Eid, or more appropriately, Eid ul Fitr, marks the start of Syawal, one of the twelve months in the Islamic calendar. Eid, commonly referred to as Hari Raya in Singapore, is celebrated after a month of Ramadhan by all Muslims worldwide.
Eid celebration in Hobart wasn’t my first this year though it felt like the first for everything. My first was about 3 years ago; when I and another Muslim girl, Azreen, were the only Muslim students we knew who were celebrating 1st Syawal in Hobart at that time.
Eid at that time was celebrated in the most un-commemorative manner ever. I remember having to attend school on the first day of Eid for exams, and later during the day went to see ‘The Ghost Ship’ at the Hobart Cineplex with a couple of friends to celebrate, but the end of exams.
Although Eid is literally celebrated for a month each year, with no transport means, Azreen and I could not really get anywhere outside Hobart at any time. So Eid was very meaningless given our inaccessibility to the re-located mosque, the tiny Muslim population in our circle, the absence of delicacies and the lack of capacity to pay other Muslims a visit even though there was plenty of time to do so.
But this year, things were slightly different. I celebrated Eid with my boyfriend and some other uni Muslim students who were practically stuck in Hobart because of exams.
On the morning of Eid, my boyfriend and I joined some other Muslims at the Hobart Mosque for Eid prayer. The prayer, followed by a sermon, was carried out at 8 in the morning, both led by a young Malaysian Imam whose performance was something I found quite admirable: confidently presented, concise English sermon, and a few superb recitations of some chapters of the Quran. Well done!
For the first time ever, I felt very proud of the young Imam for I thought he did a very good job considering the presence of other muslimin and muslimah who were mostly a lot older than him, and had come from all sorts of ethnic background: the more prominent ones being the Africas, Arabs, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malay, and Pakistan.
At the end of everything at the mosque, we had a brief photography session, sadly amongst just us, the few Malay uni students present at the mosque. Then some friends and I drove over to Hera's place for breakfast.
Hera is this Muslim girl from Bangladesh/Pakistan whom I met a couple of years ago and shared a few ‘on and off’ units together in our first year at university. Hera has her family in Hobart, one of the few migrant families I knew and one whom I grew quite close to, over these years.
At Hera’s place, we were invited to self-serve from a table full of dishes. The dishes were a huge variety, very colorful, of different texture, taste and smell and were made of a wide variety of cooking methods. The dishes represented a complete set of traditional Pakistan breakfast apparently something commonly consumed during Ramadhan by the people of Pakistan.
Altogether food at Hera’s place was awesome though most were very spicy.
Hera’s family was as per normal, very warm and friendly. My friends and I spent some time at their place chatting and eating before we left for home, that is, as a retreat before our next visit.
Visits and feasts do not just end there. They will continue for the next few days, at least (for a place like Hobart) with the mosque gathering on the 20th of Nov, possibly the last of all feasts, something I look forward to attending.
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The celebration of Eid has so far dawned on me as having similar attributes as that of a party yet something a lot more meaningful and more soulful than the typical local parties I have attended over these years. In the typical parties here, guests could usually be found scattered all over a place doing their own things like drinking, dancing, drugging, and shagging, and most would end up not quite remember anything when they return the next morning.
Huge contrast with the momentous Eid celebration I have just experienced, I do to a large extent feel very cultured no doubt.
With that I thank God for giving me the opportunity to see the different ways in which people live, socialize and enjoy their lives. As for me, I probably find socializing my normal way a lot more meaningful and enjoyable than the other ways that I have seen.
May we all get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it.
To all Muslims, Eid Mubarak.
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