January 28, 2005

SBIA hosts annual Eid-ul-Adha celebration

Thousands gather for day of prayer, festivities

By Bea Baechle
Editor

In a community as diverse as Evergreen, holidays and festivals occur throughout the year. Friday, Jan. 21 was no exception as local Muslims participated in Eid ul-Adha, one of their two primary festivals of the year.

Evergreen youth—Bilal Kapadia, Kiran Palla, Samreen Haque, Saad Khan, Asra Kapadia and Ali Palla—bought snacks and sold them for a profit at the Eid-ul-Adha festivities to raise money for the victims of the Tsunami disaster. They collected $900.

Eid-ul-Adha is the tenth day of Dhul-Hijjah, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic Lunar Calendar. The month of Dhul-Hijjah is the month of pilgrimage. Every year about two to four million Muslims flock to the holy city of Mecca and perform their obligatory Hajj, or pilgrimage.

On the tenth day of Dul-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar, Muslims around the world celebrate this feast of commitment, obedience and self-sacrifice to Allah. This festival is celebrated throughout the Muslim world as a commemoration of Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice everything for God, including the life of his son Ishmael.

“It is a time for reflection on the past year and enjoying all that Allah has given us,” said Muhammad Janjua, president of SBIA.

After beginning the celebration with prayers, Muslims in other parts of the world traditionally sacrifice livestock (goats, sheep, cattle, etc.) in commemoration of the sincere faith of Prophet Abraham who was willing to sacrifice his son Ishmael to demonstrate his obedience to Allah. A portion of the meat is distributed to the needy.

“The sacrifice is an act of faith and serves to create piety, devotion and a desire for obedience and submission to the will of Allah in a human being,” said Tahir Anwar, imam (director of religious services) of the South Bay Islamic Association (SBIA).

Locally, the SBIA hosted its annual Eid-ul-Adha celebration at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. Thousands of Bay Area Muslims joined in prayer and festivities throughout the day to celebrate the Abrahamic tradition of sacrifice and remember in prayer the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in South East Asia.

Children grasp meaning of holiday
Several children from SBIA’s Evergreen mosque sought ways that they could emulate these traditions in their lives, so they came up with the idea of using the occasion to raise money for the victims of the recent tsunami disaster. Sacrificing their time, they collected money from their parents to buy snacks and sold them at a profit during the Eid-ul-Adha celebration at the fairgrounds.

Evergreen-area Muslims meet for their mid-day prayers after the celebration of Eid-ul-Adha.

“We made a lot of money,” said Ali Palla, a student at Tom Matsumoto Elementary School, who was at the stall most of the day with his friends.

“Charity is a big part of our religion, and what better an occasion to remember the poor and needy,” said Kiran Palla, a seventh grade student at Quimby Oak Middle School, who organized the fundraiser with the help of her Mom, Anila Palla.

“I am very happy to see children involved in such a noble cause at this young age,” said Evergreen resident Munaf Kapadia, whose children were also part of the team.

The children collected more than $900 that day, and all the proceeds, including the cost of the items, will be donated for the orphaned children in the affected areas.

These funds will be added to the thousands of dollars already raised by SBIA in recent weeks, when all the collections from its three centers (downtown, Evergreen and Milpitas) were set aside for tsunami relief. SBIA is working with several Bay Area organizations to distribute money and needed supplies to the countries and people devastated by this recent natural disaster.

“This is what this day is all about, to sacrifice what you love to keep,” said Munir Palla, the proud father of Ali and Kiran.

For more information about the South Bay Islamic Center, go to the Web site: www.sbia.net.