Mufti Muneeb Removed As Moon Spotter

Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman has been finally removed as the chairman of the Central Ruet-e-Hilall (Moon Sighting) Committee after two decades while a representative of the ministry of science and technology has been indicted in the panel for the first time.

Mufti Muneeb was appointed as chairman of the central moon-sighting committee in 2000 and has been removed after two decades.

The caretaker of Badshahi Mosque Lahore, Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad, has replaced the sacked official as the new chairman.

Central Ruet-e-Hilall Committee will comprise 19 members while a representative of the ministry of science and technology will be part of it for the first time.

The members of the committee include Dr Raghib Hussain Naeemi, Allama Muhammad Hussain Akbar, Moulana Fataur Rahirn, Dr Yaseen Zafar, Mufti Muhammad lqbal Chishti, Dr Mufti Ali Asghar, Mufti Faisal Ahmed, Syed All Karar Naqvi, Mufti Yousaf Nashrniri, Hafit Abdul Ghafoor, Mufti Faral-E-Jamil Rixvi, Mufti Qari Mirullah, Sahibzada Syed Habibullah Chishti and Mufti Zameer Sajid.

The representative of SUPARCO, MET Department as well as a basic pay scale (BPS) 20 officials from the ministry of science and technology and the ministry of religious affairs will also be part of the committee.

However, the removal of Mufti Muneeb sparked outrage, and demand for his restoration became a top trend on Twitter on Thursday morning.

Federal Science and Technology Minister, commenting on the sacking, said that ‘ the problem is not with Muneeb-ur-Rehman Sahib but with the interpretation by religious groups through which science and technology are rejected’.

مسئلہ منیب الرحمنٰ صاحب کا نہیں اس تشریح کا ہے کا جو ہمارا ایک مذھبی طبقہ کرتا ہے، جس کی رو سے علم اور ٹیکنالوجی کو رد کیا جاتا ہے یہ تشریح قبول نہیں کی جا سکتی کیونکہ قرآن تمام علوم کا ماخذ ہے اور خاتم النبین رسول اللہ ﷺ علم کا شہر ہیں رویت بھی اسی اصول کے تحت ہونی چاہئے

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) December 30, 2020

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The development is the follow-up of the rifts between the sacked chairman and Fawad Chaudhry over moon sighting on Eidul-Fitr and Eidul-Azha.

کیا یہ پہلی کا چاند ہے؟ کیا سورج کے غروب ہونے کے بعد اتنی دیر چاند سر آسماں رہتا ہے؟ عوام خود فیصلہ کر لیں۔۔۔ pic.twitter.com/ArmADAdVoi

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) July 22, 2020

It had further escalated after the introduction of the first official moon-sighting website and a calendar with main Islamic dates and months for the next five years based on scientific evidence.