According to Rahyafte(the missionaries and converts website):The mosque was looking to cater for those following different moon sighting criteria.
This year, those following the sighting of the moon in Saudi Arabia will celebrate Eid on Wednesday whilst others will celebrate on Thursday.
In Bolton and surrounding towns around 60 per cent of mosques already celebrate Eid according to local and Morocco moon sighting, whilst the remainder celebrate according to the Saudi Arabian moon sighting criteria.
The almost yearly disagreements and controversies have led to neighbours and families celebrating Eid and beginning Ramadan on different days.
Following moon sighting meetings and conferences at the mosque, the Zakariyya Jaam’e Masjid on Deane Road has announced it has decided to set aside Eid prayers catering for people who wish to follow local moonsighting criteria as well as Saudi Arabia.
The mosque is said to be first in the area to be allocating different Eid prayer days, something it did in April at the end of Ramadan.
On Wednesday (June 28) Eid Salah (prayers) at the mosque will take place at 5am, 6am and 10am. On Thursday Eid prayers will take place at 10am (Bayyan-sermon at 9.30am) for those following local moonsighting and Morocco.
Eid-Ul-Adha, known as the festival of sacrifice is held at the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia.
In Blackburn prominent Muftis and scholars launched a campaign this year to educate the wider Muslim community on ‘why local moonsighting mattered’.
They also said they wanted to ‘unite the Muslims of the UK’ by encouraging people to follow localised moonsighting criteria instead of Saudi Arabia following doubts over the announcement of Eid and the beginning of Ramadan.
It had led to the Imams hosting Eid prayers in a community hall on a seprate day from the mosques they are normally aligned too.
Source: theboltonnews.co.uk
