Festivities to mark the end of Ramadan were overshadowed by the six-month war in Gaza.
Muslims around the world have celebrated Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, with prayer, reunions with family and friends, new clothes and sweet treats.
But the celebrations on Wednesday were overshadowed by the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s threatened ground offensive in the southernmost city of Rafah with no let-up in the six-month war.
In Istanbul, thousands of worshippers gathered at the Hagia Sofia mosque for morning Eid prayers, some carrying Palestinian flags and chanting slogans in support of people in Gaza.
In his holiday message, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support for Gaza, which he called a “bleeding wound on the conscience of humanity”.
“I hope that the Eid will lead to peace, tranquillity and wellbeing for our country, our nation, the Islamic world and all humanity,” he said.
The war in Gaza was also the focus of prayers at the Rahma mosque in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
“We should not forget our brothers and sisters in Palestine,” Imam Abdulrahman Musa said. “They have been subjected to unjustified aggression and a lot of violence (as) the world is watching in silence.”
In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, people joined communal prayers shoulder to shoulder on the streets and inside mosques. Jakarta’s Istiqlal Grand Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, was flooded with devotees offering morning prayers.
“This is the time for Muslims and non-Muslims to show humanitarian solidarity, because the conflict in Gaza is not a religious war, but a humanitarian problem,” said Jimly Asshiddiqie, who chairs the advisory board of the Indonesian Mosque Council.
Authorities in Pakistan deployed more than 100,000 police and paramilitary forces to maintain security at mosques and in markets.
As ethnic Malay Muslims performed prayers at mosques across Malaysia, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for unity and reconciliation in his message on the eve of Eid, saying no groups should be sidelined based on religion or any other reason.
“We must be firm, resolute and unwavering in our commitment to foster values and build a dignified nation,” he said. “However, let us not take this as a licence or opportunity to insult, undermine, or damage the cultural practices and way of life of others.”
Muslim devotees offer Eid prayers in Mogadishu, Somalia. [Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP Photo]People take part in Eid prayers in Kyiv, Ukraine. In some countries, people visit graveyards to offer their respects to departed family members right after the morning prayers. [Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo]Muslims greet each other after Eid prayers outside the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar, Kashmir. [Mukhtar Khan/AP Photo]A young woman poses for a friend before Eid prayers in Bucharest, Romania. Girls and women in many countries decorate their hands with henna. The celebration for Eid begins the night before as women gather in neighbourhoods and large family gatherings to apply henna. [Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo]Muslim devotees gather for Eid prayers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. [AP Photo]Worshippers chant anti-Israel slogans during an impromptu protest in support of Palestinians, after Eid prayers, outside the Ayasofya, or Hagia Sofia mosque, in Istanbul, Turkey. [Khalil Hamra/AP Photo]Muslims attend prayers at the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [Vincent Thian/AP Photo]Men perform Eid prayers on a street in Jakarta, Indonesia. [Dita Alangkara/AP Photo]Muslim women pray at the historic Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan. Traditionally, Eid is celebrated for three days as an official holiday in Muslim-majority countries. However, the number of holiday days varies by nation. [KM Chaudary/AP Photo]Muslims perform Eid prayers on a field in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. It is customary to eat something sweet before the prayer. This particular festival is known as the ‘sweet’ Eid – and the distribution of sweets is common across the Muslim world. [Firdia Lisnawati/AP Photo]People pray outside a mosque as they celebrate Eid in Saint Petersburg, Russia. [Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo]A Bosnian man prays with his son during the first day of Eid in Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in Sarajevo. Muslims begin Eid day celebrations by partaking in a prayer service that takes place shortly after dawn, followed by a short sermon. [Armin Durgut/AP Photo]Men offer Eid prayers at the Niujie Mosque in Beijing, China. [Tatan Syuflana/AP Photo]People gather outside el-Seddik mosque in Cairo, Egypt. The first day of Eid al-Fitr is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon marking the start of the month of Shawwal, the 10th month of the Islamic (Hijri) calendar. [Amr Nabil/AP Photo]Muslim women offer Eid al-Fitr prayers to mark the end of Ramadan in Nairobi, Kenya. [Brian Inganga/AP Photo]
