UAE leaders offer prayers, gaiety marks start of Eid
UAE expatriates celebrate Eid Al Adha, keeping virus curbs in mind; parks and beaches across the country witness a large turnout; Hajj pilgrims ‘stone the devil’ with sanitised pebbles
President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has received congratulatory cables from Arab and Islamic leaders on the occasion of Eid Al Adha.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, also received similar cables from kings, presidents, emirs and prime ministers of Arab and Islamic countries on the auspicious occasion.
Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed performed the Eid Al Adha prayer on Tuesday at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
Expatriates from different nationalities in the UAE celebrated another Eid without exchanging traditional greetings but laden with all the religious fervour.
They willingly embraced the rules on not greeting each other by hugging or shaking hands, so that social distancing was maintained under the government’s directions to adhere to the coronavirus SOPS (standard operating procedures).
The faithful performed special Eid prayers in their respective mosques as the government had already issued directives on worshippers keeping a distance between themselves during prayers and refraining from exchanging greetings the conventional way once the Eid prayers were over.
The imams and officials in mosques had been constantly warning worshippers that they should not step out of line where the instructions were concerned, so that the virus was kept in check. Many residents, while talking to Gulf Today, said that since the pandemic last year, the true happiness of celebrating Eid was missing but they also hailed the government for taking all the measures on a war footing to protect the community.
The public parks and beaches in Sharjah were the most preferable destination for families and children from citizens, residents and visitors on the first day of Eid Al Adha. The smiling faces of young people and children reflected the atmosphere of joy and celebration of Eid, with the commitment to precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
On the first day of Eid Al Adha, the parks and beaches of the Emirate of Dubai witnessed a large turnout from citizens, residents and tourists, to spend joyful times amid the various recreational events and activities organised in the emirate. A number of individuals expressed their joy, despite the high temperature. The Eid celebrations have considered the adherence to the precautionary measures in force against COVID-19.
They stressed that the virus cannot prevent the joy of Eid, as it represents an important occasion for children and gatherings of families, relatives and friends. They praised the commitment to physical distancing by everyone, in the interest of their safety, with decreasing the capacity of parks and beaches, which has made them feel safe, comfortable and not worried about their children.
Several areas in Ajman witnessed Eid Al Adha celebrations, amid enforcing precautionary measures such as commiting to social distancing in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The Ajman Corniche witnessed flocking of many families and young people to enjoy the shore, while Al Nuaimiya Park received a large number of families and children who visited it to enjoy the recreational games with the obligation to wear masks.
In Saudi Arabia, Hajj pilgrims cast sanitised pebbles on Tuesday as they took part in the “stoning of the devil”, the last major ritual of this year’s Hajj which is again under tight coronavirus restrictions.
From first light, small groups of pilgrims made their way across the Valley of Mina near Makkah in western Saudi Arabia to symbolically “humiliate” the devil at the Jamrah Al Aqaba mosque.
Crowds were sparse during the stoning ritual on Tuesday and there was only a light security presence.
The pandemic has for a second year forced Saudi authorities to dramatically downsize the Hajj and just 60,000 fully vaccinated citizens and residents of the kingdom are taking part - up from 10,000 last year.
Ater the stoning ritual, pilgrims return to the Grand Mosque in Makkah to perform a final “tawaf” or circling of the Kaaba.
State media said that an army of 3,500 workers was tasked with sterilising the Grand Mosque ten times a day to prevent any spread of infection.
ABU DHABI: The UAE has strongly condemned the terrorist atack that targeted a busy market in Sadr City, east of Iraqi capital Baghdad.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation ( MOFAIC) emphasised that the UAE uterly condemns these criminal acts and rejects all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at destabilising security and stability in contravention of all religious and human values and principles.
The Ministry also expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the victims of this heinous criminal act and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Iraq was in mourning on Tuesday for dozens of people killed when a bomb ripped through a crowded Baghdad market on the eve of Eid Al Adha in what the Daesh group claimed as a suicide atack.
The bloody carnage on Monday evening, one of the deadliest atacks in years in the warscarred country, reportedly cost at least 36 lives, mostly of women and children, hours before the start of Eid Al Adha.
It sparked revulsion and renewed fears about the reach of the Daesh, which lost its last territory in Iraq ater a gruelling campaign that ended in late 2017, but retains sleeper cells in remote desert and mountain areas.
Daesh claimed on the Telegram messenger service that a Daesh suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt in the Woheilat market of northeast Baghdad’s district of Sadr City that was busy with Eid shoppers.
In the panic and chaos of the atack, screams of terror and anguish filled the air. When the smoke cleared, human remains lay strewn amid scatered sandals, market produce and the charred debris of stalls.
President Barham Salih condemned the “heinous crime of unprecedented cruelty on the eve of Eid”, writing on Twiter that the perpetrators “do not allow people to rejoice, even for a moment”. No official death toll has yet been released by Iraqi authorities, but medical sources told AFP at least 36 people were killed and about 60 wounded.