International Astronomical Center

So far, the earliest sighting of the crescent -after sunset- was on Friday 28 November 2008 from Tanzania, the crescent was also seen on this day from South Africa, USA and Guyana.

Friday 28 November 2008:

• Australia: Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Afroz Ali said: "Almost all locations of Ausralia were cloudy. Perth had clear skies, but the crescent was NOT sighted anywhere in Australia."

• Indonesia: Cloudy: ICOP member, Mr. Mutoha Arkanuddin said: "About eight members of Indonesian Crescents Observation (ICO) from local groups have tried to sight the crescent today (28/11) from Bela-belu Hill Parangkusumo Beach of Yogyakarta. According to astronomical calculation (hisab) at Local Time, Sunset 17:43 and Moonset 18:16. Moon-Sun elongation 8.3° and Moon altitude 6.8° above real horizon at Sunset. Moon position on upper-left of the Sunset position with different azimuth 5.5°. However the Western Sky was party cloudy especially at position of the Moon so that the crescent not seen. Officially calendar of Indonesian Government determining that the first day of Zulhijjah 1429 H on Saturday, 29 November 2008 by negatif sighting on Thursday (27/11) and Eidul Adha on Monday, 8 December 2008."
  

• Bangladesh: Not Seen: ICOP memeber Mr. ABM Hassan said: "The crescent was not sighted anywhere in Bangladesh. After counting 30 days we will observe Eid on 9th December, Inshallah"

• Pakistan:
  1. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Tahir Gul Hasan said: "Very low altitude of the crescent & small lag time prevented the observation. I also requested the Lahore airport's air traffic controller to ask the pilot of a small propellor aeroplane (flying in the circuit at 1500 feet above ground level) to sight the crescent but he was unable to do so."

  2. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Muhammad Sultan Alam said: "Today (Friday, November 28, 2008 = 29 Zul-Qa’dah 1429), I requested many members of the moon-sighting committees of our institute "JAMIA-TUR-RASHEED" and many of my friends (most of them are Ulama and scholars) all over Pakistan to sight the moon but the moon could not be sighted, as it was expected tonight. Nearly 4 to 5 hundred people tried to sight the moon at the following 20 places all over Pakistan: Karachi (8 places), Badeen, Tando Allahyar, , charsaddah, Hyderabad, Dera-Ismaeel-Khan, Kahror-Pakka, Multan, Aasiabad (Balochistan), Turbat, Islamabad, Shorkot, Sadiqabad. The conditions of the moon were so defective in Pakistan that according to the all old and new criteria of moon-sighting, it was impossible to sight the moon in Pakistan. My teachers and some other scholars also tried to sight the moon in Madinah (KSA), but the result is nil. Chairman of central official moon-sighting committee of Pakistan "Mufti Munee-bur-Rahman" told me on my mobile phone that because he did not receive any positive report of moon sighting from all over Pakistan, therefore he has officially announced that Saturday 29 November 2008 is the 30th Zul-Qa’dah and 1st Zul-Hijjah 1429 will fall on Sunday 30 November 2008, Thus Eidul-Adhha 1429 will fall on Tuesday, 9 December 2008 in Pakistan. Captain Tahir Gul Hasan informed me that he requested the pilot of an aeroplane, 1500 feet above Islamabad, to sight the moon but he also could not sight the moon."

• Iran:
  1. Not Seen/Partly Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Mohammad Zahed Aram mentioned that the crescent was not seen by naked eye and the sky was partly cloudy.

  2. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Alireza Mehrani said:
     Sunday, November 30, will be the 1st of Thul Hijjah by Iranian Calendar.
     One of Esfahan Province observers (Mr. Safaaei) has observed the Tul Hijjah crescent by a 16" telescope for 1 minute at November 28 in Niyasar Observatory (33° 58' N 51° 09' E“ 1750 meters from sea level) before the noon (11:23 LT 07:53UT).
     Topocentric and local time values from "Moon Calculator" (Refrac off):
     Time: 11:23 LT
     Moon Alt: 27° 06' 01"
     Sun Alt: 34° 10' 18"
     Elongation: 8° 40' 04"
     Moon Phase: 0.49%
     Moon Width: 0.17 m
     Moon Age: 14h 58m after conjunction
     

     I accept his report scientifically but official authorities have not any idea in this regard because:
     1- Non-observation of this crescent by about 90 groups, all around the country
     2- Non-existence of two witnesses for his observation in Niyasar Observatory
     Note from ICOP: This sighting was done at daytime around noon time NOT after sunset. Also, publishing this report at ICOP website does not mean we accept this sighting as authentic and accepted from astronomical point of view.

