Community Corner
South Asians Unite at Eid Celebration
Locals from many different backgrounds celebrated the end of Ramadan at an Eid celebration with family and friends.
Shimmering in gold-and-silver sequined outfits, guests flaunted their finest South Asian attire to celebrate the end of Ramadan on Saturday night.
Three nonprofits, the , Pakistani American Culture Center (PACC) and the Aligarh Muslim University Alumni Association, worked together to put on the ornate dinner and show.
Farruqh Shah Khan, president of PACC, said the event took about three months of planning. Guests paid $15-$45 for admission to the event, which included dinner, dancing, classical ghazals—a form of music usually on the topic of love—and a children's fashion show.
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"Our goal is to share the culture and celebrate the event," he said. "So [financially] the goal is to make sure we break even and we don't incur a loss."
On Eid, Muslims break their monthlong fast, pray and exchange gifts. However, people of many different faiths took part in Saturday night's festivities.
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Joginder Soni, a practicing Sikh, drove two hours from Turlock to be with his friends, who invited him to the event. He said the celebration was all about love and service.
"It's good to celebrate spiritual days," he said. "I think this kind of celebration will bring some love ... maybe it will solve some problems of the world!"
Imam Tahir Anwar was invited to speak at the event and emphasized the importance of interfaith and international collaboration. As an Indian-American Muslim who grew up in the U.S., Anwar said he finds it difficult to distinguish between Pakistanis and Indians.
"Until I became an adult, I never really thought there was a big difference between India and Pakistan, except maybe that border they taught us in geography in seventh grade," he said.
The imam also paused for a moment of silence to remember the victims of 9/11 and reflect.
“In these extremely tragic times, as we complete the 10-year anniversary of these horrific events that took place in New York, it’s a time for us to reflect as humans,” he said. “Where are we headed as humans? Are we headed in the right direction?”
