Conferences / Seminars: Regional Seminar And Workshop On The International Islamic Calendar News and reports!

From Shawwal 21-24, 1408/June 7-10, 1988, the Universiti Sains Malaysia hosted a Regional Seminar and Workshop on the International Islamic Calendar attended by 100 Muslim scientists, religious scholars (Ulamc"z’), community leaders and government officials concerned with Islamic Affairs from 25 different countries and international Islamic organizations. Dr. Mohammad Ilyas from the Universiti Sains Malaysia delivered the keynote address during the opening session as well as a paper entitled “Lunar Visibility and International Lunar Date Lines for the International Lunar Calendar” which was followed by a detailed and intensive discussion. 1. Due to certain inadequacies in the criteria adopted by the Commission on the Unified Hijri Calendar in 1978 in Istanbul, the Seminar calls for the modification of these criteria by the Muslim world considering the greater scientific precision of the Criteria for Expected Lunar Visibility developed by Dr. Mohammad Ilyas (1984; l988). 5. Calls upon Muslim governments and communities to provide opportunities for Muslim scientists to discuss with Islamic scholars (the ‘UlamZz) the latest scientific findings regarding the expected visibility of the moon. The seminar also requests the Universiti Sains Malaysia to produce and disseminate, as soon as possible, a five-year Islamic Lunar Calendar for the region to be reviewed at the end of the period with feedback from actual sighting. Suggests to Muslim governments and communities in the region that the following criteria, as published by Ilyas (1984), should be adopted as a first step for acceptable visibility of the new moon: 14.