"Feeling of Home" - A Community Members Perspective

Wednesday, April 10th of 2024, millions of Muslims woke up in the early morning to begin their Eid celebrations, about 200 of them making their way to the IslamInSpanish Centro Islamico in Houston for Eid prayer at 9 am.

Eid Al-Fitr is the Islamic holiday that is subsequent to the last day of the holy month of Ramadan. Muslims get together for a day full of cheer and festivities. This year was a little different for the IslamInSpanish community. As many of you readers may have already heard, their building is currently undergoing construction. Therefore, throughout this Ramadan, they were having taraweeh at the event center at Iman Academy that had been generously offered to them. Alhamdulilah they were able to still hold Eid prayer there.

This was the 9th year in a row that they have had Eid prayer; the first one being in 2016. Families and friends, converts and people born in Islam, people of all different backgrounds, all gathered in their elegant attire in the entrancingly decorated hall. The gathering included a very diverse group of families from all over the world amongst the Latino community. Additionally, amongst all of these people was a reporter from the Aramco World Magazine. He had come to observe and photograph the Eid experience to later write an article about the IslamInSpanish center and community. In the hall, people sat in rows as the takbeerat started at 9 am that day. To their left, arranged on lengthy tables pressed against the side wall, was an abundance of sweets, fruits, and refreshments.

The prayer commenced at 9:30 am and then Imam Isa Parada’s khutba followed the prayer. He gave the khutba in both English and Spanish as they always do at the IslamInSpanish center. Then finally, everyone got to eat the delicious treats on display. After the khutba, everybody was free to socialize, eat, or just free to do what they liked. The children were given goodie bags and on top of the massive amounts of sugar from the candy and the deserts provided, there was a piñata! The children (and even some adults) lined up to each take a turn being blindfolded and spun around to then be able to try hitting the piñata down with a stick as this is how it traditionally goes.

The scene was filled with laughter, smiles, and lots of candy. Eid 2024 was a success. Inshallah next year the center will be able to hold Eid celebration and prayer in their newly renovated and beautified building. However, even without a building, they still managed to create the feeling of a home.

- Written by a High School member of the community.