The Pulau Penang Resolution On The InternationalIslamic CalendarPraise be to Allah (SWT), Lord of the worlds. Peace and benedictionbe on His Prophet Muhammad, his family, Companions and followers.Heading the Commandments of Allah (SWT) in the Qur’an is: “Verilyin the creation of the heavens and the earth and in the alternation of thenight and the day are signs for those who use their intellect; those who reflectupon God while standing, sitting and reclining and ponder on the creationof the heavens and the earth saying: ‘0 my Lord You have not created allthese in vain. Glory be to You, save us from the fire”’.From Shawwal 21-24, 1408/June 7-10, 1988, the Universiti Sains Malaysiahosted a Regional Seminar and Workshop on the International Islamic Calendarattended by 100 Muslim scientists, religious scholars ( UZumii’), communityleaders and government officials concerned with Islamic Affairs from 25different countries and international Islamic organizations. The seminar andworkshop was held with the cooperation of the International Institute of IslamicThought, the Islamic Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Departmentof Malaysia, the Council of Islamic Affairs of Penang, the Malaysian AirlinesSystem, the Islamic Council of Europe, the International Centre for TheoreticalPhysics, the Third World Academy of Sciences and the Islamic EconomicDevelopment Foundation of Malaysia.The Seminar was declared opened by Y.B. Datuk Dr. Mohammad YusufNoor, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, whose speech wasunanimously adopted as a conference document. The Seminar received countryreports from Thailand, Philippines, Fiji, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Australia,Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Maldives and Singapore. The country reportsdiscussed the calendrical practices in various countries in the region andproblems faced in determining important Islamic dates. Subregional discussionswere held regarding future planning in respect of the Islamic Lunar Calendar.Special workshops were held for Muslim scholars (‘Ulama') and communityleaders regarding the implementation of a scientific lunar calendar for theMuslims in the region and the problems and difficulties in the implementation ...
Read full abstract