South Asia's Muslims Await Eid
"We are very thankful to God that this month has been relatively peaceful,” Hazeem Bari, who runs a jewellery shop in Galle, told Khabar South Asia on Saturday, July 26.
Bari, a Sri Lankan Muslim, spoke as he shopped for holiday shoes for himself and his family.
Muslims in southern Sri Lanka were anxious going into Ramadan after recent anti-Muslim riots, he said.
“This is a very exciting time of year for us because after a month of fasting and prayers, we are impatiently waiting to celebrate `Eid," Bari added.
For Colombo resident and marketing executive Kareem Siddique, this year's Ramadan has brought him much to be thankful for come Eid Al-Fitr after he was landed a new job a few weeks ago.
He intended to use his first paycheque to celebrate Eid "on a grand scale" with his mother, who recently recovered from a health scare, he said.
"A few months back, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and doctors lost hope, but thanks to a miracle by Allah, she is now out of danger," Siddique told Khabar.
The scene of shoppers was very much the same in New Delhi.
In New Delhi’s Patparganj section, the Standard Meat Shop turned brisk business as customers clamored for cuts of mutton, chicken or fish.
The meat, chicken or fish were key ingredients for holiday feasts featuring kofta, shish kebab and salaam chicken.
"Our sales go up by seven to eight times during Ramadan, as most of the people make large numbers of mutton recipes and sauces," shop manager Dilshad Ahmad told Khabar South Asia.
"We have to engage extra staff during Ramadan, as the demand for our products touches its peak and sometimes we are unable to cope with the orders for Eid."
Eid Back Home
In Bangladesh, train and bus tickets went on sale early in anticipation of a rush of people travelling home for Eid.
"Whatever we lost during last year's upheaval, it looks like we'll be able to make considerable gains in this frenzied shopping period, which picked up for the past week and will continue until the very last day of Ramadan," Shahnaz Khan, owner of K-Kraft, Bangladesh's leading fashion retailer, told Khabar.
"What we're seeing now is truly heart-lifting for business owners," said Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Vice President Mohammad Helal Uddin.
Eid Al-Fitr is one the two main Islamic religious festivals along with Eid Al-Adha.
After special prayers to mark the day, festivities and merriment start with visits to the homes of friends and relatives.
And while traditionally everyone wears new clothes for `Eid, children look forward to gifts and traditional ediya (cash).
During Eid days, families and friends exchange visits to express well wishes and children, wearing new clothes bought especially for Eid, enjoy going out in parks and open fields.
Source: Islamonline.net