  3. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Ahmad Rahimy said:
     Location: Esfahan province * Dowlat Abad city* 32/801N 52/ 695E
     Time zone: +3:30
     Elevation: 1563
     Instrument: Telescope Meada LX90 Canoon 30D&400D*compass
     Weather: Without cloud and a little thin dust in the horizon
     Member of group: Mahdi Rahimi. Mahdi Kamali. Mohammad Kamali. Javad Rahimi. Ahmad Reza Rahimi
     Result: Not Seen
     Our group arrived to observatory at 2p.m. At first we adjust our telescope immediately we found Venus with telescope and after that we assured that telescope is align exactly, we decided to aim toward crescent, then telescope found position of crescent, Mr. Mahdi Rahimi looking throught telescope but he could not see anything. Afterwards we decided to repeat once more this process until sunset we do it more than twice but each time that we found Venus and wanted to aim to the crescent we could not see the crescent."

• Iraq:
  1. Cloudy: ICOP member, Mr. Bacil Moudhaffar mentioned that he couldn't see the crescent by binoculars.

  2. Iraq: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hassan Alsabbar said: "The crescent was not seen even by Telescope LX90 10 inchs GPS and the western horizon was partly cloudy seen as attachment picture"
     

• Kuwait: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hussain Khushaish said: "In Kuwait at Kabad desert on Friday 28 not 2008 I could not see the crescent even with 8" GPS guided telescope which was aligned previous night. It was very easy to see the 4 moons of Jupiter 2 each side but unfortnately could not see the single Moon the Earth."

• Bahrain: Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. A.Hameed Ali Haji said: "NOT SEEN, THE SKY WAS TOTALLY CLOUDY."

• Saudi: Not Seen/Partly Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Saleh Al-Saab mentioned that the crescent was not seen even by binocular, and the western horizon was partly cloudy.

• Oman: Not Seen/Partly Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Sulaiman Al-Busaidi from Jabal Shams mentioned that he didn't see the crescent by telescope and the sky was partly cloudy.

• Algeria: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Bankih Kacem said: "The Dulhidja 1429 crescent wasn't seen from Merkiche station. Three (03) persons have tried to observe the crescent but it wasn't seen and the western horizon was a little hazy."

• Morocco:
  1. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Othman Fadli mentioned that the crescent was not seen by naked eye and the sky was clear.

  2. ICOP member Mr. Ali Amraoui said: "Crescent of Hijja was not seen today Friday 28 November 2008. First Hijja is officially Sunday 30 November and Eid Adha in Morocco Tuesday 9 December 2008. See the official site of Morrocan Habous Ministery at http://www.habous.gov.ma"

• Tanzania:
  1. Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Zaffar Sheriff said: "Overcast. Crescent not seen."

  2. Seen: ICOP member Mr. Hamza Rijal said: "In tiny island of Zanzibar Hilla was sighted on the 28th of November and 29th is the first Day of Dhul-Hijja, Mufty Office confirmed the visibility and made an official annoucment that today 29th November is the first day of Dhul Hijja and we shall Celebrate Eid on Monday 8th of December"

• Nigeria:
  1. Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Dr. Sani Mustapha mentioned that the crescent was not seen by naked eye and the sky was hazy.

  2. Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Imam Majolagbe Monsuru mentioned that the crescent was not seen by naked eye and the sky was hazy and partly cloudy.

  3. Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Mr. Muhammed Ya'sin Qamardeen said: "The New hilal of Dhul Hijja was not visible here at Mangoro, Ikeja, Lagos tonight and from phone chat I had with the Amir Lajinatul Hilal of Ilorin, He equally confirmed the new Hilal is not visible due to Haze western sky."

  4. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. AbdulRasaq Ishola Ikorodu said: "I and brothers tried and search the Dhul.hijjah crescent today 24hr after conjuction today 28-11-08 after Magrib in Ikorodu CITY of Lagos State with our naked eye but was not seen."

  5. Not Seen/Hazy: ICOP member Mr. AbdulRasaq Abdul-Azeez mentioned that the crescent was not seen by naked eye and the sky was hazy.

  6. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Usman Dukku said: "Seven of us attempted sighting the crescent in a group, in the outskirts of Bauchi, but we did not see it. The horizon was partially covered by thin clouds to about seven degrees."

• South Africa: Seen: ICOP member Dr. Abdurrazak Ebrahim mentioned that the crescent was seen by naked eye.

• UK:
  1. Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Sulayman Gani said: " THE WESTERN HORIZON WAS TOTALY CLOUDY here in Tooting, south west London."

