Sacramento Unity Eid Prayer Breaks all Previous Attendance Records
By Ras H. Siddiqui

Eid-ul-Fitr  was celebrated by all local mosques in the Greater Sacramento, California area on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, with a great deal of enthusiasm.  The main venue this year was the Cal Expo facility which hosts the annual California State Fair along with many other exhibitions and shows. Last year it was reported that the record one-day attendance at the state fair was around 65,000. But who could have predicted that Cal Expo would also host the largest Eid gathering ever in the Sacramento region with a reported 40,000 Muslims present here at this venue?

Just before Ramadan, we had revealed that a plan was being executed to hold a large Unity Eid prayer event in this area. A similar effort was made here in Sacramento during the mid-1990s but was later not pursued. This year the final team that made it all happen included Good Effort which incubated the idea, CAIR-SV/CC, SALAM, Tarbiya Institute, COSVIO, MAS Community and Youth Center (MCYC), Muslim Community of Folsom (MCF), Al-Misbaah, Masjid As-Sabur, Masjid Al-Rahman, Masjid Fulton, and Masjid At-Taqwa. Three large area mosques and several small ones did not participate in the jamaat here, but some of their members later joined us at this event after their prayers. That is, if they were willing to make the effort to get in!

It is not easy to ignore the logistical problems created as 15,000 people were initially expected to attend this Unity Eid but over twice that number reportedly showed up. This writer sensed the problem when exiting the Business 80 freeway via the Cal Expo exit and finding out that there was nowhere to go on the right-hand side that leads to the entry gate to the Cal Expo facility. After spending several minutes there and seeing not one but two right lanes not moving, I made the wise decision to abandon my effort to get in and took the left lanes and exited the area via a side street, and parked about a mile away. But finding parking was only half the battle.

On reaching the venue we found thousands of people waiting in line to get in. These included whole families including senior citizens and children. Thankfully, the weather was cool, and it was not raining. There was only one main gate to enter the area where prayers were being held and only a few entry points where security checks were taking place before entry. It was quite an experience getting in, and many of us missed the first prayer. But the organizers thankfully arranged for a second Eid Jamaat for us at 11:45 AM.

The one hour spent in the parking lot and entry area turned out to be extremely useful. If anyone really wanted to see the true picture of Islam in America, it was present here in the very long lines. The diversity itself was amazing as it was vividly represented in the attendees’ race, ethnicity, and countries of origin. There were Black Muslims and White Muslims, and all kinds of possible skin colors in between. And one can opine that there were many good-looking people here as they were dressed in their finest Eid clothes representing their cultural origins. The women and children in their colorful best really brightened up the place.

Some people just gave up on entering and participated in make-shift prayers in the parking lot itself or decided to leave. So next time it might be prudent to have all parking lots and gates open to Eid prayer attendees even if they must walk a bit to get to the Pavilion here. With nearly 100,000 square feet of space, even the Pavilion building was still not large enough to accommodate everyone this time, as people overflowed to the outside.

On reaching the venue I was able to join the huge gathering as the Khutbah (Sermon) for the first prayer was ending and was able to get a few pictures which are shared here. Imam Suhaib Webb was leading this huge gathering and took the opportunity to assist three people who converted to Islam by taking the Shahada on stage. A fourth was a 13-year-old whose mom accepted Islam a year ago. He took his Shahada backstage. Spiritual Islam and its message are gaining traction amongst young people in America and Imam Webb, himself a convert, stressed that fact on stage.

Despite the challenges that the huge turnout presented, it was great to see our community take their difficulty in stride. They were all orderly and cheerful as the Eid spirit had taken over. More than one local TV channel covered the event and even interviewed some Muslim children present. The kids from different ethnic backgrounds explained things quite well and made us proud. Strangely, the largest newspaper in the Sacramento area did not send a reporter, or the event had somehow escaped their attention. 

Appearing on stage, besides the inspiring Imam Suhaib Webb were CAIR SV/CC outgoing Executive Director Basim Elkarra, Br Tamer Ahmed, and Sarah Tisdale who worked very hard presenting American Sign Language (ASL) support for the hearing impaired throughout the event. The new converts to Islam also appeared briefly.  This gathering provided us with an opportunity to meet Asif Sheikh of Good Effort, Imam Hasan Thibodeux from Sacramento’s Masjid As-Sabur, Imam Azeez of the Tarbiya Institute, and Dr Metwalli Amer of SALAM amongst many other religious leaders and old friends such as Rashid Ahmad who was involved in the planning of the Unity Eid in the mid-1990s.  All one can add is that our Muslim community in the Sacramento region has grown immensely in numbers and has become more receptive to change.

Arrangements had been made for a post-prayer festival with plenty of Halal food available for purchase along with ethnic items, and entertainment of various kinds especially for kids. As we exited, we witnessed many families having fun which is another reflection of what Eid is all about. You struggle with fasting for a month and (for those who do not know) have a big celebration at its end, which is Eid-ul-Fitr!

To conclude, this was certainly the largest single gathering of Muslims that this writer has ever seen in the United States. Granted that I have not participated in similar Eid events in places like New York, Chicago, or Houston which may have held larger Eid prayers at some time, but this is certainly one for the record books. And two reasons may have contributed immensely. The first is that we witnessed amazing participation here from the more recently arrived Afghan community including refugees, who showed up at Cal Expo with their entire families. And second, and possibly the biggest reason for this show of unity, was Gaza. At this prayer gathering in California’s capital, the entire regional Muslim community wanted to show up as a unified voice for Palestine. As a friend messaged, “Gaza has united the Ummah and brought baraka to our community!”