The American University Muslim Student Association is hosting a banquet in celebration of the festival of Eid-al-Adha tonight from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the Butler Boardroom.
Eid is the only major Muslim holiday that takes place during the academic year, and tonight’s event will be the biggest celebration for the association.
Aman Abdelhamid, the president of the Muslim Student Association and a sophomore in SIS, said that Friday’s event is open to students from all cultures and backgrounds, including those attending other colleges in and around the D.C. area.
“We want to educate people about why we celebrate Eid, and we want Muslims and people of other faiths to come together, have henna done and celebrate happiness,” Abdelhamid said.
The holiday tonight is the second of two large religious events celebrated worldwide by the Muslim community. The other occasion is Eid-al-Fitr, which took place in July this year. Eid-al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, commemorates the end of Hajj, or the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, a once-in-a-lifetime journey made by Muslims around the world. The date of Eid varies year by year and is determined by the Islamic lunar calendar.
Abdelhamid stressed the importance of the Eid celebration tonight for teaching people about Islam.
“Especially as an SIS major, I have noticed that a lot of students do not know a lot about Islam,” she said. “The Eid celebration is an opportunity to learn more about it before they get into the field.”
Abdelhamid said she feels it is her responsibility to make sure celebrations like Eid, which she said is like Christmas for Muslims, take place on campus because students can come together and celebrate the event, since most are not able to go home and celebrate it with their own families.
Mawal Sidi, treasurer of the Muslim Student Association, said she also believes that there are a lot of people on campus who have limited knowledge about Islam and make swift judgements about Muslims without knowing the facts.
“Being a minority, representation is a problem,” she said. “People are quick to say negative things about minorities.”
Sidi said she wants everyone to take something away from attending the Eid banquet and sees the event as a way to bring all Muslims and non-Muslims together to celebrate the holiday.
“If someone is skeptical about the Muslim community or has questions about Islam and wants to learn more, the banquet is a great place for them as well,” she said.
According to Abdelhamid, the menu for the banquet consists of chicken, rice, salad and cupcakes. Entertainment for the night includes spoken word performance, henna, calligraphy and a hijab stylist. Attendees are encouraged to wear cultural or semi-formal attire to the event.
Abdelhamid said upcoming events hosted by the Muslim Student Association include a S'mores Night near either midterms or finals week and a collaboration with the non-profit organization, United Muslim Relief. A Mental Health Awareness Week focusing on mental health in Islam is in its planning stages and is supposed to take place at the end of November. The group also plans to organize an Islam Awareness Week, which will take place next semester.
Abdelhamid hopes to expand the Muslim Student Association to include more students and said anyone can request to be added to the mailing list. As of now, the group usually meets on Wednesday’s at noon in the Kay Spiritual Center. There is also a prayer at Kay every Friday at 1:30 p.m. that is open to everyone.
