EID AL-FITR BREAKS THROUGH THE CLOUDS
Brothers Ameer Makboul, left, and Mohammad Makboul chat while in the Ottawa Mosque on Wednesday. Despite cloud cover that blocked any sighting of the moon, Ottawa’s imams declared Thursday to be Eid al-Fitr, signalling an end to Ramadan and a month of daw
Despite a cloud cover that blocked any sighting of the moon, Ottawa’s imams have declared Thursday to be Eid al-Fitr, signalling the end of Ramadan and a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting.
While Eid al-Fitr is a major holiday in the Islamic calendar, the day it occurs is not fixed.
The holiday officially begins with the sighting of the new moon on the first day of the Shawwal, the 10th month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
According to Shamy Metwally, the imam of Ottawa’s Main Mosque, the day the new moon is sighted can differ in other cities or countries depending on which method local Imams use to mark its arrival.
There can be disagreement about how the moon can be sighted. Traditionally it was done by the naked eye, but with improved technology, he said, the ability to “see” the moon has changed dramatically.
“I personally prefer astronomical calculations to determine the sighting,” he said. “It is very difficult to sight the moon by naked eye when it is cloudy, so this way we are sure the moon has been born some place in the world.
“The question now is whether sight means the naked eye, or the aid of something like a telescope or astronomical calculations. There is no one entity that governs all mosques all over Canada, so sometimes it is difficult to reach consensus across the country.”
Metwally said he prefers using new technology to make the determination because it allows for more Muslims to celebrate on the same day, regardless if the weather fails to co-operate.
And while the purpose of the holiday is to recognize a month of a worship, it is also a day to give back to the community.
The Ottawa Main Mosque collects donations throughout the month and when Ramadan concludes, it distributes those donations among families in need. Ottawa’s Islam Care Centre has taken that idea one step further. For the third year in a row, the centre has brought loot bags and colourful cards to two family shelters in the city.
“We have an Islamic tradition that ‘You’re of poor faith if you are going to bed and your neighbours are hungry,’” said the centre’s executive director Omar Mahfoudhi. “So we really want to foster that sense in our community, not just in the Muslim community but the community at large.”
This year, the loot bags were stocked with Lego pieces, thanks to a toy drive that occurred across the city’s mosques. The sacks also contained other toys, crayons, colouring books and candies.
Mahfoudhi said they began the initiative because of a growing concern over the housing situation in Ottawa, and the number of families displaced by domestic disputes or violence. The centre also became aware that the children living in shelters often went without the gifts that make Eid al-Fitr that much more exciting.
Mahfoudhi said the gifts engage the Muslim community in helping those who are less fortunate.