The ‘Pink’ supermoon

April 26, 2021 | 14 Iyar 5781 | Phoenix, Arizona

This full moon is called by some the Pink Moon — probably for pink flowers that bloom at this time of year. The moon itself doesn’t appear pink. CNN has an article about this Pink supermoon.

It is called a “supermoon” because it appears larger in the nighttime sky than other months. Its larger appearance is because it is closer to Earth than in other months.

This year, the Muslim holiday Ramadan began at sunset April 12th with the sighting of the first new moon after the spring equinox. Fasting begins at sunrise every day since then. This full moon of Ramadan is the second one after the spring equinox this year.

The Jewish holiday Passover fell on the previous full moon, the first after the spring equinox. I don’t have pictures of that full moon as I do for previous full moons because it’s forbidden to take pictures on the holiday.

Ramadan this year corresponds to the Jewish month Iyar. I write “this year” because next year it will begin about 11 days earlier than this year on the civil calendar. That could be in Nisan, the month before Iyar. The Muslim year is an unchanging twelve-month lunar year. Since it is shorter than the solar year, the Muslim months fall back relative to the seasons.

The Jewish lunar year would also fall back if not for an extra month that is added every two or three years. The rules for determining each year’s calendar are complicated but fixed. The rules appear in Maimonides’ Code of Jewish Law, the Mishneh Torah.

Here are two pictures from this morning, well before dawn. By dawn the moon had set. I’ll try to be out and about tomorrow before the moon sets.

About two hours before sunrise

Framed by palm trees about one hour before sunrise

From the Quran: giving and taking away power

From the Surah “Family of Amram” — Chapter 3
Verse: 3:26

Say, “O G-d! the L-rd of all power, You grant power to whomsoever You will and take away power from whomsoever You please, and confer honor and dignity on whomsoever You will and disgrace whomsoever You will. All good lies in Your hand. Verily, You are the Possessor of full power to do all You will….”

(I misplaced the source for the above translation.)

This verse is cited at the end of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was ratified by the Palestine Liberation Organization’s legislative body, the Palestine National Council, on November 15, 1988.

An English translation of the declaration that is attributed to Edward Said reads:

[In the name of G-d, the Compassionate, the Merciful:]
Say: O G-d, Master of the Kingdom, /
Thou givest the Kingdom to whom Thou wilt, /
And seizes the Kingdom from whom Thou wilt, /
Thou exalted whom Thou wilt, and Thou /
Abasest whom Thou wilt; in Thy hand /
Is the good; Thou art powerful over everything.

(See Benny Morris, One State, Two States: Resolving the Israel/Palestine Conflict, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009, pp. 125-6)

Also see the translation of this verse by Maulana Muhammad Ali at the website of The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement (retrieved July 20, 2018):

Say: O Al-lah, Owner of the Kingdom, Thou givest the kingdom to whom Thou pleasest, and takest away the kingdom from whom Thou pleasest, and Thou exaltest whom Thou pleasest and abasest whom Thou pleasest. In Thine hand is the good. Surely, Thou art Possessor of power over all things.

Resolution of the Palestinian-Israel conflict: a news scoop

You saw it here first. See the previous post.

Proposed U.S. plan to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict

The “deal of the century” or “ultimate deal” is U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This plan is a purported agreement between the U.S., Israel, and the Arab allies Jordan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt to end the two-state proposal and to divide or share sovereignty over the Palestinian population in the occupied territories between Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

Jared Kushner, a White House senior adviser (and the President’s son-in-law), has been brokering a deal with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, chief U.S. negotiator for the region, visited both Saudi Arabia and Jordan in June 2018 to prepare to release Mr. Trump’s proposal which, it has been suggested, has been 18 months in the making.

A decision to release the plan comes with no indication that 82-year-old Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority President (and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization – PLO), will entertain the plan. He has refused to meet with U.S. negotiators since the U.S. president recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

An unnamed senior Jordanian official said, “Arab states will not be the ones to throw a wrench ‎in the wheels of the peace process, and that Abbas’s ‎continued refusal to work with the Americans will ‎lead to a regional peace plan being launched without ‎him.”

One element of the proposal is that Saudi Arabia will control the Temple Mount in place of Jordan’s current custodianship. In addition, the town Abu Dis – adjacent to Jerusalem – will become the capital of the Palestinian Authority. Speculation has it that any Palestinian state would have limited sovereignty.

