After 30 days of daytime fasting, holding iftars (times of breaking fast) at night and suhoors (morning eating time before starting the fast), Nueces Mosque held its last Ramadan event with its Eid celebration on Sunday.
Eid al-Fitr is a festive holiday where Muslims celebrate the end of their holy month, Ramadan. Eid starts with an Eid Prayer, which is typically led by an Imam and followed by a sermon. The Eid celebration at Nueces Mosque offered space for people to celebrate if they were unable to celebrate with their families back home. The celebration included games and food for students and families to commemorate their fasting month.
“Many other people may tell you, in the Austin community, that Eid used to be very tight-knit,” said Mufti Anwer Imam, Nueces Mosque’s imam. “But now everything is so big that you’re just lost in the sea of people, so doing a more low-key, local mosque Eid prayer has its own beauty to it.”
Nueces Mosque was the first mosque in Austin, and as the Muslim community grows, the mosque has increasingly catered to students because of its proximity to the campus. For the Eid sermon, Imam Anwer said he ensured his sermon proved relatable and that students would reflect on Ramadan and continue their acts of devotion.
“I really liked Imam Anwer at the end and the beginning, just touching upon how we don’t have to make such drastic changes in our life and how Eid and Ramadan show us the little changes matter,” said finance junior Sharmin Ahmed. “He was speaking about how waking up early at first is hard, and then you do it for 30 days, and then it works out. He’s said that implementing that (discipline) in your life (aids you) with other things you want to do.”
Last year, the mosque had a pre-Eid celebration on the last day of Ramadan since many students went home. But this year, Salma Bora, design senior and Nueces student board vice president, said that since many people on the executive board were staying in Austin for Eid, she could plan and host the celebration.
“It’s such a fulfilling feeling to see everyone that came out with the different audiences, from families to students who hadn’t gone home and seeing them interact,” Bora said. “Knowing that we were able to provide a space for them to come and just hang out, it’s one of my favorite parts because I feel like sometimes (when) planning events, you get lost in doing things and running around.”
The celebration showcased a carnival theme and yard games such as ring toss and connect four, along with a goodie bag-making station, which included toys and candy. Mile High Mo’s catered the event and provided 200 chicken strips and fries, enough to feed 200 people.
“The sweets and the activities were really fun,” said Ahmed. “It was very childlike and very nostalgic. There were slushies and games, and everyone was off their phones, too.”
