Community

(Left): Preprations for the congregational prayer. (Right): Dr Muzammil H. Siddiqi,
Director ISOC, delivers Khutba at the Anaheim Convention Center, CA

Los Angeles, CA: Muslims in North America celebrated Eid ul-Fitr on September 20. This was perhaps the first time in recent history that almost all Muslims in North America celebrated Eid on the same day.

It was announced on July 18 that the f irst day of Ramadan will be August 22 and Eid ul-Fitr will be celebrated on September 20.

Many mosques in North America follow Saudi Arabia to celebrate Eid ul-Fitr. It was a coincidence that this year Eid ul-Fitr was also celebrated in Saudi Arabia on September 20. Hence all mosques celebrated Eid on the same day.

Mosques which followed the ISNA calendar included: Islamic Society of Greater Lansing, Michigan; All Dulles Area Muslim Society, Virginia; Islamic Center of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia; Muslim Center of New York, Flushing, NY; Islamic Center of Greater Toledo, Ohio; Islamic Center of Boston; Islamic Center of Davis, CA; Islamic Center of Irvine, CA; Islamic Society of Greater Houston, Texas ( Islamic Educational Center of Orange County, Costa Mesa, CA; Muslim Community Association of SF Bay Area, Santa Clara and. Central Illinois Mosque & Islamic Center, Urbana, Illinois and Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims (SALAM) Sacramento, CA and Islamic Society of Augusta, Georgia had formally announced that they will be following ISNA calendar to celebrate Eid.

But many Islamic centers did not announce the Eid ul-Fitr date in advance. They included:

Islamic Society of East Bay (ISEB) Fremont, CA; Islamic Center of Fremont, CA; South Bay Islamic Center, San Jose, CA; Masjid Annur, Sacramento, CA; Islamic Center of Northeast Florida, Jacksonville, FL ; Modesto Mosque, CA; Al Aqsa Islamic Society, Philadelphia, PA and El Farouq Islamic Center, Houston, TX.

There were large congregations for prayers this year because Eid was being celebrated on Sunday. Most of the mosques held two prayers while some, such as the Muslim Community Association of SF Bay Area, Santa Clara, held three prayers. In Houston, the largest Eid congregation was held at George Brown Convention Center.

In Canada, Eid was celebrated on September 20. The Moon-sighting Committee of Greater Toronto Area (GTA) made the announcement for Eid ul-Fitr. There are about a dozen mosques in GTA which comprises four large municipal areas. About 400,000 Muslims are concentrated in the area with about a dozen mosques. At least 10,000 people offered Eid Prayers at the Energy Center in downtown Toronto. Another large Eid congregation was held at the Living Center in downtown Mississauga. Three prayers were held at the ISNA Mosque, Mississauga.

PAKISTAN : Eid-ul-Fitr, the end of Ramadan was celebrated throughout Pakistan Monday with great religious fervor and festivity, marking the culmination of the holy month of Ramadan, the official news agency APP reported.