Right through to the end of the day we are still unsure if this is to be the last day of fasting. It is a question of when it is possible to see the graceful crescent, or hilal, of the new moon. This is typically a day after the astronomical new moon, when it is totally blanked out by the earth. It might be that Eid, the first non-fasting day, would be Monday. Well, last day or not, we need our iftar fix of soft drinks and hummus and fool and salad and chips and falafel. Where better to go than Hashem’s, the legendary passageway café down town, where kings and celebs share tables and platefuls with everyone else ? And everyone else has the same idea. (I did not see any kings or celebs, but how many would I recognise ?) So it is crowded and spilling out over the pavements for yards up and down the street; but thanks to two of our number being really well in with the staff there, and the staff being really well versed in the art of the possible, we find a niche. I could not believe five people could have a well-supplied meal, and plenty of drinks, on a table the size of a folded-out tabloid. But we did.
And I could not have asked for more sympatico company on such an occasion. A feeling that we have done something unusual, swum against the current for a while, binding us to one another.
Earlier in the day I met the wake-up drummer, on his collection rounds with an escort of children. His name is Abu Rayyan. I wondered if 2 dinars was a bit stingy. But our local neighbours assure me 1 is quite enough. I will never forget his haunting beat and austere rhythmic song.
By the end of the evening, after kanafe (stringy soft warm sweet) and self-brewed coffees at an antique coffee shop across the street from Hashem’s, we’re all in Eid mode. I suppose we should have gone to a light-free mountain-top to check it out. That’s what good folk were doing across the Atlantic: check out this site from the Hilal Sighting Committee of North America: http://www.hilalsighting.org
Their conclusions when I checked were:
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Shawwal 1430H Report written by Web Master |
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Saturday, 19 September 2009 |
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There are no authenticated Hilal sighting reports from mainland USA or Canada on September 19. An apparent sighting claim near New Orleans, LA was unreliable on the basis of incorrect time, shape and location. Negative reports were received from Florida, Texas, California etc. The Astronomical Data also predicted that Hilal would not be sighted by naked-eye in mainland USA. Thus we complete 30 days of Ramadan and celebrate Eid ul Fitr on Monday, September 21, 2009. This decision was reached unanimously by the Hilal Committee and the final decision was made by the Ameer of the Committee – Maulana Ghouse Nadawi in California. |
Well, I am happy to trust the judgement of Old World authorities on such matters. Especially as I can go to bed without worrying about waking up in time for suhoor. To bed but not to sleep: this town has begun to party. And as I said a month ago Amman (Ramadan Foretaste) knows how to party !
