Allan Appel Photo
Ongoing controversies in New York City and Florida couldn’t disrupt what one participant described as the Muslim equivalent of Christmas and Thanksgiving combined.
On Friday morning, nearly 2,000 Muslims of all ages from the greater New Haven area gathered at Yale University’s track and field house on Derby Avenue to mark Eid Al Fitr. The celebration of the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan included prayers, a meal, and a sermon by one of the area’s best known imams.
The ceremony was unmarred by two recent debates which have stirred up anti-Islamic sentiment nationwide. New Yorkers have been battling over the placement of an Islamic center planned for southern Manhattan, near the site of the attacks on the World Trade Center. As the anniversary of those attacks looms, a Florida pastor had promised to burn Korans on Sept. 11.
Those controversies didn’t figure in the khutba, or sermon, of Imam Mohamed Abbelati of the New Haven Islamic Center. He spoke to a festive throng dressed in sparkling white robes, colorful scarves and finery, representing dozens of countries around the world.
“We have just performed a 30-day fast for God. We have to have joy. We should not be negative,” said Abbelati (at left in photo)
Neither the political controversies nor the close convergence this year of Eid and the ninth anniversary of September 11th had an effect either on the tone of the holiday or its attendance, said Aziz Amezzani, also with the New Haven Islamic Center, which is across the street from the University of New Haven.
The attendance, he said, was similar to last year. Attendance can fluctuate depending on whether Eid falls on the weekend or not. Muslim holidays are lunar-based.
Clilck here and here to read stories about iftar, the after- sunset fast breaking during Ramadan in New Haven this year.
“In our masjid, no one talks about politics,” Amezzani said. He called Eid a very proud day for Muslims who fulfilled the stringent requirements of the prayers and fasting. To celebrate, “They dress up, give toys, bring their families. Islam is about unity, so [today] our hearts are united.”
Despite a sound system that made it difficult to understand all the words, Imam Abbelati’s 20-minute remarks called on Muslims to focus not outwardly but to look inward.
“Rush to do your good deeds in this life, today,” he said, likening Eid to a microcosm of the day of judgment when a person’s deeds are weighed.
He bemoaned the lack of power and authority today among the world’s one and a half billion Muslims and ascribed the cause to Muslims not following the requirements of their faith.
“Ourself is our enemy. We have to be victorious over yourself. Then you will be successful in life,” said Abbelati, an Egyptian-born cleric who holds a PhD in Islamic studies from Alazhar University in Cairo.
A millennium ago, he added, Muslims were practicing their faith properly. They didn’t have wealth, but they led the world, he said. “Now we are third-world,” he said, ascribing that condition to Muslims not striving every day to seek to please God.
“We Muslims hurt each other more than outsiders,” he said.
As the sermon ended and people gathered their shoes and went off to have their first day-time meal in a month, Abbelati answered a reporter’s questions.
About the book-burning threat made by Pastor Terry Jones in Gainesville, Florida, he said, “Even if he burns a thousand [Korans], he will never harm the Koran because it is in our hearts. Of course it hurts our feelings, but it is nothing.”
And he likened the mosque controversy in Lower Manhattan to an issue of local politics and zoning, far removed from the joys and significance of Eid.
A half mile down George Street at Masjid Al-Islam, the imam and some 500 others gathered for breakfast in the parking lot. In the asphalt lot, which looked like a kids’ festival, the same non-political atmosphere prevailed.
As kids enjoyed the bouncing houses, the masjid’s leader Jimmy Jones said, “People are more likely to talk about family, congratulate each other on the fast. I doubt if on Christmas people talk about the president or wars. They talk about being happy to be eating in daytime.”
He added: “Muslims don’t talk about it [the mosque and Koran-burning controversies]. It’s the non-Muslims [who do].”
عيد مبارك ‎