'90s technology, ancient ritual join to spot Ramadan's moon. (Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers)

Publication: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

Publication Date: 27-JAN-95

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COPYRIGHT 1995 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service

SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Just after sunset Jan. 31, Muslims along the western coast of Morocco will turn their eyes heavenward, watching and waiting as the sun and the moon eclipse one another, then slowly separate to reveal a luminous sliver.

Melodic prayers will ring out from that spot _ the first place in the world that is expected to see the first crescent of the new moon. Moroccans then will take to the phones, alerting fellow Muslims in other countries westward that the magical sight is on its way and that the holy month of Ramadan now can begin.

In California, the last place in the continental United States that will witness the spectacle that night, Abdul Sattar Rydhan, a 49-year-old engineer originally from Pakistan, will climb the foothills near his San Jose home to try to spot the crescent, known as hilal.

``It is a very exciting feeling to see it,'' said Rydhan, a member of the Committee for Crescent Observation, a worldwide group of Muslim scientists and volunteers who study the moon. ``It is a feeling of fulfillment.''

Ages ago, when Muslims lived in a few concentrated regions and little technology existed, bad weather sometimes hampered the start of Ramadan. If no one could see the new moon...

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