NATO Air Raids Add Weight to Feast of Sacrifice for O.C. Muslims

With their minds weighed down by the plight of brethren in Kosovo, thousands of Orange County Muslims flocked to Anaheim on Saturday to mark the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims must make once in their lifetime.

One of two major Muslim holidays, Eid al-Adha represents a time of prayer and sacrifice, as well as a joyous occasion spent in social gatherings with family and friends.

The ongoing NATO airstrikes in Kosovo cast a solemn yet grateful note over the ceremony for the 10,000 Muslims gathered in the Anaheim Convention Center. Most of the Serb province’s people are Albanian Muslims who are reportedly subject to ethnic cleansing by the government of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

“We appreciate very much the support, the action our country has taken now,” Muzammil H. Siddiqi, president of the Islamic Society of North America, told the crowd. “It is long overdue. . . . Milosevic is the new Hitler, and I’m glad that finally the United States and NATO have taken action.”

Others said they support the NATO airstrikes as long as only military installations are targeted. Shabbir Mansuri, director of the Council on Islamic Education in Fountain Valley, said he backs the strikes “as long as no innocent Serbians are killed. It should be strictly confined to military targets only.”

Some people lamented that Western allies didn’t take action much sooner, which might have saved more Muslim lives. They also bemoaned the fact that many Americans aren’t aware that those being victimized in Kosovo are Muslims.

“What really bugs the Muslim community is that if anything bad is done by someone Muslim, in the news you hear the words ‘Muslim terrorist.’ I have never heard the word ‘Muslim’ referred to in Kosovo,” said Mahmood Aljilani of Anaheim Hills. “They’re always referred to as ethnic Albanians.”

But for many, Saturday’s prayer ceremony simply represented a time to remember the sacrifices of ancestors and to be with loved ones. Dressed in their finest traditional garb, they marked the Festival of Sacrifice by praying on their knees toward Mecca and recalling the prophet Abraham’s willingness to kill his own son for Allah.

Because Allah spared Ishmael at the last moment, instead ordering his father to sacrifice a sheep, Muslims traditionally remember the incident with the killing of a lamb or goat, part of whose meat is then distributed to the poor. But many modern Muslims in America forgo that ritual, instead sending money to poorer countries to feed hungry Muslims.

Another custom during the three-day holiday is to make social calls.

“This is the day to visit friends, to spend time with family,” Mansuri said. “This is the day to take your kids and family to other families.”

Orange County is believed to be home to more than 80,000 Muslims. While the Convention Center hosts the largest gathering, similar ceremonies were held at a few sites throughout the county. The Orange County Islamic Foundation’s center in Mission Viejo hosted Eid al-Adha ceremonies for the first time Saturday in its newly renovated mosque.

More than 2 million of the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims head to Mecca at this time of year for the pilgrimage.

Ruhi Vasanwala, 25, of Yorba Linda recalled her trip there as an overwhelming experience, even though she didn’t go during the traditional time of hajj.

“It’s extraordinary,” Vasanwala said. “There’s nothing like it. Growing up in this country, every time you pray, you pray toward Mecca. You see pictures, but you have no idea how gigantic it is.”

“It’s very purifying,” she added.

Dressed in an embroidered, pale yellow robe-like shirt called a kamiz and billowy pants called shalwar, Vasanwala said she enjoyed preparing for the holiday.

“This is so much fun,” she said. “We plan this for a month. We all go shopping together for our clothes. I woke up at 5 this morning to get ready.”