Eid al-Fitr in Germantown

Hundred of Muslims flocked to the Germantown SoccerPlex on Tuesday morning for Eid al-Fitr prayers, which mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

According to Islamic teachings, Ramadan is the holy month during which God revealed the Quran to Prophet Mohammed. Adherents who have reached the age of puberty and are in good health are expected to pray, fast and recite the holy book in its entirety during the 29 days of fasting. Fasting, along with a pilgrimage to Mecca in one’s lifetime, charity and creed are the five pillars of Islamic faith.

Sayed Naved, Chairman of Board of Trustees at the Islamic Center of Maryland in Gaithersburg estimated between 7,000 and 9,000 attended prayers at the SoccerPlex. He said his group had held prayers at the venue for a number of years.

According to Naved, the fasting this year had a deeper intention in light of the Horn of Africa starvation crisis. Before prayers a speaker urged the congregation to donate to the cause and several mosques have extended their African hunger funds drive to mid-September.

Naved explained that beyond creating solidarity between people living in an affluent community and people starving everywhere in the world, fasting was a one on one time with God.

“We fast so as to attain a bond,” said Naved. “Fasting is the one way of worship that only you and your god know whether you are fasting or not. Other forms of worship like praying in the masjid or giving charity, other people know what you are doing. Fasting is a direct connection between you and your God.”

Gaithersburg resident Nicholas Alexander Hoffman said Ramadan is a personal challenge for him to become a more modest person in thought, speech and action.

“For me, Eid and Ramadan are about overcoming my own demons,” he said. “It is also about looking inside you and improving yourself and trying to be more modest in every way.”

If Rayah Tunis, daughter of an Imam and an immigrant from Sierra Leone were back home, she said she would observe Ramadan a little different than she does in America. She would take the day off after Eid al-Fitr prayers to cook a huge meal for her family and friends. While most of her friends have postponed the big parties to later over the weekend she will be making a modest dinner for her family and a few friends.

Whether she is in Europe, Africa or America, Tunis says there is one thing she is not willing to change.

“Ramadan is a way of life,” Tunis said. “I cannot give it up. Here it is quite different because of a faster pace of life but I still have to refine myself my body my mind and my heart for God. And mostly thank Allah for the blessings through out the year.”