammad Odeh. Besides, ICOP member Tareq Hadi was observing the crescent on Sunday at Sabr mountain top in the Yemeni city of Taiz. Al-Jazeera Chanel carried the observation proceedings on the air directly.
     From L to R: Aljazeera staff, Prof. Sharaf Al-Qodah, Prof. Nidhal Guessoum, Mohammad Odeh
  4. Provide coverage for the crescent observation of the month of Shawwal 1429 in cooperation with the Al-Jazeera Channel. On Monday 29 September 2008, an interview on line was carried from Doha with Mohammad Odeh/ ICOP Chairman, Dr. Jalal Addin Khanji/ Administrative Board Member, Dr. Khalid Al-Zu’aq/ ICOP Member. Other guests participated also in the meeting which discussed the basic concepts of the crescent visibility from the astronomical and Fiqh perspectives along with the impossibility of crescent visibility on that day.

• Publishing scientific articles and research papers in the international and intact journals including:
  1. Research on a new criterion for working out the crescent visibility prepared by the ICOP which was published in the refereed scientific journal: Experimental Astronomy, 18, 39-64, 2004.
  2. Observational report on one of the unique crescents which one of ICOP members managed to spot. The observation report was published in the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, February issue 2005.
  3. Article entitled, “Difference between the Crescent Birth and Appearance” published in the “Scientific Progress” journal issued by the “Kuwait Corporation for Scientific Progress”, issue 50, 2005.
  4. Article entitled, “Difference between the Crescent Birth and Appearance Scientifically”, published in the Al-I’jaz Al-‘Ilmi (Scientific Miracles) issued by the International Commission for Scientific Miracles in the Quran and Sunna, Issue 25, 2006.

• Publishing the astronomical articles and news on the crescent visibility in the local and Arab journals, including:
  1. News item entitled, “Tomorrow.. Saudi Arabia to Observe Ramadan Crescent” in “Al Watan” newspaper of Oman on 20 September 2006.
  2. News item entitled, “Sunday, First Day of the Month of Ramadan Astronomically” in “Okaz” newspaper of Saudi Arabia on 21 September 2006.
  3. News item entitled “20 January, Onset of Hejric Year” in the “Ittihad” newspaper of the United Arab Emirates on 18 January 2007.
  4. News item entitled, “Thursday 13 September, First Day of the month of Ramadan” in the “Al-Sahafah” newspaper of Sudan on 3 September 2007.
  5. News item entitled, “Astronomically: First Day of Ramadan Thursday 13 September” in the “Al Qabas” newspaper of Kuwait on 03 September 2007.
  6. News item on possible visibility of the crescent of the month of Shawwal 1428 (AH) entitled, “Astronomically... Feast to Start Saturday in Most Countries” in the “Akhbar Al-Naqab” newspaper of Palestine on 09 October 2007.
  7. News item on the crescent observation of the month of Shawwal 1428(AH) entitled, “Observation of the Feast Crescent Tomorrow Evening” in the “Al-Watan” newspaper of Qatar on 10 October 2007.
  8. News item on the commencement of the month of Thul-Hijjah 1428(AH) in “Ad Dustour” newspaper of Jordan on 12 December 2007.