Pearl Lorentzen
Lakeside Leader
There are two Eid (Islamic festival) celebrations in the Muslim calendar. The timing is dependant on the Muslim lunar calendar.
On Sunday August 11, the Slave Lake Muslim Society Mosque hosted a Eid al-Adha celebration.
Mohamad Salman is the imam, the person who leads prayer, at the Slave Lake Mosque.
“It was beautiful,” says Salman. “The weather cooperated, so people ate inside and outside.”
The event opened with prayer from 8 to 9 a.m. followed by a potluck breakfast.
The meal was a potluck of nations, Salman says. The members of the mosque are from all over the world. There was traditional food from Morocco, Tunisia, Syria, India, Iraq, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and other countries.
It had a good turnout of between 150 and 200 people, says Ali Mouallem, member of the mosque. The mosque serves a large area. There were people from High Prairie, Wabasca, and the back lakes, and new families.
The tradition is for a family to sacrifice a lamb or goat, Salman says. The other option is for seven families to get together to slaughter a cow.
The meat is divided one third for the family, Salman says, one third for friends, and one third for the needy. It is a reminder that not everyone can afford to buy the food that they want.
A few families in the area followed this tradition this year, Mouallem says.
Eid is Arabic for festival, says Salman. The first Eid is after Ramadan, which is about fasting. The second, ‘greater’ Eid is Eid al-Adha (the festival of sacrifice). It is at the end of the time when many Muslims do a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam.
Mecca is in Western Saudi Arabia.
A pilgrimage is a journey to a significant religious location. These can be on a set route or the end location can be the goal. Many Christian pilgrimages end in Rome or Santiago de Compostela, in Spain.
There are many Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimages. Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, in southern Nepal was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.
The pilgrimage to Mecca is based on retracing the steps of Abraham, Salman says. “I find this particular Eid a way to bring together, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.”
All three have the story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son, Salman says. In Judaism and Christianity, this is Isaac, but in Islam it his older son, Ishmael. God recognizes Abraham’s faith and obedience and provides a ram to be the sacrifice instead. In the Islamic tradition, the ram is sent down from heaven at Mecca.
Islam has two names: Islam and the Religion of Abraham, Salman says. Although a lot of Muslims are not biological descendants of Abraham, they are his spiritual descendants.
This year, the other Eid, Eid al-Fitr, was June 4, following Ramadan, from May 5 to June 3.
During Ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight hours.
Next year, it will be April 23 to May 23, with Eid al-Fitr on May 24.
