VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

Eid Special Edition
November 17, 2010
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editors: Mohamed & Rashida Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

Editorial:

WE TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY EID

PART A

THE WHITE HOUSE

November 15, 2010

Statement by the President on Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha

(indianpublicholidays.com)

Michelle and I extend our greetings for a happy Eid-ul-Adha to Muslims worldwide and wish safe travels to those performing Hajj. This year, nearly three million pilgrims from more than 160 countries – including the United States – have gathered in Mecca and neighboring sites to perform the Hajj rituals and stand together in prayer.

On Eid, Muslims around the world will commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, and distribute food to those less fortunate – a reminder of the shared values and the common roots of three of the world’s major religions.

On behalf of the American people, we extend our best wishes during this Hajj season – Eid Mubarak and Hajj Mabrour. (yemen.usembassy.gov)

PART B

Obamas Visit Indonesian Mosque, Michelle Dons Headscarf
Reuters
HINDUSTAN TIMES, NOV 10 2010

Jakarta, November 10, 2010

US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday visited Indonesia's largest mosque in a goodwill gesture to Muslims. US first lady Michelle Obama donned a headscarf on a visit to an mosque in Indonesia on Wednesday, not a requirement for a non-Muslim but a sign of the Obamas' efforts to show respect for the Islamic world.

Wearing a beige headscarf adorned with gold beads and a flowing chartreuse trouser suit, the first lady toured Jakarta's Istiqlal Mosque, Southeast Asia's largest, while on a short state visit to the world's most populous Muslim country.

PART C

Mob in Athens (Greece) Attack Muslims as They Celebrate Eid
Nov 16, 2010
(World Bulletin)

While the Muslims prayed, some locals shouted obscenities from their balconies, leaflets that depicted pigs were scattered across the square

Dozens of far-right activists and local residents threw eggs and taunted hundreds of Muslim immigrants as they gathered to pray in a central square for Eid al-Adha surrounded by a protective cordon of riot police.

Athens' Muslim community is without an official mosque and prayers are usually held at cultural centres or community halls or private apartments around the city. The Muslim community in Greece is estimated at about 1 million, in a country where most people are Greek Orthodox Christians.

While the Muslims prayed, some locals shouted obscenities from their balconies and waved Greek flags. Leaflets that depicted pigs -an animal Muslims consider unclean- were scattered across the square.

"There is a (unofficial) mosque near here but we're afraid to go there," said a 30-year old migrant from Bangladesh, who gave his name as Shamasul. "Sometimes Greeks in the neighborhood threaten to kill us."

In another, more central square in front of Athens university, about 2,000 Muslim men and women prayed peacefully in front of the neo-classical university and ancient Greek statues.

In the past, moves to build a mosque in the capital have been met with opposition from local residents and some priests of the Greek orthodox church.

However, the current archbishop supports the construction of a mosque and the socialist government has set aside a site close to the city centre, although building has not yet begun.

The only mosques in Greece are in the northeastern region of Xanthi near the Turkish border, home to a large Muslim minority. Reuters

PART D

A PICTURE SPEAKS A THOUSAND WORDS

AFRICA:

NIGERIA:

Muslims attend prayers to mark the Islamic festival of Eid el-Kebir, in an open ground in Nigeria's federal Capital Abuja November 16, 2010. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid el-Kebir, also known as Eid al-Adha, by slaughtering sheep, goats, camels and cows to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, on God's command. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

IVORY COAST

A Muslim girl sits near her father during the prayer of Eid el-Kebir at the mosque of Attiekoube in the capital of Abidjan November 16, 2010. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid el-Kebir, also known as Eid al-Adha, by slaughtering sheep, goats, camels and cows to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, on God's command. REUTERS/Luc Gnago

KENYA:

(Boy sleeps as Kenyan Muslims pray during Eid Al Adha in the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya. Reuters.
xeniagreekmuslimah.wordpress.com)

EGYPT:

(Playing with ballon after Eid Al Adha prayers outside a Mosque in Cairo, Egypt).