  2. Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Qamar Uddin from London said: "On Friday, 28 November 2008 corresponding to 29 Dhul-Qa'dah 1429 AH, I have tried to sight the crescent moon (Hilal) from York (UK) after the Magrib (sunset) prayer to practice upon the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (S). There were some clear patches between clouds, but it was not possible to sight the 23 hours old Hilal by the naked eye or binoculars (Bresser 10 x 50). Many Muslims in other parts of UK also attempted to sight the Hilal but could not do so either. However, we have received reliable news from the East of UK (Jamiatul Ulama, South Africa) that the Hilal had been sighted. Therefore the Ulama (see www.wifaqululama.co.uk) have decided that 1 Dhul-Hijjah 1429 AH in UK will begin from tomorrow, Saturday 29 November 2008, Insha-Allah (according to the criteria adopted). Eid Mubarak to all Muslims (which will be on Monday 8 December 2008, Insha-Allah). May Allah forgive our sins and accept our sacrifices in this blessed month of Hajj (Ameen). Qamar Uddin, Dated: 28 November 2008, 21:30 hrs GMT"

  3. Cloudy: ICOP member Dr. Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti from Oxford, UK said: "Negative sighting. The three of us attempted to perform the obligatory sighting of Dhu l-Hijja after Maghrib on Friday 28 November (the 29th day of Dhu l-Qa'da for the UK). Unfortunately, the horizon is completely overcast as the area is foggy. We received news of positive sightings to the East of the UK from South Africa. This news, despite not being able to sight locally, makes it sufficient for those in the UK to begin their month of Hajj tomorrow, on Saturday 29 November, by following the basic rule [dabita] in Islamic Law in this matter that whenever it is known that the crescent has been positively sighted in the East, local sighting inevitably follows, but not the other way round. Therefore, the first day of 'Id al-Adha in the UK should fall on Monday 8 December."

• Norway: Not Seen: ICOP member Mr. Imran Mushtaq said: "Islamic Council of Norway have officially declared 10.12.1429 on Monday 8.12.2008. Eid Mubarak." Mr. Imran mentioned that the crescent was not seen by naked eye and the sky was clear.

• Sweden: Not Seen: Mr. Muhammad Shafiur Rahman Chowdury said: "As Sweden is situated in the northern part of the world and its location is more than 60 degree north (Moon is only visible from 60 degree north to 60 degree south), so it is never possible to sight the Hilal or the Crescent moon of any Arabic month. Even the moon is not generally visible in the 1st 5 to 7 days of the month in Sweden. So, for these types of problems, according to Shariah of Islam.... we have to follow the nearest (better if possible- then take eastern) muslim oriented regions for starting the Arabic months. According to Shariah we should not start the months by following only the Governmental declaration but also we have to be sured that general people of that muslim oriented region also sighted the Hilal or Crescent moon. According to the Fatwa of "Muhammadia Jamia Sharif-Research Centre, Bangladesh" and the dicision of "Ruiati Hilal Majlis, International" in case of Sweden as well as all northern polar countries, muslims should follow Saudi Arabia instead of Morocco. Saudi Arabia could be the country as Aqrabul Bilad. Because Allah Pak declares regarding Ka'aba Shareef, "This is full of Ni'aamat and the guide for the mankind and the Jin". This means, Baitullah Shareef is the guide for all the matters of Muslims. So, Muslims of Sweden should follow the day of actual sighting in Saudi Arabia but remember not their governmental announced date; often which is wrong. The Crescent moon has to be seen by bare eyes. For starting Arabic month, it is not acceptable to see the Crescent moon by any reinforcement technique (Telescope, Binocular, CCD image etc). So, According to this Fatwa as well as Sharia of Islam, Anjumane Al Baiyinaat, Sweden on behalf of the Muslim Community of Sweden is now announcing that " Inshallah the month of Dhul Hijjah '1429 Hizri will start from 30 November'2008 that means the 1st day of Dhul Hijjah '1429 Hizri will be 30 November'2008 and the Eid-ul-Adha'1429 Hizri will be 9 December '2008 in Sweden. Because according to the reliable reports, the Hilal or the Crescent moon of Dhul Hijjah '1429 Hizri was not sighted anywhere in Saudi Arabia in 27 November '2008, even in 28 November '2008. EID MUBARAK EID MUBARAK EID MUBARAK EID MUBARAK. By All rights reserved by http://anjumane-al-baiyinaat.blogspot.com-"

• USA:
  1. Not Seen/Partly Cloudy: ICOP member Mr. Javad Torabinejad from (Blacksburg, VA) said: "This evening (Friday, 28 2008), I looked for the crescent moon of Dhul-Hijja in Blacksburg, VA, and could not sight it. I arrived at the sighting location well before sunset (sunset: 5:04). Soon after, I started scanning the WSW/SW horizon in the openings of a partly to mostly cloudy sky till 5:31 (moonset: 5:34) with no success."