In related news, Mahmoud Abbas seeks to convene a session of the Palestine National Council (PNC) to break ties with Israel. The PNC, located in Amman, Jordan, has not met since 2009.

The council is:

the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and elects the PLO Executive Committee, which assumes leadership of the organization between its sessions. The PNC is [the legislative body] responsible for formulating the policies and programs for the PLO. It serves as the parliament that represents all Palestinians inside and outside the Palestinian territories, and all sectors of the worldwide Palestinian community, including political parties, popular organizations, resistance movements, and independent figures from all sectors of life. (Wikipedia, “Palestine National Council“)

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Gleaned from:

Al Jazeera – beware of malware * – “Four Arab states ‘support US plan’ for peace in the Middle East.” June 25, 2018.

Al Jazeera – beware of malware * – “Palestinian National Council to discuss ending ties with Israel.” April 28, 2018.

James M. Dorsey – academia.edu, “Saudi religious diplomacy targets Jerusalem.” December 2017.

James M. Dorsey, “Trading Jerusalem for Iran.” December 16, 2017.

Goldberg, Jeffrey. “Saudi Crown Prince: Iran’s Supreme Leader ‘Makes Hitler Look Good’.” The Atlantic. April 2, 2018.

Middle East Monitor, “White House senior adviser Jared Kushner discusses ‘deal of the century’ and Gaza siege with Netanyahu.” June 23, 2018.

Middle East Monitor, “Haaretz: Most Arab leaders agree to US ‘deal of century’.” July 2, 2018.

The New York Times, “Talk of a Peace Plan That Snubs Palestinians Roils Middle East.” December 3, 2017.

The Washington Post, “Trump axes the Iran deal and creates a new crisis.” May 9, 2018.

The Washington Post, “U.S. close to releasing Mideast peace proposal that Palestinian leadership may immediately reject.” June 21, 2018.

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* beware of malware – A false Microsoft screen. Perhaps triggered by visiting the site. A Saudi cyber attack comes to mind.

Islamophia

Radio talk host Alex Jones is confused about what a burqa is and what a hijab is.

If there is a Muslim woman in North America or in Europe who has her face covered by a burqa – a full covering except for her eyes – she is unusual. Essentially, a burqa covering is so extreme that it is not even worn in Saudi Arabia or in Iran.

If a Christian nun is still wearing a habit, she is probably covering her neck and ears in addition to her hair just like many Muslim women. This is called a hijab in Arabic.

A somewhat more conservative head covering than a hijab is a niqab. A woman wraps longer fabric over her mouth and nostrils (sometimes a little higher on the nose).

I almost dressed like that today when I went outside. Here in Kansas City, the midday temperature (as I write this) is 18° (Fahrenheit). Besides a ski cap over my ears, I would have covered even my my mouth. But, for this former Chicagoan, 18° and no wind is fine.

The temperature now in Chicago, though, is 12°. If I were standing on an El platform waiting for a train, it’s not unlikely for me to pull up my scarf over my mouth. Some platforms – especially where I used to commute from – are entirely exposed to bitterly cold wind. So at times I protect my face with a ‘niqab’.

How do I know what I’m talking about? I would often sit in a study area at the University of Missouri – Kansas City that was popular with Muslim young people. So, I checked that what the young women were wearing were hijabs.

One time I was sitting across from a young lady who was wearing a hijab, and I asked her what a niqab was. She lifted a longer end of her hijab over her mouth thereby showing me a niqab. So I speak with authority.

Interestingly enough, it came up in conversation that she was from Saudi Arabia. In my nosy way, I told her that I was surprised to see that she was alone. In truth, she told me that she had come with a brother, but he had already finished his studies and had returned to Saudi Arabia. “My parents trust me,” she said. “It would be sad if they didn’t.”

I believe that G-d trusts us. It would be sad if he didn’t.

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* I sometimes listen to Alex Jones (carried on radio here) so that you don’t have to. It’s possible that he will be my bête noire for March.

* a study area that was popular with young Muslims. The women wearing hijabs is one give-away. The other clue was that several were speaking Arabic. I don’t speak Arabic, but I recognize it. I can be an amateur linguist since I’ve heard plenty of Arabic in Israel.