By Dina Rabie, IOL Staff
WASHINGTON -- Mustafa Khalil quickens his steps, and with every step the melodious sound of the eid takbeer fills the air and his heart with joy.
"It is a very spiritual time," the Moroccan student, who has been living in Washington DC for two years now, told IslamOnline.net, after reaching his destination.
"But it does not feel like `Eid unless you are here."
`Eid Al-Adha, which started on Friday, November 27, is one of the two main religious festivals on the Islamic calendar and marks the end of the annual hajj journey.
For Muslims in the United States, mosques are the places to feel the spirit of the Muslim celebration.
Decorated mosques erect tents to welcome the faithful for special `Eid prayer and offer Muslims food and sweets in a festive mode.
Muslims come to the mosque to meet their relatives and friends.
"We come to the mosque wearing our best clothes," said Jacky Mohamed, who embraced Islam 22 years ago.
"After the prayer and khutba we start to socialize and get together. It is a blessed time for us."
`Eid in America's Mosques
Outside, vendors set up booths selling items from prayer caps to perfumes and Islamic books.
Though there are no official statistics, America is believed to be home to some 7-8 million Muslims.
Half Joy
It is not easy, however, for many Muslims to join their community in the mosques and celebrate `Eid if it does not fall on the weekend.
Mohamed, a grandmother, says that many Muslims have to take leave from their work and to take their children out of school at least for the first day.
"Some take all `Eid days off and some get to take the first day only."
Abu Bakr, who came to pray `Eid in the Islamic Center in Washington DC, says he always takes the first day off and lets his children miss out on school too to celebrate the religious holiday.
"If Christians can have their celebrations, and Jews can have their celebrations, we have to have ours too."
Faw`eya, an American Muslim from Egyptian origin, says that taking children out of school and having the first day off is a must, because they have to feel the spirit of `Eid in the mosque and among their community.
"If you only get to take half day off, then half day it is," she says.
"We just have to celebrate our holiday."
For Khalil, the Moroccan student, it is only the few hours he spends in the mosque on the first day of `Eid and then he will have to be back to his books and study.
"`Eid is different here from back in Muslim countries. But at least we have the mosque to give us a glimpse of `Eid."
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