Eid marked with fervor in Asia, Europe

JAKARTA: Millions of Muslims began celebrating the end of the fasting month of Ramadan on Thursday with morning prayers followed by savory high-calorie feasts to mark the holiday, amid concerns over violence.
Besides large congregational prayers held in many parts of Asia including Pakistan, Philippines and Vietnam, people celebrated the annual festival by offering Eid prayer in several European countries like Bucharest, Romania; Palermo, Italy; and Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Eid Al-Fitr holiday includes three days of festivities after a month of prayer and dawn-to-dusk fasting for Ramadan, when observant Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex as a way to test their faith.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai took a moment after Eid prayers in a speech to thank security forces fighting the insurgency and called for the Taleban to lay down their arms and join the political process.
“You are working for others, (foreign) guns are put on your shoulders, and innocent Afghan people are being killed by it, homes are destroyed,” he said. “Give up on it, be Afghan.”
Elsewhere in Asia, Indonesia was among the first countries in the Islamic world to kick off Eid celebrations.
In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, throngs of believers donning brand new clothes made their way to mosques. The holiday is also a time of reflection, forgiveness and charity — cars were seen driving around the capital, Jakarta, carrying people handing out envelopes to the poor.
Fireworks exploded across Jakarta throughout Wednesday night, with hundreds of people gathering at a landmark downtown traffic circle to watch the impromptu displays.
In Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, about 100 Muslims braved a stormy morning to pray at the city's sole mosque, on the edge of the old quarter. The Vietnamese imam gave a sermon in Arabic and then English to the congregation, which comprised mainly expatriates. Vietnam is also home to some 60,000 indigenous Muslims, most of them in the south.
Muslims believe God revealed the first verses of the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during Ramadan, which starts with the sighting of the new moon. The Muslim lunar calendar moves back through the seasons, meaning Ramadan starts 11 days earlier each year under the Western calendar.
Not all countries begin celebrations on the same day. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, for instance, are expected to officially begin Eid on Friday after the moon is sighted there. However, the holiday was celebrated Thursday with dancing in the streets and firing guns in the air in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area after officials there urged residents to begin the festivities after the moon had been sighted in Saudi Arabia.
The past week has seen an exodus from cities in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, with people taking to cars, boats and planes to head home to their families across the archipelago of more than 17,000 islands.
Malaysia's authorities called for Muslims to strengthen the unity of the nation in the aftermath of controversial elections in May that saw the Muslim Malay ruling party retain its grip on power.
Prime Minister Najib Razak is expected to host up to 80,000 guests as he opens his home to celebrate the end of the fasting month.
Muslims in Australia were among those to celebrate Eid on Thursday, along with Malaysia and the Philippines, with Gulf states expected to follow. Pakistan, Hong Kong and North African nations are expected to start festivities on Friday.
Leaders of Australia's ruling Labor Party including Foreign Minister Bob Carr and members of the opposition addressed worshippers outside Sydney's Lakemba mosque, rallying support ahead of national polls on Sept. 7.



In Beijing, Chinese Hui Muslims exchanged sweets and received blessings at the city's historic Nijuie Mosque, built in the 10th century. Many of China's estimated 40 million Muslims live in the country's eastern regions of Ningxia and Xinjiang.