By Rana Moustafa
Iowa City residents gather Sunday in the West High School gym to celebrate Eid Al-Adha , an Islamic holiday.
On Sunday, approximately 300 Muslims gathered at 8 a.m. in the West High School gym to pray “Eid Al-Adha Prayer.” Prior to the prayer, the Iowa City Muslim community chanted in unison “Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, la illaha ila Allah. Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, wa lilahil hamd,” meaning “Allah (God) is great, Allah is great, Allah is great, there is no God but Allah. Allah is great, Allah is great, Allah is great, and all praise is due to Allah.”
Eid Al-Adha (a major holiday in the Islamic faith) is celebrated annually by the Iowa City Muslim community. Each year, local Muslims gather in a designated place in Iowa City for a morning Eid prayer followed by a “khutba” (sermon). Dressed in new outfits and traditional dress, the men, women, and children greet each other before the prayer.
After the sermon was finished Sunday, they socialized and took photos with family and friends in the West High School gym entrance.
Eid Al-Adha is the “Festival of Sacrifice,” It is celebrated during the last month of the year on the Islamic calendar. Also, Hajj (the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca) is performed by millions of Muslims all around the world during this month, as it is one of the five pillars of Islam and is expected of each Muslim to perform at least once in a life time.
As a part of the Eid celebration, it is custom for Muslims to sacrifice a sheep as a symbol of their faith and enjoy feasting with family and friends. Many Muslims in the Iowa City Community expressed their excitement after the prayer for the feasts to be held in individual homes later that day and for the next three days of the celebration.
Besides the enjoyment of family company and the delicious feasts, many of the Iowa City locals explained that Eid Al-Adha is a special day that implements cheerfulness, a stress-free environment and thankfulness.
Marah Sharairi, a freshman Muslim student, explained that this Eid felt extra special to her because she got the chance to experience the joy through the children involved in the celebration. “I loved giving out candy and balloons to the little kids with my friends because it made me happy to see them get excited about our holiday,” Sharairi said. “Just a week ago, they saw all of the other kids celebrating Halloween and now it’s their turn to enjoy a festive environment.” She added.
The Iowa City Muslim community looks forward to the next year to celebrate Eid Al-Adha once more. Eid Al-Adha is a four day holiday, so the celebrations continue until Wednesday.