Thursday, November 03, 2005

Happy Eid Al-Fitr

Sorry for the sudden disappearance. We went to Dallas for a few days. We needed the break after riding out Hurricane Rita.

Happy Eid Al-Fitr to the Muslim world.

Wikipedia defines Eid Al-Fitr as follows:

The Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر), often abbreviated as simply Eid, marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. Fitr means to break and therefore symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period and of all evil habits. On the day of the celebration, a typical Muslim family gets up very early and attends special prayers held only for the occasion in big mosques, in large open areas, stadiums or arenas. The festivities and merriment start after the prayers with visits to the homes of friends and relatives and thanking the Creator for all blessings. Eid is a time to come together as a community and to renew friendship and family ties. This is a time for peace for all Muslims in the world to devote to prayers and mutual well-being.

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I was happy to read The Vatican is following in the footsteps of late Pope John Paul II to build relationship between the Muslim and Catholic worlds. The Vanguard reports:

LAGOS - APPRECIATING the need for "a sincere, profound and constant dialogue between believing Catholics and believing Muslims, from which there can arise a strengthened mutual knowledge and trust," the Catholic Church has pledged to follow the noble footsteps of late Pope John Paul II and improve on its relation with the faith.

In his message to Muslims at the end of the Ramadan fast, the president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald on behalf of the Vatican, said the words of the late pontiff are still very relevant today.

He said that the only compensation for the loss of Pope John Paul II was to follow in his footsteps and continue to encourage Christian-Muslim relations. According to Archbishop Fitzgerald, "it is for us to strengthen our engagement in building up good relations among people of different religions, to promote cultural dialogue and to work together for greater justice and enduring peace."

He called on Christians and Muslims to show that they can "live together in true fraternity, striving always to do the will of merciful God who created humanity to be one family."

Read more...

I grew up in the Middle East. I really miss the food, sweets and excellent TV shows during the Eid.
 

2 comments:

pebblepie said...

I can surely understand the missing...
It would be so nice to go back to simpler times.
But I doubt they were simpler times... We were young and more simple ourselves.
Still, it is a heartfelt missing, longing.
So glad you got a few days to be away. I'm looking forward to my trip. The planning and all there is to do, to prepare (mom) is so much work...LOL
I needed the time away yesterday.... he he he he

Fayrouz said...

For some reason, yesterday always looks better than today :-)

The weather here will be cold by end of Nov. I'm not sure how cold it gets where you live. But, be prepared for humid cold weather.