Long Island Muslims gather in Uniondale to commemorate Eid al-Fitr

Muslims from across Long Island — and across the globe — commemorated Eid al-Fitr on Sunday with prayers followed by family gatherings and traditional home cooking.

Eid is both a religious and a family holiday, as Camron Mohmamd, 20, of Hicksville, explained. "You pray to God and you thank God, but you also then celebrate with your family," said Mohmamd, whose family emigrated from Afghanistan in the 1980s.

"It's kind of like a second Thanksgiving almost — good food, good people, good time," Mohmamd said.

He came with his father and other family members, along with thousands of others of the Muslims faith, to the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale for morning prayers organized by the Islamic Center of Long Island.

There are about 40 mosques on Long Island, but a large, indoor facility at the complex can handle a big crowd, and, as several celebrants emphasized, Eid is all about gathering as a community. The group reflected the broad diversity of Muslims in the region, with many having family origins traced from the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia, to Egypt and the Maghreb in Northern Africa.

Eid al-Fitr, which roughly translates as "the festival of the breaking of the fast," marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims traditionally abstain from eating and drinking between sunup and sundown. Ramadan commemorates the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad, according to Muslim beliefs, and is a time of reflection, prayer and eagerly anticipated evening meals, known as iftar.

About two dozen school districts on Long Island will be closed on Monday for Eid, including Babylon, Bethpage, Herricks, Hicksville, Huntington, Island Trees, Mineola, Plainedge and Plainview.

Areej Nawaz, 19, of Westbury, arrived at the complex early Sunday morning with her father and brother to help set up.

"Afterward we go home and take a little nap, and then we hang out with family," Nawaz said. The Eid feast can vary according to each family’s national origins, she said. Her family, which emigrated from Pakistan, will be cooking dishes such as korma, biryani, and kheer, a rice pudding flavored with rosewater, cardamom and pistachios.

By 8 a.m. Sunday, several thousand people had taken their places on prayer mats facing Mecca. (Chairs and benches were provided for those unable to kneel comfortably.)

"This is a time when the community comes very close," said Nazima Khan, 56, who lives in Westbury, "including the community far from us."

During Ramadan, she said, Muslims pay special attention to zakat — or acts of charity — one of the five pillars of Islam, along with faith, prayer, fasting, and the hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca. People give "wherever the money is needed," Khan said, "to make sure that everybody has something to celebrate."

Arooba Marks, 38, who now lives in Westchester but grew up in Upper Brookville, said the time of reflection and community is particularly profound this year, the second Eid al-Fitr since her fellow Muslims have been under fire in Gaza. This Ramadan especially, she’s been thinking about "what's happening in the world today and how much more we have than other folks."

"I just hope for peace on both sides, and I hope that there can come sort of resolution in my lifetime," Marks said.