Salatiga, NU Online
In dealing with the so-called Ramdhan Santri, Al-Falah Islamic boarding school (pesantren), Salatiga, Central Java, held a training on astronomical sciences by involving an expert from the CSSMoRA Walisongo State Islamic University (UIN) Semarang.

The scholarly forum held  over the weekend was attended by some 70 participants.

The leader of Pesantren Al Falah Nyai Hj Latifah Zoemri greatly appreciated the training, expecting the event could be held annually so that all pesantren circles especially students would be more motivated and interested in studying both religious and general sciences.

In the training, the participants were introduced to steps of calculating through the electronic devices such as calculator, especially in calculating the angles, determining the direction of Qibla and observing the crescent (moon) marking the first day of every month.

In addition to being introduced to theories,the participants were also required to practice directly with the equipment prepared by a team of speakers. They also learned to use a theodolite, a precision instrument for measuring angles in the horizontal and vertical things.

The team also consisting of Siti Nur Halimah who is the youngest daughter of KH Zoemri RWS, the founder of Pesantren Al-Falah is the students of astronomical sciences of UIN Walisongo Semarang.

The participants seemed enthusiastic to follow the event, especially in sighting month. With a telescope, the participants could see the beauty of the moon and Saturn.

Latifah participating in the training expressed gratitude for being capable of knowing and understanding knowledge, experience in terms of astronomy.

"I usually only follow where the Qibla direction is, due to this training, I myself can decide the Qibla direction from anywhere with a clear measure," she added. (Evie Yunianti/Masdar)