Imam Bilal Malik leads an Eid al-Fitr prayer. An estimated 7,000 people gathered inside Dream Finders Homes Flex Field at Daily’s Place for an Eid al-Fitr celebration on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on April 10, 2024 at 3:27 pm
The call to prayer to celebrate a month of fasting and spiritual discipline could be heard from the St. Johns River on Wednesday morning.
An estimated 6,500 people gathered inside the Dream Finders Homes Flex Field at Daily’s Place for an Eid al-Fitr celebration. The event concludes Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar.
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This year’s celebration not only had hundreds of bodies facing toward the Middle East, but hearts and minds as well.
In the six months since Hamas attacked Israel to ignite the latest Israel-Hamas war, nearly 35,000 Israeli and Palestinians have been killed — including more than 13,000 children.
Dozens of Israeli citizens remain hostages of Hamas, an organization the U.S. State Department has labeled a terrorist group since 1997.
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Imam Bilal Malik from the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida led the service. He closed his remarks by asking Allah to protect women and children in conflict areas.
“It’s not just me; we have heavy hearts,” Malik told Jacksonville Today afterward. “What is happening in the Middle East, in Gaza, the genocide especially with over 13,000 children being killed and over 31,000 (Palestinian) civilians being killed. …
“I’m not feeling the joy, the celebration we used to have for Eid. My humble request from everyone — Muslim and non-Muslim — try to raise your voice for peace,” Malik said. “For ceasefire. That there shouldn’t be any killing.”
Next to a black box soliciting contributions for Zakat al-Fitr, an obligatory donation Muslims pay at the end of Ramadan to help the less fortunate, sat two boxes geared toward Palestine relief.
Malik implored the gathered to graduate from the discipline of fasting over the last month and incorporate it into their lives over the next 11 months.
As Malik prayed, young boys flitted between the lines and young girls joined their mothers toward the back.
Hafez Assali, chairman of the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida, said the joy and laughter of the children here is a heartbreaking reminder of abroad.
“When you see children here today with us, celebrating, you cannot help but to think of those who are not going to be celebrating today with us like in Gaza and in other places that has suffering as a result of war,” Assali said.
There were other Eid celebrations before dawn in the Arlington and Baymeadows communities. The gathering at the Flex Field is the region’s largest.
Those in attendance ranged from babies, like 8-month old Pattan Shaik, to others in their eighth decade.
While tensions between Muslims and Jews are high elsewhere, Malik and Assali both say the best way for Northeast Floridians to find peach with their neighbors is to take the time to learn more about them.
“The only way to eliminate (misconceptions) to clear them is to come forward and ask us, talk to us, visit our centers,” Assali said. “We are very approachable. We would love to share our faith, our customs, our cultures and what we’re all about.”
Clarification: This story was updated with a new crowd size estimate based on information from counters at the doors.
