Eid al-Adha festival in Perth highlights multicultural unity and spiritual reflection

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Thousands of Muslims have come together across Perth to celebrate the start of Eid al-Adha - also known as the festival of sacrifice.  In the city's north, worshippers gathered at Whiteman Park to mark the holy festival with prayer, show-rides, food and charity.

Transcript

00:00Bracing the cold morning weather, hundreds of Muslims gathered at one of Perth's largest

00:12parks, praying side by side to celebrate one of the holiest days on the Islamic calendar.

00:19For Muslims we have two Eids, two celebrations, two festivals. One of them is the end of Ramadan,

00:25and we celebrate the end of the fasting month. This is the Eid of Sacrifice or Eid of Peligamage

00:33when people go to Mecca and perform the ritual there.

00:37Eid al-Abha commemorates Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God through

00:42the tradition of sacrificing livestock and sharing the meat amongst family, friends and those

00:47less fortunate. For many, the occasion is about coming together as a community.

00:51It's a beautiful thing, especially seeing different cultures and people from all different

00:56kind of backgrounds come together, all celebrate the same thing. Everybody sort of, regardless

01:01whether you know somebody or not, everybody's shaking hands, giving each other a hug.

01:06It's beautiful just to have this multiculturalism together, this gathering together and celebrating

01:11it all as one.

01:12Whilst also reflecting on their fellow Muslims around the world.

01:16It is marked by a bit of sadness, given what's going on right now in the world, and the suffering

01:21that is going on in the world, we can't forget about that. So, you know, it is a happy time

01:25definitely, but we also can't forget that people are suffering.

01:29For others, it's all about the fun.

01:31You can play with your friends in Eid at a park.

01:36I like playing the rides.

01:38What ride?

01:39Yeah, the boat ride.

01:40What do you like about Eid?

01:42Um, that it's fun. You get to spend time with your friends, cousins, families, and you

01:47get to play around with other people maybe, make new friends.

01:51A celebration to be continued over the next couple of days.

02:01I'm scared.

02:21Okay, okay.

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