Proceedings of the Fiqh Council of North America Kansas City, Missouri Rabi' al Awwal 6-7, 1413/September 4-5, 1992

Abstract

The Fiqh Council of North America discussed a variety of issues at
this meeting. To promote jointly prepared and considered legal opinions
(fatawa), the council welcomes the input of Muslim social scientists on
the following issues:
1. A lunar calendar for North America. Its policy is to a) provide interested
parties with detailed astronomical projections for the next seven
to ten years; b) provide information on the Sharl'ah's perspective vis-avis
astronomical calculations; c) urge Muslims to observe the moon
regularly and report their sightings; and d) allow each community to decide
whether it will use the information as a guide to physical sighting or as
a definitive table for the beginning and end of the lunar months.
2. Whether women may share in the management and administration of
mosques, Islamic schools, and executive councils of Islamic organizations
(youth and studemt organizations in particular). It was noted that there is
no legal reason to prevent this essentially organizational concern and also
that this matter was not a source of controversy among the classical jurists,
for the question of general sovereignty does not arise ...