EUROPE:

RUSSIA: St. Petersburg

(Russian Muslims pray outside Mosque during Eid. Muslims in Russia call Eid as Kurban Bairam.API/Dmitry Lovetsky
Voices from Russia)

(Russian sister with prayer rugs, Prospect Mira.
opinionated.blogger.com)

FRANCE: PARIS

(Pedestrians walk past Muslims offering prayers during Eid outside a Mosque in Paris, AP photo)

BOSNIA:

Bosnian Muslims drag a sheep to be slaughtered during Eid al-Adha in Srebrenica November 16, 2010. Muslim survivors of the Srebrenica massacre in which Serb forces killed up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys, gathered in their deserted town to celebrate Eid al-Adha by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God's command. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)

ASIA:

AFGHANISTAN:

Afghan men come out of a mosque after offering Eid al-Adha prayers in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010. Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al-Adha,or the Feast of the Sacrifice by sacrificial killing of livestock to commemorate the religious story of Abraham. (AP Photo/Altaf Qad)

AZERBAIJAN:

Worshippers perform the Eid al-Adha prayers in the mosque of Shuvalan pilgrimage site near Baku, Azerbaijan, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010. Muslims throughout the world celebrate the holiday of Eid al-Adha, Feast of Sacrifice, when Muslims around the world slaughter sheep and cattle in remembrance of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son. (AP Photo/Manoocher Deghati)

INDIA:

KASHMIR:

(Kashmiri women offer prayer during Eid)

A Kashmiri Muslim woman weeps as she offers prayers during the Eid al-Adha festival in Srinagar November 17, 2010. Muslims around the world celebrate Eidal-Adha to mark the end of the haj by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God's command. REUTERS/Danish Ismail

Indian Muslim boys take a goat for sacrifice after offering prayers on Eid al-Adha in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha, or feast of sacrifice by slaughtering sheep and cattle in remembrance of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar )

BANGLADESH:

Hundreds of Bangladeshi passengers headed to the southern districts to celebrate Eid al-Adha travel in overcrowded ferries through the Buriganga riverin Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Nov.16, 2010. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)

CHINA:

A Muslim man prays on the festival of Eid al-Adha at the Nanguan Mosque in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, November 17, 2010. Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha by slaughtering camels, sheep, goats and cows to commemorate Prophet Abraham

MALAYSIA:

A Muslim boy performs Eid al-Adha prayers at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. During Eid al-Adha, or feast of sacrifice, Muslimsaround the world slaughter sheep and cattle in remembrance of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin)

NEPAL:

(Nepalese Muslim perform congregational Eid al Adha morning prayers at the Kashmir Mosqu in Kathmandu on Nov 17, 2010. AFP/Getty Image/Prakash Matheme, Sacbee.com)

PAKISTAN:

Pakistani goat sellers wait for customers for upcoming Eid al-Adha festival in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010. Muslims worldwide will celebrateEid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice on Nov. 17, by sacrificial killing of sheep, goats, cows or camels. The slaughter commemorates the biblical story of Abraham, who was on the verge of sacrificing his son to obey God's command when God interceded by substituting a ram in the child's place. (AP photo/B.K.Bangash)

THAILAND:

Thai Muslims pray during the Eid al-Adha festival at a mosque in the southern province of Pattani November 16, 2010 REUTERS/Surapan Boonthanom

YEMEN:

Yemeni girls display their hands painted with henna paste while playing in an alley of the old city, on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha,or Feast of the Sacrifice, in Sanaa, Yemen, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

Yemeni children dressed in new clothes play in an alley of the old city, on the second day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice,in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010 (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:
DUBAI

(Dubai, UAE, Zilhaj Burhani Masjid. Photo by courtesy of Sk Zoeb Bhai Merchant, cuisineonline.pk)

WEST BANK

A Palestinian girl visits a grave of her relative on the first day of Eid al-Adha in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010. Muslims worldwidecelebrate Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice commemorating the religious story of Abraham. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

KYRGYSTAN:

People choose sheep for sacrifice to celebrate the Eid al-Adha at a local market in the village of Ak-Bata outside the capital Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Tuesday,Nov. 16, 2010. Muslims throughout the world celebrate the holiday of Eid al-Adha, Feast of Sacrifice, when Muslims around the world slaughter sheep and cattle in remembrance of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son. (AP Photo/Maxim Shubovich)

INDONESIA:

Indonesian Muslims perform Eid al-Adha prayers at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. Muslims around the worldcelebrate Eid al-Adha, or feast of sacrifice by slaughtering sheep and cattle in remembrance of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son. (AP Photo/Heri Juanda)