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Muslims'
Affairs in `Eid
`Eid Challenge in the West
By
Sara Baker
 There
are two dilemmas facing a Muslim living in the west today. The first is
how to have a feast when every day is a feast. The point of `Eid is
feasting after fasting. We enjoy the abundance of food at `Eid after the
frugality of Ramadan. For a day or so we are encouraged to enjoy some of
the special luxuries whilst the norm for the rest of the year is
moderation and the pattern for Ramadan is extra restraint.
But
what if chocolates and sweets are no longer treats but have become
everyday food for children in this part of the world? What if people
have come to expect cakes and biscuits at iftar as a reward for fasting?
What is the thrill of roasted meat when a family eats meat at suhoor and
meat at iftar all through the holy month? We all know the principle that
the more you get the more you want, so what is the thrill for a child
when daddy produces a bag of sweets just like you’ve had every day of
the year? He would have to buy up the sweet shop to impress today’s
children.
In
a land where a pair of shoes can be bought for a couple of pounds and
worn out and thrown out with the household refuse, what is the
excitement of shiny new shoes? In a place where people chuck clothes
into their trolley with the supermarket shop what is the thrill of the
prospect of a new outfit? The dilemma - what to give the Muslim who has
everything? How to make the indulged child satisfied?
Well,
we have a secret weapon. As we know, by the grace of Allah few of us in
this part of the world are wanting for clothes and food but what we
crave is the company of good people. That’s what many of the Muslims
here are losing caught up in the hurly burly of trying to amass material
wealth. So `Eid is a chance for many branches of a family to gather and
spend time together. For some Muslims here, it’s the only chance they
get to see the inside of a mosque and to meet their co-religionists.
Though many ignore the advice of the Imam who every year lectures about
proper dress on `Eid, especially for ladies because he always give that
advice before `Eid, the newcomers can feel a particular pride at being
part of this well dressed, sweet smelling congregation who have
undergone the rigors of Ramadan and now stand in disciplined rows before
Allah. It’s true that the women often get ticked off for talking
through the khutbah (sermon) but it is usually because they are often
placed in a room sealed off from the main congregation and have to
contend with a fuzzy sound system. They are usually bursting with
pleasure at greeting old friends and marveling at how great people look
in their `Eid best.
When
children grow up and you ask them what they remember about `Eid, it will
be these gatherings they will remember: the presence of beloved
grandparents, aunts and uncles and their presents.
The
second dilemma for Muslims in the west is how to compete with the
Christmas scene. This has been particularly obvious in the past few
years when `Eid and Christmas have fallen around the same time. The
Christmas celebrations no longer bear much relation to Christian
teachings but they include elaborate, meticulous decorations, catchy
songs, well organized parties and dinners, Santa and his grotto and the
prospect of all the toys you ever wanted and if children are allowed to
watch local TV they will see it. Schoolchildren are drilled in the
nativity rites from early November. Some Muslim parents ask for their
children to be excused whilst others don’t want little Hassan to be
left out. The teachers are greatly concerned that Muslim children will
miss out on the fun because Christmas has become a kind of multicultural
knees-up which welcomes people of all religions and none. They are not
reassured when we say, ‘it’s OK we have our `Eid’. So if little
Hassan is exposed to the full regalia of Christmas festivities who can
blame him if when `Eid comes and faced with the prospect of a
disorganized party in a tatty hall, he is less than over-awed?
It
has taken Muslim communities a long time to get their party organizing
genes into gear and the professionalism of `Eid arrangements has
improved. This is because when set against Christmas they have
a lot to live up to. For parents brought up in the Muslim world, a
little toy would have meant a lot. For their children they would have to
produce two or three presents from the catalogue. The parents of their
non-Muslim pals will have been saving all year to get their children all
the latest toys. Who can blame the Muslim children for being
materialistic when for many of them their parents or grandparents came
to the west to improve their standard of living? Well, here it all is in
abundance. For those brought up with all the luxuries in the west, the
challenge is what to resist. ‘`Eid is all about family Hamza’.
‘Yea right Mum. Now this is the video game I was talking about’.
Many
of the older or newcomer Muslims living in the UK today did not have a
tradition of organizing public events and doing it properly. It takes
planning and plenty of help. Very hard in a community where everyone
wants to be the mudir (manager) and no one wants to sweep the floor or
shift the tables. On the 28th of Ramadan it dawns on someone. ‘Oh
we’d better get something organized for `Eid!’ The Christmas
committees will have planned and practiced for at least a month to put
on their pageants, concerts and parties.
But
things are getting better. As the generation of Muslims born here are
becoming parents themselves, we have learnt from Muslims in the US for
example and we can run our own show a bit better. The openness of Muslim
hospitality provides a welcome refuge for the lonely and disenfranchised
non-Muslims who have no family to go to. Even the government are
endorsing our `Eid. This year we are graced with greetings from the
Prime Minister himself in a glossy magazine given out containing
`Eid listings. The shine is rather taken off the gesture by the fact
that the publication comes complete with entreaties to Muslims to join
the Navy or the Raf. Incidentally, the Raf accepts anyone regardless of
nationality, religion, etc. and regardless of gender, except that is, if
you are a woman. In the small print it says-‘for reasons of combat
effectiveness women cannot join the Raf regiment’. What a
disappointment we hear the Muslim women cry and there we were ready to
join up after `Eid! God help us! Every one knows that the best `Eid
present the Prime Minister could give us would be to get his armies off
our people’s backs and to stop arming people who love to kill Muslims.
That’s really the limit, eh! `Eid in the West. `Eid Mubarak to you all
and excuse us while we bomb the living daylights out of you.
It
remains for me to pray that Allah accepts our fasting and our prayers.
This
year I pray that Allah helps us turn our du`a’ tears into actions so
that future `Eids will be a time of joy for all the Ummah and there will
never be children who face `Eid morning with the same sense of dread as
every other day of the year.
We
are blessed. We are in the best religion.
`Eid
Mubarak wa alhamdulillahi Rabbil `alameen.
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