KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Today, the Bohra community in Pakistan is joyously celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr.
Eid-ul-Fitr prayers were conducted at the Taheri Mosque located in Saddar, Karachi, where several members of the Bohra community gathered to offer their prayers.
In light of the festive occasion, stringent security measures were implemented around the mosque premises, with both police and ranger personnel deployed for safety purposes.
Additionally, the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee has convened a meeting today, the 29th of Ramadan, to observe the sighting of the Eid-ul-Fitr moon in Pakistan. Depending on the sighting, Eid-ul-Fitr will either be observed on April 10th or April 11th.
Meanwhile, at least 10 mosques across southeast Michigan decided to cancel Eid Al-Fitr celebrations – the meal celebrating the end of Ramadan – following exhortations from the Imam’s Council of Michigan to express solidarity with Gaza; instead, the mosques will only host morning prayers and take up collections for Gaza during the two-day Eid celebration that begins Tuesday.
Mindful of the starvation of Gazans, Muslims are taking steps to avoid wasting food and have refrained from posting photos of their mouthwatering meals online; and in that same vein, the city of Dearborn this year cancelled its popular holiday festival, “Ramadan Nights in West Downtown Dearborn”.
In an interview, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud explained that the city cancelled the event this year because it encourages an “electric” and “joyous” atmosphere that might be considered offensive.
“There’s no reason for the city to host that event and create an ambiance that some folks might find disrespectful or just not the right time given the blanket of grief that’s covering many of our families,” Hammoud said.
Yasmeen Hamed, a Palestinian American mother of four residing in a Detroit suburb, has long identified as an observant Muslim, though she seldom wore the hijab in public.
Known for her charitable efforts aiding gravely injured Palestinian children under Israeli occupation, she reserved the hijab for mosque visits but refrained from adhering to the religious mandate of wearing it constantly in public.
However, witnessing the harrowing images of Israel’s siege of Gaza on her phone deeply affected her. The staggering violence and the unwavering devotion of Palestinian women, who continued to wear their blood-stained prayer garments despite the peril, moved her profoundly.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
