Muslim community’s Eid tribute to keyworkers

Newcastle’s Muslim community have paid tribute to keyworkers as they prepare to celebrate Eid safely on Friday 31 July.

Eid Mubarak

Newcastle’s Muslim community have paid tribute to keyworkers as they prepare to celebrate Eid safely on Friday 31 July.

The Coronavirus outbreak meant that Ramadan and the first Eid of the year was celebrated at home under very different circumstances.

Now, as lockdown restrictions have eased and places of worship re-opened, Muslims are looking forward to celebrating Eid again, within current social distancing guidelines.

Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice is considered to be the most important Islamic holiday. The occasion commemorates the sacrifice that Prophet Ibrahim, known as Abraham in Christianity and Judaism, was willing to make. It also marks the completion of Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca performed by millions who make the trip from around the world.

Newcastle Central Mosque has been putting preparations in place for prayer services. The mosque has been following strict social distancing guidelines which they’ve been promoting on their Facebook page.

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Members of Newcastle's BAME community have helped translate an Eid message, tribute to keyworkers and how to stay safe.

Eid Mubarak and tribute from Newcastle's Muslim community

Newcastle City Council has also worked together with the community to produce videos to help people stay safe and pay tribute to keyworkers. With the support of Councillors and members from the Bangladeshi, Urdu, Farsi, Kurdish and Sudanese community, a series of messages have been translated to advise how they can protect themselves, others and the city.

Cllr Irim Ali, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Public Health said “Our Muslim community has shown a lot of resolve, first with Ramadan then Eid al-Fitr staying at home during the pandemic. Eid is a very special occasion that is spent celebrating with friends, family and community, and this year people have had to adapt to a very different way of life.

“The Coronavirus crisis has meant a lot of sacrifices from people from all our communities in the city, especially those on the frontline who put their lives at risk. Today those sacrifices have allowed lockdown measures to be eased.

“Eid al-Adha is about sacrifice, so it’s only fitting that we pay tribute to the sacrifices made by all of our keyworkers in these unprecedented times.”

Imam Abdul Basith of Newcastle Central Mosque said “The Muslim community around the globe this year have had to sacrifice the most beloved things to them, namely the prayer, the holy month of Ramadan, the Hajj pilgrimage, and two Eids.

“Every one of these things are not only foundational in Islam but mandatory and obligatory as well, however Islam teaches that the preservation of life is of a higher importance and thus we have had to bear these huge sacrifices with this higher goal in mind.”

Watch the full videos in different languages:

Farsi - https://youtu.be/Q6CskGp3FE0
Bengali - https://youtu.be/li5NxwJTgVc
Arabic - https://youtu.be/1Glk51xp2w4
Kurdish Sorani - https://youtu.be/ivuwmhhP4PU

Eid al-Adha is about sacrifice, so it’s only fitting that we pay tribute to the sacrifices made by all of our keyworkers in these unprecedented times.