Hundreds offer Eid prayers in Utica
Oct 13, 2007 @ 10:37 PM
By CHINKI SINHA
Observer-Dispatch
UTICA - Imam Ferhad Mujkic described his congregation Saturday morning as “white black and mocha.”
“Those are the colors of Islam,” he said.
“It is a like a rainbow,” Samir Omercevic chipped in.
Many of Utica's Bosnians are Muslim, like Mujkic. But many others - Somalis in their colorful kaftans, Afghanis in their sequined jackets and long kurtas, Burmese Muslims in their lungis, and Pakistanis Muslims in their skull caps - bowed down in thanksgiving prayer on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, or the Feast of Fast-breaking, at the Parkway Center Saturday.
That's what made it a beautiful and unique gathering, Imam Mujkic said, Amir Beganovic translating for him.
“Allah is common for all of us,” Mujkic said. “Islam is an equalizer.”
For years Imam Mujkic, who arrived in Utica in 1997, has lead the prayers. And each time he addresses the Eid congregation, he is delighted to see the diversity. And even though the languages they speak are different, the language of the prayer is the same, he said.
“We all understand prayer. I am very, very happy,” he said. “Most different people … that's unique.”
The month of Ramadan, one of the most-sacred times of the years for Muslims, ended Friday with the sighting of the new moon. During the 29-, 30-day period of fasting, during which Muslims abstain from food, drink and sexual intimacy, praying and doing charity are most important, said Imam Malik Najeeullah.
“It is payday for us, a day of reward,” Najeeullah said.
A cardboard box marked for Zakat or mandatory charity had been placed at the entrance. As people walked in, they put money in the box. The money later will be used to provide for the needy in the Utica community, Najeeullah said. Throughout the month, Muslims share meals and do charity. In fact, the Muslim Community Association has been holding Iftar or fast-breaking dinners on weekends for the community throughout the month of Ramadan.
“Charity is the biggest thing,” he said, as he put money in the box.
On a table, trays of food had been arranged. These had been brought by the congregation members to share with others. Later, people would share a breakfast at the mosque on Kemble Street.
“Everybody is included,” he said, pointing to the gathering.
It will be a busy day for both Imams as they will visit prisoners in jail, sick people in hospitals and others to pray with them and wish them “Eid Mubarak” (Happy Eid).
The prayers that began at around 8 a.m., was followed by a sermon from Imam Mujkic. As people exited the hall, greetings were exchanged, and invitations for dinner and lunch extended.
Women, who sat on the other side, embraced each other, and complimented each other on their clothes, as they exited the building. Friends and family would be visiting and there was cooking to be done, they said.
A gift of love
For days, Somali refugee Muslima Osman, 18, had been putting in dollar bills, quarters and dimes in a little box. When she had collected $20, she gave it to her husband as Eidi, cash or gifts that elders normally give to children on Eid-Ul-Fitr.
“I put all in my box … what he give,” she said, smiling shyly. “Then I give my husband.”
At the Parkway Center Saturday morning, Osman was dressed in bright peach-colored traditional dress, with sequins and embroidery, a gift from her husband, and she showed it off, told her friends her husband bought it for her. With new gold earrings, bangles, and henna-colored hands, she looked lovely.
“I put henna last night,” she said, showing her palms, which were colored dark burgundy.
Many Muslim women decorate their hands and feet with henna the night before the Eid day. In South Asia, the night of the sighting of the new moon is called Chand Raat, and women get together, go out to the market, buy sweets, wear bangles and put henna, which is considered auspicious.
Later in the day, she was going to cook traditional African food and celebrate the festival with her family and friends.
“I cook food, calling people, eating at my house,” she said. “Rice, meat, pasta.”
And to top that, she would cook Halwa, a dessert.
Eid-Ul-Fitr is called Mithi Eid in many countries. Mithi means sweet as many cook Sivvyan or a dish of fine, toasted vermicelli for the occasion, or other traditional sweet dish.
