For Muslims, Ramadan Ends Thursday With Eid ul-Fitr

The end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan will be marked by the faithful Thursday with communal prayer and a celebration called Eid ul-Fitr.

Many of the approximately 500,000 Muslims in Greater Los Angeles and millions of others around the world spent the last month went fasting from dawn to dusk to commemorate the first revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad.

It was also a time of “higher levels of worship, devotion to God and practicing patience and compassion and charity … in an elevated way. For many Muslims, it’s the holiest time of the year for us,” explained Omar Ricci, spokesperson for the Islamic Center of Southern California.

Ramadan ends with prayers but also festivity. Eid is traditionally a time for visiting friends, attending parties with special foods, present-giving, and wearing new clothes.

The celebrations will still be held under COVID protocols, Ricci said, but pointed out that the Zoom events worked out well this year and last.

Even though some annual Eid events were canceled, like the celebration normally held by Pasadena’s New Horizon school, there were some benefits to holding gatherings at a distance.

“It actually was nice in the sense that you had some of the more elderly members of our community who typically may not be wanting to come out to a full day picnic, or whatever,” he said. But with Zoom, the seniors could see people and participate from their homes.

“Hopefully this time next year we’ll be back gathering in-person,” Ricci said.