Beginning Idul Fitri Celebrations in prayer at the Mall

We went to the only mall on our island this morning at 6:30 am. Today is a special day for the Muslim community.Today is the first day after the 30 day fasting month of Ramadan. To begin Idul Fitri celebrations the Muslims start with prayer. Many go to the mosques in their neighborhood and many go to public parks and many, close to 2000,...go to the mall.

 Above is a photo of the empty parking lot before everyone arrived. Then... they came. Everyone was dressed in their new, finest prayer shawls and sarungs. all the men were sporting new hats and new prayer rugs. The street was lined with cars and motorcycles three deep into the road. As they arrived, musical chants proclaiming Allah's greatness repeatedly played over the loud speakers. This is the same proclamation we listened to for 7 hours last night and will listen to all day today.

 This is a FULL parking lot. Every available space was taken up with prayer mats. The men and boys sat in the front facing toward Mecca and the women and girls were in the back. The speakers loudly playing the call to prayer as the men and women bowed in reverence and humble prayer with thankfulness for completing the fast. The Muslims try to fast for 30 days each year to hopefully receive forgiveness of sins for that year.


  More than a hundred rows of people were bowing shoulder to shoulder. If you look closely you can see the edge of the McDonalds sign in the top edge of this photo. During Ramadan, McDonalds and most all other restaurants, and road side food stands were closed during the day and opened only in the afternoon as people prepared to break their daily fast. McDonalds was allowed to sell food through the day only for take out or to eaten upstairs out of sight.

 This part of the prayers shows men wanting to hear God speaking to them. Usually Muslims see and hear God through dreams and visions. We often pray with and for our Muslim friends that God will reveal his will for them through these visions and dreams, and that they would become strong family leaders, full of integrity.

I couldn't help myself when I snapped this photo. This adorable little boy is being very good as his father and uncle teach him how to pray. Couldn't you just pinch those little cheeks?  This family had to stand in the middle of the road in front of the mall in between the cars because the parking lot was filled to overflowing.

 The women, looked like a sea of beautiful brown faces surrounded by their new stylish prayer shawls. Just like I would have a new dress for Easter or Christmas, the Muslim's spend weeks before Idul Fitri picking out just the right new Holiday clothing and prayer shawls. They will spend the next 3 days visiting family and friends, receiving guests and eating and eating and eating. Idul fitri snacks are yummy. After visiting a few families you wouldn't need to eat for a week. 

The men were standing in front of our island's one and only McDonalds. The women, as you can see are in front of our one and only Kentucky Fried Chicken and across the street from our one and only Pizza Hut. Needless to say, the mall was a great place to break fast each night of Ramadan for the wealthier class. I personally prefer to eat with friends in their homes with the spiciest and yummiest traditional food.

I hope you enjoyed my photos of this very special day. It's just a glimpse through a window
in my world.