World Conference on the International Islamic Calendar

Abstract

The University of Science Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia, and the Organizationof Islamic Confetence’s Standing Committee on Scientific and TechnologicalCooperation (COMSTECH), tecently otganized and hosted the WorldConference on the Intemational Islamic Calendar. The theme, “Towads aUnified World Islamic Calendar,” was discussed during eight sessions by aninternational audience consisting of about two hundred dignitaries, ulama,policymakers, scientists, and professionals from twenty-five countries and tenmajor international organizations. It was also genemusly sponsored by fifteenother agencies, including the Intemational Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT).The conference was opened by Tun Dato’ Sen Haji Hamdan SheikhTahit, head of the State of Penang. This matked the initiation of the systematicimplementation process for the intemational Islamic calendar. Dato’Haji Musa Mohammad, vice Chancellor of the University of Science Malaysiaand conference chainnan, thanked the planners in his welcoming address. Hewas followed by M. A. Kazi and Ambassador M. Mohsin, who addressed theconfetence on behalf of COMSTECH and OIC respectively. Kazi stressed theimportance of developing a uniform and systematic intemtional Islamic lunarcalendar through continued and detailed study by those qualified to do so.Ambassador Mohsin pointed out the need to unify the existing calendars inthe Muslim world. The OIC, he said, is in the process of making this aregular priority item in its agenda and is ready to give its full support.The keynote addtess, “Internationalizing the Islamic Calendar: The Challengeof a New Centuty,” was delivered by Mohammad Ilyas. He highlightedsome of the work that had gone into developing the calendar program, explainedwhat progress has been made on predicting the new moon’s visibility,and related how this can be used for an international Islamic calendar. Healso focused on the interrelation of science, the Shari‘ah, and policy and itsimplication for the question of implementation.The conference also heard reports from members in Australia, Nigeria,Tanzania, the United States, Egypt, Itan, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia,Turkey, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, ...