Fiji `Eid... Family Time

IslamOnline.net & Newspapers

CAIRO — In the small pacific nation of Fiji, `Eid Al-Fitr, a major occasion in the Islamic calendar, is all about festivities and gatherings for Muslim families, and a time when the tiny minority reaches out to share `eid joy with non-Muslim compatriots.

"After the 30-day fast, we celebrate normal life again and enjoy it with family and friends," Hafiz Khan, president of the Fiji Muslim League, told the Fiji Times on Tuesday, September 22.

Fiji's nearly 60,000 Muslims, who make up nearly 6.5 percent of its population, celebrated `Eid, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, on Monday, September 21.

The day starts with a special prayer, usually organized in grand mosques and open areas.

"Only the males go to the mosque for prayers and devotion to mark the end of Ramadan," said Azad Ali.

After the prayers, festivities and merriment start and Muslims dedicate their time to the company of their immediate and extended family members.

"We visit our relatives and friends to wish them well," added Ali.

"We also visit the needy and we give what we can to them at the mosque."

`Eid Al-Fitr is one of the two main Islamic religious feasts, together with `Eid Al-Adha.


Non-Muslims Too
Celebrating Muslims in Fiji invited non-Muslim neighbors to their homes to join festivities and parties. (Fiji Times photo)


Muslims are also keen to share `Eid with non-Muslims in the predominantly-Christian tiny archipelago nation.

"`Eid mean's kushi yali or a time to make happiness and share love…that we offer out to everyone regardless of their race," asserts Mohammed Saizad, 65.

In Bua, one of country’s fourteen provinces, celebrating Muslims invited non-Muslim neighbors to their homes to join the festivities and parties.

"It was good moment for me and my family to be celebrating `Eid with villagers of Nawailevu because we mostly reach out to our relatives and friends," says Saizad.

"We made new friends and had a happy `Eid with the villagers so it made it a meaningful one for my family."

For Jokapeci Nautora, who joined Saizad’s `Eid celebration, the experience was an eye-opener for those who knew nothing about their Muslim compatriots.

"Our village is far away in Bua and many of us didn't even know what `Eid was all about," Nautora, 28, said.