Hundreds joins Eid celebrations
The mayor of the Royal Borough was among hundreds to join in with the Eid ul-Fitr celebrations in Windsor this week.
Around 250 to 300 people gathered for prayers, a sermon and to share plenty of food from around the world at an Eid in the Park event on Wednesday, organised by the Windsor Muslim Association (WMA).
The event was due to take place in Dedworth Manor Park, but due to the wet ground, it was moved into a hall the association had booked in the New Windsor Community Association’s (NWCA) building in Hanover Way.
An Eid prayer at 9am was followed by a sermon, which were both led by Dr
Salman Butt, who is the chief editor of the website Islam21c.
Royal Borough mayor Neil Knowles was joined by fellow councillors Helen Price, Amy Tisi, David Buckley, and Alison Carpenter at the event.
Michael Boyle, Green Party candidate for Windsor in the next General Election was also in attendance.
Everyone – religious or otherwise – was welcomed to the event which ran until midday.
Mohamed Arif, chairman of WMA, said: “[It was an] excellent Eid we had yesterday [Wednesday].
“People started coming from eight o’clock and then the weather was not great and then we decided to go into the building.”
Following the Eid prayer and sermon, Mohamed said attendees, including the councillors were meeting and greeting each other.
Plenty of food and refreshments had been ordered and people also enjoyed sweets.
The community also brought along finger food and people got to enjoy foods from around the world including Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
People were treated to free ice cream from an ice cream van, and youngsters played in the outside play area.
Reflecting on the day, Mohamed added: “This has become like a community event. Everybody comes together to celebrate
“We are pleased this time [with] the turnout. Our mayor came, all the local councillors participated.
“Overall, we’re very pleased.”