Eid-ul-Adhia Celebrated in Norcross

Muslims across the world came together last Friday, Oct. 26, to celebrate Eid-ul-Adhia, one of the most important annual holidays in Islam which occurs right after Ramadan.

Two hundred muslims in the Georgia Chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community met at Lucky Shoals Park in Norcross to share the holiday together.

The main elements of Eid revolve around sacrifice and gratitude. In the Koran, Eid-ul-Adhia marks the Prophet Abraham’s symbolic sacrifice and the close of the Hajj ceremony, or pilgrimage, to the Ka’aba in Mecca.

"It's a reminder to be ever-ready and to be able to follow that golden example that Abraham set up for us and other prophets including Mohammad and Jesus and Moses," said Qamar Ahmad, the general secretary of the Georgia Chapter. "[It's about] following their footsteps and [how they] were willing to give up everything for whom they believed to be their god."

On Friday, the Ahmadiyya congregation, which also is located in the Norcross area off Jimmy Carter Boulevard, celebrated the day with a sermon at 11 a.m., followed by lunch at 12:30 p.m. and prayer at 1:30 p.m. The sermon was led in English and Urdu by the chapter's president, Hazeem Pudhiapura.

The sacrifice part of the holiday came the next day for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. On Saturday, one of the community members had a picnic planned at his farm in Conyers as a get together and to also give them the opportunity to sacrifice goats as part of the Eid celebration. The animals can be anything from goats to camels to cows, depending on what's available and what a faithful could afford. The meat from each animal sacrifice is then divided into three equal parts. One for the family who does it, second for the poor and third for the relatives.

When the religion was practiced in Pakistan (the Ahmadiyya sect is now illegal to practice in there), each family would raise one animal for a few days and then the sacrifice would take place. President Farhat Pall of the women's auxillary and spokeswoman Saima Ahmad explained that apart from Hajj, this is another important part of the holiday because of the connection made with the animal.

"The spirit of sacrifice is that you get attached to that animal when you take care of it," said Pall, adding that kids especially become attached.

Patch was at the Friday event to capture a few photos of the holiday with the Ahmadiyya community. Check out the Viewfinder above for a look into the Islamic holiday.

Did you celebrate Eid-ul-Adhia? Post your photos to Patch by clicking on "Upload Your Photos and Videos."

See also: 

• Empowered Muslim Women
• Local Muslims Give Message of Peace
• Muslim Celebration to Focus on Gratitude
• Freedom of Speech or Hate Speech?

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