Moonsighting on Monday

Monday evening sees Cape Muslims heading to Three Anchor Bay for the annual gathering on the beachfront in attempt to seek the new moon which would indicate the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and the start of a new month based on the lunar calendar. While scientific means exist to sight the new moon, Islamic tradition dictates that the crescent has to be sighted locally with the naked eye which would serve to confirm any moon calculations, an issue that has caused much debate in the global Muslim community.

In the event that the crescent is sighted, it bring with it the celebration of Eidul Fitr on the next day and if the new moon is not sighted, it would mean that local Muslims would have one more day to fast. While the practise of sighting the moon takes place every month, in the South Africa the sighting at Three Anchor Bay has become an annual tradition over the last few decades unique to Cape Town in a province where the largest percentage of South African Muslims live.

As such, thousands of Muslims gather here from where the national announcement is usually made by the South African Muslim leadership on the celebration of Eid after consulting with all other sighting stations around the country, including the SADC region. Over the last few years Muslim community radio station have all taken the official announcement from this venue in order to carry the news immediately to Muslims across the country.

At the same time, the event has become an annual gathering that sees the faithful bring their families, food and prayer mats to the tranquil beach front where they break their fast and join in communal prayer on what might be the last night of Ramadan, a month of great discipline, reflection and spiritual rejuvenation for Muslims. Having passed the physical, mental and spiritual endurance test of Ramadan, it is at this point that Muslim are urged to take the accomplishment with them into the remainder of the year so that the emerge as better people.

Since its inception in Ramadan 1995, VOC has played in indelible role in broadcasting from this event and Monday evening will be no different as the faithful head back to Three Anchor Bay. Starting at 4pm, the Drivetime team will be broadcasting from Three Anchor Bay for the official announcement from there, but this year, the Iftar Show will also follow it up with an official announcement from Johannesburg by the United Ulema Council of South Africa (UUCSA), the umbrella body for all Muslim religious authorities in the country, on the declaration of Eidul Fitr. VOC