  2. Not Seen: ICOP member, Dr. Salman Shaikh said: "There are no authenticated Hilal Sighting Reports from anywhere in North America on November 28th 2008G. Hence we complete 30 days of the month of Dhul Qi'dah. Dhul Hijjah starts on Nov 30th 2008G, with Eidul Adha being on Tuesday, December 9th Insha’Allaah. Eid Mubarak! Kullu Aam Wa Antum BiKhayr. The first 10 days of Dhul Hijja are reported to be the best days for doing good deeds. May Allaah SWT give increased Barakah and Khayr. The apparent brief Hilal sighting claim from Florida was investigated by at least 4 Astronomers and refuted on the basis of shape of crescent, timing, position and direction of movement. Further, other Muslims in the SAME location failed to sight the Hilal in spite of clear skies. Thus the “Jamme Ghafeer” or requirement of large number of witnesses in case of clear skies was not met. Also negative sighing reports were received from West of Florida including Texas and California. This decision is also endorsed by the Shariah Council of California and Zaytuna Institute. Alhamdulillaah the Hilal Sighting Committee of North America now has over 750 members."

  3. Seen: ICOP member, Mr. Hussain Dashti said:
     I was able to see the lunar crescent in Gainesville, Florida only with my 10X50 binocular, and I dare say that this was the most difficult crescent for me to sight up until now with my binocular. The sky was partially cloudy but the area where the crescent was seen was extremely clear.
     - Sunset: 17:30 LT
     - Moonset: 18:07 LT
     - T. Moon Age: +30H 21M
     - Moon Lag Time: +00H 37M
     - T. Moon Altitude: +05°:40':31"
     - T. Relative Altitude: +06°:30':54"
     - T. Elongation: +13°:30':59"
     - T. Relative Azimuth: -11°:51':35"
     Thus I was only able to see the crescent for 10 minutes and 3 minutes before the actual moon set. In addition, Jupiter and Venus were in a beautiful position; I was able to see all four of Jupiter's moons with my binocular.

• Canada: Cloudy: ICOP Member Mr. Mohammad Farooq said: "Not seen. it was totally cloudy at sunset."

• Trinidad and Tobago: Not Seen (Seen in Another Location): ICOP member Mr. Ali Abdurrahman said: "The crescent was sighted in Guyana where the horizon was clear. This sighting was accepted in Trinidad By the Darul Uloom Trinidad and Tobago Hilaal Committee and the first of Zul Hijja is 29th November 2008. Eid will be Monday, 8th December 2008."

• Guyana: Seen: ICOP member Dr. Muhammad Hafiz said: "I was told my Br. Haseeb (Murshid of Guyana Islamic Trust and member of Central Hilaal Sighting Committee of Guyana) that the Hilaal for Zul Hijjah was sighted on Friday 28th, November 2008 in Berbice, Guyana and it was confirmed to be authentic. Eid Ul Adha in Guyana will be on Monday, 8th December, 2008."

Friday 28 November 2008:

1. Libya (Conjunction Before Dawn)
2. Nigeria (After 30 Days of Thul Keadah)

Saturday 29 November 2008:

1. Malaysia
2. Indonesia
3. Thailand
4. Turkey
5. Saudi (After 30 Days of Thul Keadah)
6. Kuwait (Following Saudi)
7. UAE (Following Saudi)
8. Bahrain (Following Saudi)
9. Qatar (Following Saudi)
10. Iraq (Following Saudi)
11. Yemen (Following Saudi)
12. Jordan (Following Saudi)
13. Syria (Following Saudi)
14. Lebanon (Following Saudi)
15. Palestine (Following Saudi)
16. Egypt (Following Saudi)
17. Sudan (Following Saudi)
18. Mauritania (Following Saudi)
19. Tanzania (Actual Sighting of the Crescent)
20. South Africa (Actual Sighting of the Crescent)
21. UK
22. Norway
23. Trinidad and Tobago
24. Guyana

Sunday 30 November 2008:

1. Australia
2. India
3. Bangladesh
4. Pakistan
5. Iran
6. Oman
7. Morocco
8. Senegal
9. Gabon
10. Guinea
11. Sweden