Celebrating the Eid in Billericay
CH FAM NEWS MAR 2006
On Sunday, 21ST January, Moya (McCarthy), Peter (Brierley) and I were invited to join in a celebration of Eid al Adha at the South East Essex Cultural Centre which runs a school for Muslim children of the area at Billericay School on Sunday mornings. We were given a warm welcome by Ann Din (wife of Dr. Din from the Laindon Road Clinic), by parents and children at the school. Khalid, Ann's son, compeered the morning and in welcoming us gave our church its full title of Reformed! We hope to continue contacts from time to time, as it helps in our joint understanding of each other's faith. We are grateful for the hospitable welcome we received; we joined in the 'Feast' at the end of the morning. The presentation given by teachers and children was dedicated "In the name of Allaah [God], The Most Merciful, The Most Gracious."
Margaret Derbyshire
Eid al Adha (or Feast of the Sacrifice) is the most important point in the Muslim year. It commemorates he sacrifice that Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) planned to make of his son Ishmael; a ram was sacrificed and Ishmael was spared. Some of the families had just come back from the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina; this journey of faith is called the Fifth Pillar of Islam and all Muslims hope to make it at least once in their lifetime.
Two of the children began by reciting verses from the Koran in Arabic. Then in English the history of the faith of Islam was told, from the year 610 AD in the city of Arabic when God sent down His divine revelation to Muhammad. God's revelation to His Prophet, Muslims believe, was the Koran. It is mankind's ultimate guide till the day of judgement. True Muslims have always tolerated Christians and Jews (in the Holy Koran they are referred to as the People of the Book). Islam would bring civilisation to the pagan world and emancipation to Arabia's women, bringing light and dignity. Muslim feel that, in stark contrast to the Crusaders, their faith is one of Peace. Salaam Aleikum ('peace be with you') is the greeting when Muslims meet. Islam was the cradle of European medicine, science and astronomy.
This outline was illustrated by screened images from a laptop. One of these was the image of a spiral galaxy, intended to symbolise God at the centre of the universe. This is one of the points where we as Christians could identify fully with our Muslim friends in faith.
The Hajj commemorates both the tribulations of the Prophet Abraham and of his second wife, Hagar. The Feast of the Sacrifice is a story of kindness and mercy, when it is a ram, not Ishmael that is sacrificed. The theme of kindness and mercy led to a presentation about the one person most of us see in that light - our mothers. With music and words, it was dedicated to all mothers round the world! The children acted out the story of the Boy and the Tree. As a child, he comes to play at the foot of the tree, then as an older boy he comes to ask the tree for its apples to sell so that he can make money. Then, older still, he needs the branches to make his house, and then the trunk of the tree for a boat. As an old man with a white beard and stick, the boy comes back and the tree tells him that it has nothing to give but its roots. So he lies down in peace there to end his days. "The man is you and the tree is your Mother. Our mothers are God's greatest gift to us. Honour your parents." was the message for all of s, children and adults alike.