Tens of thousands of Muslims in three Australian states will spend Eid at home under strict Covid-19 restrictions this week, but many are finding ways to keep the spirit of the Islamic festival of sacrifice alive in lockdown.
Eid festivals have been cancelled, mosques are shut and large family gatherings are prohibited, as people are urged to adhere to strict stay-at-home rules.
“I know this is a very special time for many in our community,” the NSW chief health officer, Kerry Chant, said on Sunday.
“I just want to reiterate that we are asking that prayers be only performed in your house and please, again, do not have visitors to your home, including family members, and do not visit others.”
For many this is the second time they have had to forgo Eid celebrations because of Covid-19 and the third time for Melburnians.
Eid-al-Adha, Arabic for the feast of the sacrifice, celebrates the prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, and coincides with the end of hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. However, with greater Sydney, Victoria and South Australia in lockdown, many Muslims are seeing celebrating Eid inside as a sacrifice in itself.
Sydney Imam Imtiaz Naveed has been helping communicate the government message of staying home to those who do not understand English in his community in Marsden Park.
“This year we’re just trying to call people and greeting them and educating them and trying to tell them to stay at home, follow the instructions of the government. So this year just as an Iman I am trying to guide people,” he said.
“It’s a very difficult time as it is a very important celebration for Muslims but because of the pandemic it’s very important to stay at home. As a Muslim it is our responsibility to follow the instructions of authority.”
This Eid has been particularly tough for the many Muslims who live in the three Sydney local government areas of Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown, which have the the majority of Covid cases and the strictest rules in place.
Aysha Busharat, from Liverpool, is sad that her Eid will not be the same.
“We are just going to stay at home and cook some special dishes. We will call our family after that. I have twin three-year-old daughters, so we will go for a walk outside.
“It’s a sad feeling, it doesn’t feel good. It feels nice to get ready and wear new clothes and go to the mosque and meet everyone and that’s when it feels like Eid but it is not the same feeling at home. My elderly mother is very sad because she can’t celebrate at the mosque too and that this happened last Eid too.”
But the Lakemba state member Jihad Dib, who is Muslim, said the spirit of Eid doesn’t have to be lost in lockdown.
“When there is an awareness of the greater good, then that’s the sacrifice you make and you celebrate Eid in a different way. You celebrate it only in your household this year.
“You don’t lose the spirit of Eid just because you can’t celebrate it the way you normally do, and you don’t not have Eid just simply because you can’t go out to the mosque or to visit family.”
Radwan Dadoun is the organiser of the Eid Show in Bankstown in Sydney’s south-west. He says that they had to cancel the event, which usually draws up to 50,000 people. The event was also cancelled twice last year on both Eid al-Fitr, in May at the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha.
“The event was ready to go. We normally have 150 vendors who all have to organise stock and staff and the planning takes a couple months,” he said.
Dadoun said those vendors had taken steps to keep patrons safe and were disappointed, but they understood the situation.
He said that while the events industry is often tough, he still sees a lot of positivity in the community and is hopeful the Eid show will return next year.
Sharon Hussein, from the Sydney Northwest Muslim Community, is finding alternative ways to celebrate with her family and the broader community.
“It was important for me to ensure that my family felt the spirit of Eid and was still able to connect with people they love,” she said.
“A few days ago we discussed some things that we would do together. We would decorate the house, pray our morning Eid prayer together, enjoy some nice home cooked meals … calling family and friends and exchanging Eid greetings and some organised family games. That was our personal Eid plan.”
To create a sense of connection, Hussein and her team have also organised a virtual program of events that includes prayers, greeting exchanges, games, crafts and story time for the kids.
“The community are so supportive and extremely thankful that we gave them a way to celebrate Eid at home,” she said.
“So we are all pretty excited and really looking forward to it. It is different for sure and not the same as seeing loved ones face to face but we understand the critical conditions of this time that we are in and we are just making the best of the situation.”
