Join Cambridge PhD researcher Imad Ahmed in conversation with Cathy Haynes (The Fullness of Time) for an evening exploring the politics and culture of lunar time. From contested moon sightings to the alignments of Stonehenge and the Kaaba, this event connects astronomy, theology, and lived experience.

As Ahmed reflects on the impact of divided calendars in the UK:

“When we outsource moon-sighting to all of these different countries… we’ll celebrate Ramadan and Eid on different dates—even within a single family.”

His work seeks to reconnect communities directly with the sky:

“Our mission is to connect the community to the cosmos… to bring people together… and marvel at the skies together.”

At the same time, this conversation opens onto wider questions of time itself. As Haynes’ work explores, time is not only something measured, but something lived, shaped by landscape, ritual, and story.

Together, they ask what it means to live by the sky in a modern world—and how different ways of keeping time shape identity, belonging, and community.

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All are welcome to stay, eat, chat, and spend time in our newly relaunched Reading Room, open every Friday from 12–5pm, binging together a growing collection exploring Islamic cultural life.

A First Friday’s event, part of the Intersections programme.