Nepal: Mass prayers, exchange of greetings mark Eid Al-Adha celebrations

Kathmandu [Nepal], June 29 : The people of Muslim community in Nepal marked the celebration of the second biggest festival Eid Al-Adha by organising mass prayers and exchanging greetings on Thursday morning.

Hundreds of Islam followers thronged the Kashmiri Takiya Mosque in the capital city of Kathmandu taking part in the mass Namaz recitation ceremony. Eid Al-Adha is observed on the 70th day of Eid Ul-Fitr or Ramadan.

On this day, the Muslims visit the nearest mosque after a morning bath and attend a mass prayer to read the Namaz. After reading the Namaj, they exchange greetings by hugging one another.

"On Eid Al-Adha, we take a bath in the early morning and then come to the mosque for Namaz. We already have performed the Namaz ceremony. After this, back in our home we sacrifice various animals and divide them into three halves- one is given to the poor people another half to the relatives and the third is consumed by ourselves. Also, we visit friends and relatives' houses to celebrate the festival," Yusuf one of the participants of the Namaz ceremony told ANI.

"The festival is observed commemorating the moment when Ibrahim, the first of the Old Testament became ready to sacrifice his son at the command of Allah, the Muslim God, some 1435 years back as per the Hijri calendar," said Nirdosh Ali, chairperson of the National Muslim Commission.

Reading Namaz, observing Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca Medina) and Roza (fasting), and offering donations and sacrifices are the five main good deeds that are supposed to be followed by the Muslim people.

"Eid Al-Adha is different from Eid Ul-Fitr as the latter is observed after performing one month-long Roza or Ramadan. Roza is not required during Eid Al-Adha and it is observed after about two and half months after the Ramzan," Taushin Ansari told ANI.

Meanwhile, the Government of Nepal has announced a public holiday on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha. Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" while extending wishes on the day has said that unity within diversity is our national identity and pride.

Extending best wishes to all the Nepalis including the Muslim community at home and abroad on the happy occasion of Bakra Eid (Eid ul-Azha) festival, he said that our country with multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural, multi-religious and geographically diverse features is constitutionally a secular state.

Prime Minister Dahal said that multi-religion and multi-culture are encouraging our society to move forward with mutual respect.

He added that religious and cultural festivals with such diverse characteristics have contributed significantly to strengthening national unity by maintaining cultural unity, social harmony and religious tolerance.

Expressing the belief that Bakra Eid celebrated as a form of social harmony and family reunion would further strengthen national unity, social harmony and mutual friendship, he has also wished that may the festival inspire the Muslim community and Nepalis as a whole to move forward on the path of freedom and prosperity.