Remembering a son left behind
She sat on the floor quietly at the prayer gathering Saturday morning, seemingly lost in her thoughts. Hser He Da Be, 43, a Muslim refugee from Burma, missed her son Ha San, 26, who still in the Thai refugee camp. Her six children sat around her, the seventh present through his absence, in her thoughts, her prayers, she said.
This is her first Eid she will celebrate without her son. But such is the case, she said, her daughter Ra Be Ya, 20, translating for her.
“I miss him a lot,” she said.
The family arrived in Utica 23 days ago. Without a phone, it is even more difficult. Wishing “Happy Eid” to her son is wishful thinking, at least for now.
“No phone, how to contact,” she said, haltingly. “I remember him in prayers.”
The family cooked noodles in the morning for breakfast, Ra Be Ya said. For now they can't afford more than that.
“No money to make something,” Ra Be Ya said. “But we are happy that Eid is here.”
Maybe they would visit the mosque at Kemble Street for breakfast after the morning prayers, they said. An important part of Eid and the month of Ramadan is the spirit of charity, said Imam Malik Najeeullah of the Muslim Community Association.
Some members had even brought food at the morning prayers, to share it with the less fortunate.
For the family, maybe next year things will be better. Maybe Ha Sen will join them. Maybe they will get a job, and money and can buy new clothes and cook good food for Eid next year. Maybe it will all work out, they said.
In the right religion
As she sat in her chair, watching the women kneel down in prayer, Sian Walker of Utica said she knew she was in the right religion.
“It is beautiful even to look at the differences, how everybody comes together,” she said.
Five years ago, Walker converted to Islam, inspired by her husband, Willie Walker, she said.
Her first Ramadan had been tough, the fasting too rigorous. But she is always grateful for Eid, the day when it is all over, when they can look back and feel happy they were able to do it, she said.
“I still appreciate this day,” she said. “It is making me stronger.”
Women praying with men
For Razia Sattar, who came to United States in 1981, it is the small, close-knit community in Utica that makes Eid special for her. In their country, women did not go to the mosque. Here, women participate in prayers and at gatherings at the mosque, she said.
“In our culture, women don't go to the mosque,” she said. “I like it here … we meet the people, Africans, Bosnians, all people.”
Javeria Qureshi, who has been here for eight years, said she missed her Eids back home, but the community here made sure they celebrated the festival as best as they could. Here, there's more chance to get involved, she said.
“There's more participation,” she said. “Ladies come to the mosque. That's definitely good.”
While Sattar has been here for decades, she misses wearing bangles and visiting crowded markets in Pakistan on the eve of Eid. The streets were decorated, festoons and colorful light bulbs are hung on windows, and shops are full of glittering bangles, earrings, clothes and sandals.
“We went out, got henna in meena bazaars, came home at 3 a.m. sometimes,” she said. “I miss that.”
In this small community, the families, most of them immigrants, visit each other's houses on Eid, and during Ramadan, exchanging greetings and sharing food, trying to re-create the sense of the homeland through similar festivities but at a smaller scale.
Friday evening, some Muslim families got together to celebrate Chand Raat, colored their hands with henna, and ate dinner together just how did it in their countries, Sattar said.
* The Eid prayer is followed by the sermon and then a prayer asking for forgiveness, mercy and help. Imam Ferhad Mujkic delivered a sermon in Bosnian before the Eid prayers Saturday morning.
* Muslims spend the day meeting family members, enjoying and praying.
รค Public Eid prayers are held in mosques and public places throughout the world.
* Ramadan is the one month — usually lasting 29 or 30 days — when Muslims abstain from food, drink, smoking and sexual intimacy from the break of dawn to sunset. The period marks the month Muslims believe the prophet Muhammad received the Quran, the Islamic holy book, through the angel Gabriel.
* Ramadan occurs each year during the ninth month of the lunar year. Muslims pray five times daily, and during Ramadan an extra prayer is added, called the taraweeh.
* The end of Ramadan is marked by communal prayers called Eid ul-Fitr or Feast of the Fast-Breaking.
Source: IslamiCity, archives
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