Orange County Eid Prayer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

ANAHEIM, CA – Local Muslims Filled Angel Stadium with Prayer Service

Approximately 20,000 local Muslims gathered at Angel Stadium of Anaheim for the largest Eid al-Adha (‘Festival of the Sacrifice’) prayer in the history of Orange County. This historic event was a joint project of the three largest mosques in Orange County: the Islamic Center of Irvine (ICOI) in Irvine, Islamic Institute of Orange County (IIOC) in Anaheim, and Islamic Society of Orange County (ISOC) in Garden Grove.  “We are very excited and grateful for this opportunity that unites our community together in celebration of our religious holiday,” said Issa Edah-Tally, a board member of ICOI and a part of the planning team for this joint prayer service.

Eid al-Adha is one of two major Islamic holidays and celebrates the culmination of the annual pilgrimage, which brings together millions of Muslims to Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The holiday and pilgrimage are a commemoration of Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God.  “This is the time that we all pray in remembrance of our Lord and His mercy & compassion for Prophet Abraham and mankind,” said Imam Mohammed Faqih of IIOC.  As part of the Eid celebration, which takes place over four days, Muslims who can afford to do so sacrifice sheep as a symbol of Abraham’s sacrifice. The meat is then distributed to the poor and hungry.  On Eid al-Adha, Muslims around the world celebrate by performing morning prayer services, exchanging gifts, and visiting friends and family.  “It is a prophetic tradition to hold this prayer service outdoor as a community and we are very blessed to see so many Muslims in Orange County here, as millions gather in Mecca today in celebration of our high holiday,” said Imam Suhail Mulla or ISOC.

Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura (‘Consultative’) Council of Southern California, the umbrella organization for mosques in the region, echoed the sentiments shared by leaders of three Islamic centers.  “It’s truly a historic moment for our community in Orange County, seeing leaders coming together beyond their mosques is a wonderful expression of unity,” said Syed.

The atmosphere at the Stadium was like a one big family reunion and many congregants were very excited to share this religious holiday as one community.  “It was great to finally be able to pray with many of my friends and family in the area,” said Noreen Rahman who drove from Lake Forest with her husband, Ali. Many like Noreen and Ali were also impressed with the smoothness of the event, despite of the large crowd attended.

“It’s nice to be a part of something that bring the crowd this big together,” said Yasmine Ibrahim, a volunteer at the event.  There were about sixty community volunteers who worked here as early as the dawn to make this mass gathering possible, the organizers reported.  “It is a blessing that we were able to bring three mosques together and display strength and unity of our community through dedicated works of many volunteers,” Edah-Tally noted.