Valley Muslims Celebrate Eid al-Adha, Register to Vote

January 10, 2006

Source: The Arizona Republic

https://azcentral.newspapers.com/search/#query=About+4%2C000+Muslims+-+families%2C+men+and+women+who+came+alone%2C+young+and+old

On January 10, 2006 The Arizona Republic reported, "About 4,000 Muslims - families, men and women who came alone, young and old - gathered in the Phoenix Civic Plaza ballroom for Eid ul-Adha (EED-al-ODD-ha) or 'festival of the sacrifice.' Each year, Muslims mark the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, or hajj, with communal prayers and celebrations like this one. Each year, too, at the Eid ul-Adha, a lecture by an imam follows the prayer. Didmar Faja, 26, an imam from the Greenway mosque delivered what he believed to be the most important message this year, especially for the Eid. 'This day,' Faja told Muslims, 'stands for justice and unity'... Because there were so many Muslims in one place, Mohamed Elsharkawy, chairman of the Arizona office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and a group of volunteers tried to register as many voters as they could near a red, white and blue banner that read: 'I am Muslim, I am American, I vote.'"