Around 2,000 Richmondites of Muslim faith congregated at Minoru Park on Tuesday morning for an open-air prayer to mark the end of Ramadan and 30 days of fasting.
The majority of them partly filled the artificial turf at field 3, with a morning prayer kicking off the festivities, which continued afterwards behind Minoru Oval.
A significant Richmond RCMP presence was noticeable in the area, which the Richmond News understands was in response to events around the world and, in part, on request from the event organizers.
Many in the Muslim faith celebrate what’s called “Eid al-Fitr” after Ramadan, which ended at sunset on Monday evening.
“This is the third year in a row we have been able to hold it outside,” said Abdullah Nasib Ali, general secretary of the BC Muslim Association (BCMA), whose Richmond branch organized the event.
“We follow the lunar calendar and the date obviously shifts, so we have been blessed with good enough weather to do this.
“We start with the prayer and then it is the day-long celebration. But the celebrations will go on for the rest of the week with people going house to house and some hosting events at community halls.”
