Hundreds celebrate Eid al-Fitr at Dome Building

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This article was published 22/04/2023 (1293 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Around 500 members of Manitoba’s Muslim community gathered in Brandon on Friday morning to celebrate their faith and commemorate Eid al-Fitr, one of the holiest days in their religion.

“Today is the day of celebration of the end of the month of Ramadan,” said Faiz Ahmad, a Brandon University biology professor and a former board member for the Brandon Islamic Centre.

“Muslims fast for the whole month — 30 days, 29 days, depending on the moon — and they get involved in much more prayers than the five daily prayers they usually do. It is also a month of extended giving to the needy, bonding with friends and family, and is just a happy moment to come together.”

The decorations and balloons set up around the room were bright and cheery, but they were outshone by the dizzying array of colours and patterns worn by those in attendance.

Festivities began at 8:30 a.m., with men seated toward the front of the room and women at the back on prayer mats pointed east in the direction of Mecca, the holiest site in Islam.

So many people came to celebrate that some latecomers performed their prayers in the hallway.

Some celebrants, Ahmad said, drove in from as far away as Morden and Winkler — making the trip to Brandon instead of Winnipeg because of family connections and friendships.

He remarked on how big the annual celebration has grown in the 15 years he’s been in Brandon, with only four or five families participating when he first arrived in the Wheat City. With so many in attendance, it was a great chance to see old friends.

“I have found a friend that I have missed for the last two years,” Ahmad said. “I am so, so happy that happened here. Likely, there will be other people feeling this way as well.”

After heading home, Sara Sukrai planned to spend part of the day visiting with friends and loved ones and connecting with family back in Syria over the internet. It was the second Eid she’s celebrated in Brandon in the year she’s lived here.

“It’s a very beautiful and very big celebration,” she said. “It’s very nice to see the community of Muslims here increased.”

She said her favourite part of Eid is seeing the happy faces on children as they celebrate. Some kids at the event were handed goody bags full of treats while others carried around boxes of sweets and chocolates to share.

The Brandon Islamic Centre’s current president, Amir Farooq, said much of the growth of Brandon’s Muslim community has come from professionals like doctors, professors and engineers moving to the city with their families. By hosting events like Friday’s Eid celebration, Farooq said it’s helping to create an environment Muslims want to call home.

“Due to weather conditions, I was expecting that not many people would show up,” Farooq said. “But the whole community showed up.”

That turnout, he added, shows why the local Muslim community is looking for a larger dedicated space than their current home on 10th Street.

The Healthy Living Centre at Brandon University has previously hosted local Eid celebrations, but that wasn’t possible with students currently writing exams.

The board of the Islamic Centre is currently searching for a parcel of land on which to build a new, larger building. Farooq said a couple of potential sites had been identified but neither had worked out and the search continues.

In June, Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid al-Adha during the final month of the Islamic lunar calendar. That month is also when the pilgrimage to Mecca, called the Hajj, is held.

Farooq extended an open invitation for members of the community to attend events around that time to learn more about Islam and the cultural practices of their neighbours.

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