Thousands of Winnipeggers are celebrating the festival of Eid al-Fitr on Wednesday, marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
But this year’s event at the RBC Convention Centre has added emotion because of the fighting in Gaza, said Moosa Shakir.
“It is quite sad for us because of a lot of repercussions in areas of the Middle East, but we are hoping for better this year,” he said.
Aissath Sidibe, who attended with her mother and two children, said the prayers will carry more weight.
“Muslim is a tolerant religion. It’s not only about Muslims, it’s about all human beings, so it’s important to pray for the world,” she said. “The mass praying has more power.”
She brought her young children along so they, too, will understand that, she said.
“It’s important that my kids grow up with our culture, our tradition, and the Muslim faith because, to me, this is the most important thing to tackle [in] this world — to be faithful and trust God.”
Eid al-Fitr celebrations are happening around the province but the largest in Manitoba is at the convention centre in downtown Winnipeg.
“You fasted for 30 days and now you just enjoy celebrating with families,” said Shakir.
Prayer times for the day are listed on the Manitoba Islamic Association’s website.
Ruheen Aziz, the association’s vice chair, expects about 15,000 people to take in the prayers through the day.
Ramadan, one of the most important months for the religion of Islam, is celebrated in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It begins on the first sighting of the new crescent moon.
This year, it began March 10 and, as always, was honoured with 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting.
Typically, Faraz Khan said, the event at the convention centre would be followed with large community gatherings. But this year, under the shadow of the war in Gaza, things have been scaled down.
“W\e don’t celebrate like we [usually] celebrate,” he said.
Instead, he will attend just a small gathering with family.
That sentiment was echoed by Naveed Ahmed, who said Winnipeg’s Muslims must be sensitive to their relatives in Gaza.
“They cannot enjoy the Eid as we are doing right now, so we are happy to be here but still feel sad for them,” he said.