Winnipeg Eid celebrations bring Muslim community together on large scale

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This article was published 02/05/2022 (1226 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Together in prayer, at last.

After 30 days of fasting, thousands of Muslims gathered Monday morning in the heart of downtown Winnipeg to observe Eid al-Fitr, an Islamic celebration marking the end of Ramadan.

Eid al-Fitr translates from Arabic as “festival of the breaking of the fast.”

The 2022 event at the RBC Convention Centre drew roughly 10,500 people — a 1,500 jump in attendance from 2019, the last year the venue hosted the event before the COVID-19 pandemic brought a halt to large-scale gatherings.

“This year was excellent — it was amazing,” said Tasneem Vali, vice-chairwoman of the Manitoba Islamic Association. “The community kind of grew during COVID.”

This Eid al-Fitr was extra special for Vali. For the first time, she was joined in prayer by her brother and sister — among thousands of others observing their faith — at the local yearly event. Vali’s siblings moved from New Zealand and Dubai, respectively, amid the pandemic.

“You celebrate as a family,” Vali said, adding following Eid al-Fitr events, those participating will often go out for family meals or visit each other’s homes to cap off the day.

The Manitoba Islamic Association hosted Eid al-Fitr prayers and celebrations each year at the convention centre until the pandemic hit. While Winnipeg mosques resumed in-person worship once the province lifted capacity restrictions, Monday marked the community’s return to large-scale events.

Scores of volunteers arrived at the RBC Convention Centre at 2 a.m. Monday to prepare the space. Tasks included marking rows on the floors so worshippers could pray in the direction of Mecca, setting up a photo booth, and organizing gift bags for the children.

“We could not have done this — at all — without our dedicated volunteers and staff,” Vali said.

She estimates nearly 150 volunteers donated their time over the past month to power the association’s Eid food hamper program and fundraisers.

Two prayer sessions took place at the convention centre Monday — the first began at 8:30 a.m. — to give all visitors a chance to partake. Some guests were lined up by 7:45 a.m. to secure their spot in the hall, Vali said.

The space quickly reached capacity for the first prayer. Worshippers traveled from as far away as Morden, Winkler, Altona and Morris to attend the celebration.

“This is the one time that everyone gets to meet each other,” Vali said.

Despite this year’s Eid al-Fitr taking place on a workday morning, turnout was also strong at a scaled-down event in St. Vital.

“Our turnout was better than what we expected,” Shahzaib Zia, a lead facilitator for Dawat-e-Islami mosques in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. “We had four prayers instead of the usual two… We had 500 people-plus attend, maybe more.”

The 21-year-old, who joined the first Dawat-e-Islami mosque to open in Manitoba in 2013, led the Eid al-Fitr prayers Monday morning at the hall on St. Anne’s Road. This was Zia’s first time tackling the role.

“I was a little nervous at first,” he said.

As with the convention centre event, worshippers also traveled to attend Dawat-e-Islami Winnipeg’s Eid al-Fitr. Zia noted plenty of new faces in the crowd.

“Sometimes, people are traveling to other provinces, so if they get the chance, they stop by our centre,” Zia said. “It’s like a whole community.”

Zia and his staff at Dawat-e-Islami Winnipeg are overseeing the creation of a second mosque scheduled to open at 509 St. Mary’s Rd. in the coming months.

A livestream of the 2022 Eid al-Fitr at the convention centre is available through the Manitoba Islamic Association’s YouTube channel.

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