Locals celebrate Eid al-Adha

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This article was published 29/06/2023 (868 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon and area Muslims are observing one of the most important religious celebrations in their calendar year, as they commemorate the beginning of Eid al-Adha.

During Eid al-Adha, which means the feast of sacrifice, Muslims around the world gather to honour Abraham, who was commanded by God to sacrifice his own son.

Usually lasting three or four days, the holiday is also celebrated on the final day of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, in western Saudi Arabia.

Amir Farooq was one of more than 400 people who started the day on a prayer rug at Brandon University’s Healthy Living Centre Wednesday morning and said everyone came together in the name of Islam, the second largest religion in the world after Christianity.

“Here in Brandon, we are celebrating and sitting together with close to 30 to 40 different countries. After our prayers, we eat different foods from Syria, Africa, Pakistan, India, Iran, Libya. And this is what it means to have community coming together,” said Farooq.

“But we also have gratitude in our hearts, especially living here in this beautiful country and enjoying our peaceful life, everything is beautiful,” said Farooq, who is the president of the Brandon Islamic Centre.

As Farooq explained Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his own son, he said that God provided Abraham with a lamb to sacrifice in his son’s place, which is significant to Eid al-Adha celebrations.

The major objective for Muslims today, Farooq said, is to sacrifice an animal, and share the meat with the needy.

“We cannot eat the whole thing. For example, if you have meat from a goat or a sheep, we do three portions. One is for the relatives, one is for the neighbours and those less fortunate, and the third portion is for yourself, so, we actually make three portions,” Farooq said.

There are Five Pillars, or core beliefs, for Muslims: faith, prayer, fasting, pilgrimage and charity to the poor.

Nisha Paramba said she and her husband Musthafa Parumbu tried to be role models for their three children, who are now adults, helping international children through UNICEF.

“We are all united, and Eid al-Adha is a reminder of that, said Paramba. “All the people gathering here don’t consider their race or their status. When you stand for the prayer, there is no VIP seat, no front line.”

Anum Zaib said she made the trip from Winnipeg because of the sense of community at the Brandon celebration.

“It feels really good here because they celebrate differently in Winnipeg. They only do the prayer, and that’s all. But here you can see so many different Muslim countries coming together including Somalia and Nigeria, and they bring food and have this feast, so it’s a totally different experience here.”

Wearing a traditional dress that was sent to her by her mother, Shabana Farooq said it’s common for families like hers to send clothes to Manitoba for special occasions.

“This is a dress my mom has given me for celebration day. In fact, my mom and my mother-in-law send clothes for every occasion like this, it’s definitely something that’s done all the time,” said Farooq.

Celebrating Eid al-Adha is fun, said 10-year-old Yahya Akram, and as he looked around the room, he said he noticed people from countries he hadn’t seen before.

“There are many different cultures, and it’s interesting to think about how they’re different from us, but how similar they are to us. And with this huge celebration as Muslims, we should always thinking about helping.”

It was nice to get together and pray and have a nice meal afterwards, said 11-year-old Mahun Ahmed.

Back in her home country of Pakistan, she said, they always had goats, and gave to the needy all the time, and they still “send money for them.”

“It’s important because you don’t know how lucky you are until you aren’t lucky. So, you should always be grateful,” Ahmed said.

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