Shillong, September 13: Eid Al-Adha or Bakr-Eid was celebrated with religious fervour and enthusiasm across Meghalaya, a predominantly Christian state, on Tuesday.
Thousands of men and children wearing new clothes and skull caps offered prayers at Eidgahs and mosques in Shillong, Dawki, Nongpoh, Lad Rymbai and Byrnihat and in the Garo Hills.
The biggest congregation was at the Eidgah at the country’s first glass mosque, the Madina Masjid in Shillong, where over 10,000 people gathered together to offer prayers. “We prayed for peace in our homes and in the world,” Shillong Muslim Union General Secretary Alhaj Sayeedullah Nongrum said.
After the prayers, Muslims sacrificed goats and other “halal” animals to commemorate the sacrifice made by Prophet Ibrahim.
The meat of the sacrificed animals is distributed among neighbours, relatives and the poor. Governor V. Shanmuganathan and Chief Minister Mukul Sangma greeted the people on the occasion. Shanmuganathan hoped that “the festival will promote tolerance, harmony and goodwill among the people of the state”. Sangma said: “Let this feast of sacrifice reignite our commitment to serving others selflessly and further strengthen bond of love, compassion, brotherhood and harmony for the prosperity of all.” Muslims constitute 4.40 per cent of the nearly three million people of Meghalaya.
