By Rédaction Africanews with AFP - AP
Monday May 2, 2022
Eid al-Fitr is one of the centerpieces of the Muslim calendar,
often featuring extended family gatherings where parents often buy gifts and
new clothes for their children.
The buzzing streets of Cairo were even more lively Monday as
Egyptian Muslims celebrated the end of the holy month of Ramadan. President Al
Sissi attended Eid al-Fitr prayers at the El-Mosheer Tantawy mosque.
Worshippers like Abdul Rahman al-Taweel were even more joyful because the
Ministry of endowment recently allowed large and university mosques to welcome
crowds again: "What's most importantduring Eid is the Eid prayer as it is
the most prominent Eid celebration. So when the prayers are performed in a big
and old mosque, especially in old Cairo, the more the person feels the
festivities of Eid, rather than praying in a small mosque in our neighborhood."
Nairobi residents gathered in the Rahma Mosque in Kenya.
Despite inflation exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, imam Abdulghani Bashir
urged the faithful to continue to take care of the poor during the festive
season: "We are grateful to Allah on this day of Eid, is a day of
happiness, is a day of showing gratefulness to Allah, (Arabic) subhana uu
waatala (may He be praised and exalted). It's also a day of remembering the
poor and the less fortunate, and that's why as Muslims we are required to give
(Arabic) zakat al-Fitr (almsgiving of Eid al-Fitr) before we come to the Eid
prayers. It's important that Muslims give (Arabic) zakat al-Fitr, which is in
the form of foodstuff to all those Muslims who are in need and also to go
beyond just giving foodstuff, to give whatever it is possible to give so that
those Muslims who are less fortunate can also share this joy and happiness on
this beautiful day of Eid. I say to all of you (Arabic) Eid Mubarak (blessed
festival)."
Muslims in Somalia marked the feast day with new clothes and
celebratory gatherings. Young and old alike observed communal prayer like here,
at the Et-Tedamun al-Islami Mosque, in the capital Mogadishu.
On this public holiday, large crowds gathered at a square of
the Sudanese capital Khartoum. Muslims follow a lunar calendar, and
methodologies can lead to different countries declaring the start of Eid on
different days.