Mohammed Widdi, 31, coordinator of Muslims Giving Back, performs nighttime prayers for the month of Ramadan at the Muslim Community Center in Brooklyn, before heading out to the city to hand out food to the hungry, in New York, on April 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
The Fiqh Council of North America has encouraged Muslims to perform the Eid prayers in their homes alone or with their own families. In a statement prepared by Imam Yasir Qadhi, the group encouraged mosques to broadcast Eid sermons, generally considered not obligatory, and advised families to follow the usual prophetic traditions of Eid: bathing, eating breakfast, wearing one’s best clothing and reciting the takbir in God’s praise.
The Qalam Foundation in Texas urged worshippers to do the same.
“We all have cherished memories of past days of Eid,” the group’s founder, Sheikh AbdulNasir Jangda, wrote. “However, we face the prospect of an Eid that is difficult and challenging. Similar to our mindset in Ramadan, we can and should find a way to have a joyous and meaningful Eid.”
But many of the traditional Eid experiences will be lost: worshippers praying in densely packed rows behind the imam, hugging friends and strangers alike as they exit the mosque, handing out candy and dollar bills to children, losing yet another pair of shoes to the tangled pile outside the prayer hall.
Still, mosques and other networks are trying their best to re-create the holiday’s joyful magic and community spirit.
In Illinois, the Zakat Foundation of America is hosting “Eid-in-Place,” a virtual Eid show for families that will feature New York University’s Imam Khalid Latif and a lineup of entertainers including Brother Ali, Zainab Johnson and Amir Sulaiman. The Mosque Foundation will hold a drive-by greeting and gift exchange in the mosque parking lot on Sunday.