Eid al-Fitr, a celebration that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, is observed by Muslims worldwide. Activities include praying, getting together with loved ones, shopping for new clothes, and eating sweets.
The growing humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s looming ground assault in the southernmost city of Rafah, coupled with the six-month war’s continuous escalation, eclipsed the festivities on Wednesday, though.
At the Hagia Sofia mosque in Istanbul, hundreds of worshipers gathered for morning Eid prayers. Some were holding Palestinian flags and chanting pro-Gaza chants.
Gaza is a “bleeding wound on the conscience of humanity,” and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated his support for it in his holiday speech.
Eid al-Fitr, a celebration observed by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the conclusion of the fasting month of Ramadan, is marked with prayer, get-togethers with loved ones, shopping for new attire, and sweets.
However, the growing humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s looming ground assault in the southernmost city of Rafah, where the six-month conflict has shown no signs of abating, overshadowed the festivities on Wednesday.
For morning Eid prayers, hundreds of worshipers flocked to Istanbul’s Hagia Sofia mosque. Some carried Palestinian flags and sang slogans in solidarity with the people of Gaza.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey backed Gaza, referring to it as a “bleeding wound on the conscience of humanity,” in his holiday speech.
He remarked, “I hope that the Eid will bring about peace, tranquillity, and wellbeing for our nation, our country, the Islamic world, and all humanity.”
At Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, the Rahma mosque focused its prayers on the conflict in Gaza.
Imam Abdulrahman Musa stated, “We should not forget our brothers and sisters in Palestine.” “They have endured a great deal of violence and unwarranted aggression while the rest of the world looks on in silence.”
In Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world, people prayed together on the streets and within mosques. The biggest mosque in Southeast Asia, the Istiqlal Grand Mosque in Jakarta, was packed with worshippers giving early prayers.
Jimly Asshiddiqie, the head of the advisory board of the Indonesian Mosque Council, stated, “This is the time for Muslims and non-Muslims to show humanitarian solidarity, because the conflict in Gaza is not a religious war, but a humanitarian problem.”
