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Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr be gathering for Qura'n recitation
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JAKARTA,
December 6 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Hundreds of millions of
Muslims across Asia were Friday, December 6, celebrating the end of
the holy fasting month of Ramadan and the start of the three-day
Eid-ul-Fitr.
In
Jakarta, capital of the world's largest Muslim-populated nation,
Friday officially marked the start of the new lunar month and the end
of a month of fasting.
The
country's second largest Muslim organization, the Muhammadiyah, had
signaled the sighting of the new moon on Thursday, December 5,
evening.
Thousands
gathered in Monas Park, including President Megawati Sukarnoputri who
looked on as a drum was beaten to signal the start of the festival,
Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
A
heavy police presence ensured a better turn-out than last year,
eyewitnesses said.
The
start of the festival passed quietly in Muslim-majority Malaysia with
the normally packed streets of Kuala Lumpur relatively quiet at the
start of the holiday period as the urban population made its annual
migration to the countryside.
In
the overwhelmingly Catholic Philippines, Eid-ul-Fitr was this year
designated a national public holiday for the first time, following a
decision by President Gloria Arroyo last month.
In
the southern islands of Jolo and Basilan, some members of the
country's Muslim minority caused alarm by firing off gunshots into the
air, a traditional means of celebration, an army spokesman said, but
there were no reports of violence in the regions.
In
Pakistan, the atmosphere remained tense, with mosques under heavy
guard in Islamabad and the violence-plagued port city of Karachi.
The
traditional message of Muslim brotherhood and unity was accompanied in
several districts by condemnation of U.S. policy in Iraq and Israeli
aggression on innocent Palestinians.
"Muslims
are facing problems throughout the world," a prayer leader in
Lahore told worshippers Friday.
"The
Muslims in Iraq are facing the threat of American aggression. Let us
condemn that, and pray to Allah that it unites Muslims to fight the
American and Zionist terrorism."
In
Bangladesh, the start of Eid-ul-Fitr got of to a peaceful start, with
the hundreds of Eid congregations in capital Dhaka thronged by tens of
thousands of devotees, including women and children.
Meanwhile,
people in the Afghan capital Kabul, celebrating their second
Eid-ul-Fitr following the overthrow of the Taliban regime, on Friday
turned out onto the streets in their best clothes, with shops and
roadside stalls doing a brisk trade in sweets, cakes and dried fruits.
While
police increased their visibility around town, there were no reports
of violence.
Eid-ul-Fitr,
which literally means Celebration of the Breaking of the Fast, lasts
for the first three days of the Muslim month of Shawal.
