Hiiraan Online

For Muslims living in North America, it is a challenge to maintain Islamic holidays and traditions in a predominantly non-Muslim environment. It is particularly difficult for children, who see their friends and classmates celebrating Christmas with lots of hoopla, gifts and excitement, while Eid is not celebrated in the same way.

It is with this in mind that Sound Vision has put together the articles below. They feature practical and creative tips and ideas that can help Muslim individuals and families make the most of the Eid celebration.

How Minnesota Muslim celebrated this Eid

Minnesotan Muslims joined their brothers in faith, estimated at 1.5 billion globally, in an annual ritual of sacrifice on Sunday September 20th as they celebrated Eid el Hajj, or Eid el Ad’ha. The former name is associated with the end of the annual pilgrimage to the Muslim holy shrines in Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, while the second name simply means “celebration of sacrifice.”
The sacrifice ritual dates back to the days of Prophet Abraham who was ordered by God to slaughter his son (Ismail) for sacrifice; and when he obeyed this command; God sent him a lamb in place of his son. Since then, Muslims who go for pilgrimage (hajj) and those who celebrate hajj at home have to slaughter a cow, camel, goat or ship in observance of the Abraham ritual. Those who do not make it to Hajj are to slaughter an animal and divide it into three parts: one third of it to be given to neighbors, the second part is to be given to the poor while the third portion is for consumption by family members. Pilgrims to the holy cities range, in different years, between1.6 million to over 3.0 million people. One can only imagine the amount of protein food available during hajj in Saudi Arabia! The Saudi Arabia government, which oversees the holy shrines of Islam, sends plenty of refrigerated meat to famine-stricken areas of the world, as the meat is superfluous for Saudis during this season and has to be shared globally. One Muslim scholar asserts that: “Eid el Ad’ha is a great and unique occasion of joy and celebration. Ironically, this joy and celebration revolves around sacrifice. For believing Muslims, the joy of giving that touches others’ lives is far greater and deeper than the joy of receiving.

By far the largest congregation of Muslim hajj prayers in Minnesota took place in the morning hours of Sunday at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The Imam who read the two Eid sermons called on a packed assembly of believers to be generous to the poor, visit the sick and be good husbands, wives and children on this occasion of Eid el hajj. He said believing Muslims must follow the guidance of the Quran, which spells out good deeds, which please God and avoid bad deeds, which annoy Allah like drugs, alcohol and hypocrisy, which will end us in hell fire. He called on Muslims to follow the path of Prophet Muhammad (pbuH) and maintain daily prayers (salad), pay zakkat (2.5 % of one’s annual income as tax), fast during Ramadan and make a pilgrimage to the holy Muslim shrines at least once in their lifetimes. Pilgrimage is for those blessed with the financial means and good health. Muslim scholars have argued that the social dimension of hajj is to help Muslims refocus their energies so that they do not forget what is happening the world over and take time to examine their situations as one community

President Obama’s Message of Ramadan to the Muslim in America and the Muslim World

US President Barrack Obama marked the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan Saturday with his administration stressing the commonality between American culture and the values of Islam.

"As Muslims in the United States and around the world complete the month of Ramadan and celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, Michelle and I would like to extend our personal greetings on this joyous occasion," Obama said in a statement.

"Even on this festive occasion, Muslims remember those less fortunate, including those impacted by poverty, hunger, conflict, and disease," he added.

Obama highlighted Muslims' commitment to collecting and distributing charity and said his administration was "working to ensure that Muslims are able to fulfill their charitable obligations not just during Ramadan, but throughout the year."

In her own message, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed that Eid celebrations at the White House, pioneered by her husband Bill Clinton in 1996 when he was president, ensured that "all faiths have a home here in the United States."

"This time of self-reflection reminds us that the values of Islam -- charity, community, cooperation, compassion -- are values which we hold dear as Americans and which have contributed so much to American culture," Obama's top diplomat said.

"We know there is more that unites peoples of faith than divides us. So as Ramadan draws to a close, let us hold on to that spirit of community throughout the year to achieve our common goals of peace, prosperity, and stability."

Obama, who has Muslim heritage on his father's side of his family, vowed to forge a "new beginning" for Islam and America in a landmark speech to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims in Cairo in June

Population of Muslim in American

There is no accurate count of the number of Muslims in the United States, as the U.S. Census Bureau does not collect data on religious identification. There is an ongoing debate as to the true size of the Muslim population in the US. Various institutions and organizations have given widely varying estimates about how many Muslims live in the U.S. These estimates have been controversial, with a number of researchers being explicitly critical of the survey methodologies that have led to the higher estimates. Others claim that no scientific count of Muslims in the U.S. has been done, but that the larger figures should be considered accurate. Some journalists have also alleged that the higher numbers have been inflated for political purposes. On the other hand, some Muslim groups blame Islam phobia and the fact that many Muslims identify themselves as Muslims but do not attend mosques for the lower estimates.

The following are disputed estimates of the Muslim population:

·         1.1 million (2001) – City University of New York - American Religious Identification Survey

·         1.6 million (2000) – Glenmary Research Center

·         1.8 million (2007) – The World Fact book 

·         1.9 million (2001) – American Jewish Committee

·         2.0 million (2000) – Hartford Institute for Religious Research

·         2.4 million (2007) – Pew Research Center

·         4.7 million (2005) – Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year 

·         5 million (1990) – American Muslim Council

·         5-7 million – PBS - Frontline

·         6-7 million (2001) – Council on American-Islamic Relations - The Mosque in America: A National Portrait

·         6.7 million (1997) – J. Ilyas Ba-Yunus 

·         7 million (2009) – White House, CNN.

Abdullahi Nur (Freelance )

[email protected]      

Minneapolis, Minnesota.

United States.