Hamilton Muslims prepare for first in-person Eid since COVID
Excitement is in the air for Hamilton’s Muslim communities bracing for their first inperson Eid since the pandemic began as COVID-19 restrictions ease.
Muslims will celebrate Eid alAdha, the second of two Muslim festivals, on Tuesday. With Ontario in Step 3, many of them are looking forward to resuming traditions for the first time in more than a year.
“It does make me very happy,” said Salma Seta, a Mountain resident. She plans to feast at her mother’s house with her children and extended family.
“Before Phase 3, we were not planning to have a big get-together,” said her brother Zakir Patel, who will join in the celebration with his family. “Now … we are going to have a full day of enjoyment.”
While the first Eid follows Ramadan, the month of fasting, this Eid is known as the Festival of Sacrifice. Traditionally, Muslims sacrifice a goat, cow or other animal on this holiday and donate a portion of its meat to those in need.
The occasion will mark the first time after three Eids that the Muslim Association of Hamilton is opening its mosques for the Eid prayer.
The Mountain Mosque and Umar Masjid will each hold the prayer at three different times during the day to accommodate as many people as possible within the capacity limits, said association president Javid Mirza. The association expects to see up to 3,000 people over the three prayers at its larger Mountain Mosque, Mirza said. The Stone Church Road mosque previously served as a vaccination clinic along with
the Hamilton Downtown Mosque.
Despite the excitement, the association reminded its members that there will still be restrictions in place — that means no handshakes or hugs, said assistant secretary Yasmeen Mirza.
“People are like … ‘As long as we can come, that’s all that matters,’ ” she said. “They’re quite overjoyed.”
In keeping with the theme of sacrifice, members of the Hamilton chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women Association donated food and handmade masks to Martha House women’s shelter for Eid.
The group also planned to drop off gifts to their student members.
“Especially with what’s happening recently with all the hate crimes, we just want to give them a surprise to tell them we’re all with them, we’re all together,” said outreach co-ordinator Manohar Chaudhary.
Members planned to spend the holiday in small groups with
families who’ve recently arrived in Canada, to welcome them, she added.
And it will be a chance for families to enjoy milestones like graduations that they couldn’t celebrate properly during the pandemic.
“This Eid … is coming together and celebrating all those moments that we have been through in the last two years,” Chaudhary said.
The Ibrahim Jame Mosque downtown will also welcome congregants back for the Eid prayer. Afterward, there will be a picnic with food, sports and bouncy castles, as far as limits allow, said Imam Ayman AlTaher.
Al-Taher was excited to see more people return to the mosque, noting he’s expecting it to reach the allowable capacity.
“As the restrictions are eased up a little bit, people are able to get a taste of Eid and go back to a normal life, God willing.”