Eid Was Different This Year

By Riad Z. Abdelkarim, MD

This year, the two Muslim Eids (holidays) were somehow different than in the past. Our nation’s estimated 7 million American Muslims joined the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims by celebrating Eid al-Fitr last December and Eid al-Adha this past February. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan and represents the first of two major holidays on the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Adha, which marks Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for the sake of God, concludes the annual season of hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that is obligatory upon all healthy and financially capable Muslims.

As always, American Muslims gathered at mosques, convention centers and halls early on the morning of Eid to offer communal prayers. At one of the larger Eid al-Fitr gatherings in our nation in Southern California, an estimated 14,000 worshippers assembled at the regional fairgrounds to pray and celebrate together. Men, women and children of all stripes and backgrounds—brown, white, black, yellow—dressed in their Eid-best clothes. While many donned typical Western attire such as suits with ties and dresses, some opted for traditional ethnic clothing from their places of origin. Men wearing Afghan turbans mingled with others wearing Pakistani gowns or traditional Arabic headdresses. Women wearing flowery African robes mixed with others wearing glittery Indian or traditional Palestinian dresses. Impatient children wearing crisp new clothes—purchased just for Eid—scurried about the prayer halls, impervious to their parents’ calls for silence and the din of traditional Islamic chanting that permeated the hall prior to the prayer service.

But the differences in the Eid al-Fitr celebrations this year also were quite apparent, however. Demonstrating their pride in both their nation and their faith, many worshippers—young and old—wore red, white and blue pins with phrases such as “Proud American Muslim.” Some clearly were caught up in the surge of patriotism which spread across our country after Sept. 11. Others, however, displayed patriotic colors as a form of “protection” from further backlash, apparently believing that by visibly demonstrating that they were Americans they might avoid the glares and unkind words of many who were still suspicious of Muslims and Islam. Also, tight security prevailed this year, from the parking lot to the prayer hall entrance. Large signs declaring that personal belongings were subject to search seemed ubiquitous, and a sheriff’s bomb squad team made its rounds of the premises, complete with a bomb-sniffing dog.

Actually, the heightened security at the event came as a relief to those who attended the prayers. Like others instituted at airports, arenas and other public venues throughout the nation after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, these measures were a sign of the changing times and the deep transformation undergone by our country since that horrible day.

Prayers were uttered for the loss of innocent lives.

Indeed, American Muslims had even more reason to be concerned about their safety this year. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, mosques, Islamic centers and other Muslim institutions around the country became the targets of hate-inspired crimes including shootings, arson and, in one case, a car driven through the front entrance of a mosque. Equally alarming was the arrest last December of Jewish Defense League militants Irv Rubin and Earl Kruger, who allegedly were plotting a terrorist bombing attack on a Los Angeles area mosque, the office of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), and the office of Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA).

Also different this year were the traditional sermons following the Eid prayers. The upbeat talks of the past were replaced by more somber, reflective sermons. Prayers were said for the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the loved ones they left behind. More prayers were uttered for the loss of innocent lives in Afghanistan, Palestine, Kashmir, and other hot spots around the world. Preachers spoke of their concerns for the erosion of civil liberties in the post-9/11 era, which have hit the American Muslim and Arab-American communities especially hard: hundreds of individuals detained indefinitely, many without legal representation and most on minor visa violations, their futures unclear; three major American Muslim charities shut down during Ramadan—Holy Land Foundation, Global Relief Foundation, and Benevolence International—on vague (and, most believe, unjustified) suspicions of “terrorist” affiliations, but without our government offering credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing. “Will our mosques, our Islamic schools, and other institutions be next in this witch-hunt?” many have asked.

In Southern California, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqui, a renowned American Muslim scholar and a participant in the National Cathedral prayer ceremony last September, made an impassioned plea for an end to a widespread smear campaign in some quarters of the media directed against American Muslims and their faith. He urged American Muslims to speak against those who misrepresent our faith, whether they are Muslims who distort the teachings of Islam or others who seek to unfairly tarnish the faith because of the actions of a few.

The message was similar at Eid prayers around the country, both for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. There were pleas for tolerance as well as calls for American Muslims to educate their fellow citizens about their faith. In addition, there were calls to our nation’s Muslims to preserve and defend their religious beliefs—to have faith that God will help in these difficult times, when merely mentioning that one is a Muslim can draw unpredictable, sometimes inflammatory, responses from a neighbor, co-worker, or simply a passerby.

Increasing Participation

By Eid al-Adha, American Muslims had recovered somewhat from the shock of the post-Sept. 11 backlash. Leaders of American Muslim advocacy and civil rights groups realized—correctly—that the best way to preserve our community’s legitimate rights is to step up our level of political activism and participation in the democratic process of our country. To that end, several American Muslim organizations launched an ambitious voter registration drive to coincide with the Eid al-Adha holiday, setting up voter registration booths at Eid prayers and mosques around the country.

The recent Eids also were different in a few positive ways, which should not be overlooked or overshadowed by American Muslims’ generally somber and reflective mood in the aftermath of Sept. 11. We are particularly grateful to our nation’s Christian community, which has offered overwhelming support to us in the weeks and months following the terrorist attacks. The pope’s call for Catholics to fast with Muslims on the last Friday of Ramadan stood as a powerful example of this solidarity—and one not soon to be forgotten by Muslims worldwide. Here at home, many Christians of differing denominations also “broke bread” with their Muslim neighbors by hosting them for Ramadan’s evening fast-breaking meal of iftar.

Appreciative American Muslims hope to be able to reciprocate with similar displays of generosity and kindness in the near future. Such acts demonstrate that shared spiritual bonds among adherents of different faiths can transcend superficial differences and promote genuine interfaith harmony. Now, we can only pray together that the rest of the world stumbles upon this simple but powerful formula for peace.

Riad Z. Abdelkarim, MD, is Western Region Communications Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).