‘Eid Mubarak!’ Thousands of Sacramento-area Muslims gather to celebrate the end of Ramadan

The vast parking lot outside of the Jackson Sports Academy at McClellan Park was practically empty at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, but the man attending the parking lot urged people to park way, way in the back. Another man welcoming people at the door laughed and said he was sure the event would fill up.

And fill up it did. More than 4,000 Sacramento-area Muslims poured into the space to gather for a prayer just before 10 a.m. marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month. The Eid al-Fitr celebration at McClellan Park was hosted by the Tarbiya Institute, and its director, Imam Mohamed Abdul-Azeez, led the prayer and offered a sermon.

“Ramadan makes you stronger, and happier and more connected,” Azeez said during his sermon.

Azeez stood on a raised dais towards the north-northwest corner of the cavernous room in a converted warehouse because all Muslims pray in the direction of Mecca. Despite the huge crowd filling the hall, Azeez’s voice rang clear across the gentle whooshing sound of people going through the physical motions of the salat, or prayer.

“It’s difficult to show gratitude these days when we are surrounded by negativity,” Azeez send in the sermon, citing rising Islamophobia and authoritarianism as well as wars in the Middle East. “But you still need to find a way to be grateful today. How can we be grateful today? By looking at this sight.”

During the 29 to 30 days of Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Eid al-Fitr marks the break in the fasting period, and it is one of the most important holidays for Muslims across the globe. Tarbiya’s celebration was one of many across the Sacramento region and worldwide.

The Tarbiya Insitute has hosted the Eid celebration at the Jackson Sports Academy since 2014, according to Irfan Haq, the president of the Council of Sacramento Valley Islamic Organizations. In 2014, about 700 people gathered. Tuesday’s gathering made 700 sound like nothing.

Aliza Howard, who is originally from Malaysia, has been attending the Eid al-Fitr with Tarbiya for the past four or five years, she said. For her, Eid is about the entire Muslim community, regardless of nationality or socioeconomic status, coming together as one.

“It’s really hard and challenging, but after 30 days when you’ve completed the course, you feel this relief,” Howard said. “Then when you see everyone come together for a special day to celebrate the special month its a joyful feeling.”

She said that the holy month keeps them going throughout the entire year and strengthens their spiritual connection to god.

The supplicants all greeted each other with the phrase “Eid Mubarak,” meaning “have a blessed Eid,” and family fun activities including a bazaar and bouncy houses followed the religious service.