JEDDAH, 18 December — On the surface, everybody seems happy celebrating Eid Al-Fitr which was observed on Sunday in many Muslim countries. Behind this happiness, however, lies a more somber picture as Muslims watch helplessly as their brethren in many parts of the world continue to be massacred or subjected to different forms of persecution and humiliation and their religion is subjected an orchestrated smear campaign.
Coming home after attending Eid prayers and listening to the imams who painted a dark picture of a Muslim world under siege, many turned on their television sets only to be confronted with more sad news.
The television networks keep on showing unrelenting images of Palestinians being killed by Israeli F-16 jet fighters and Apache helicopters as well as that of elderly men and women huddled in refugee camps under shivering cold.
“Everybody who was nobody until Sept. 11 is now an expert in Islamic affairs appearing in talk-show after talk-show on Western television and radio stations telling viewers how the war against international terrorism should be fought and won. The campaign has just begun and nobody knows what is coming next,” said one Arab commentator.
“This seems to be the saddest Eid we have ever witnessed. In whichever direction you turn the picture seems bleak and the future uncertain,” said Ibrahim Hamdan, an air-conditioning technician.
From demands of boycotting American goods to protest US support for Israel to calls on Muslims to be cautious and stand up to the dangers facing them, reaction has been mixed.
The preachers urged the worshipers not to exaggerate their celebrations during the three-day holidays and to remember that their brethren are suffering in many areas as a result of occupation, aggression, war or poverty.
“While celebrating Eid we should not exaggerate but remember that many Muslims are deprived of the joy and happiness we experience on this day,” said the preacher who led Eid prayers at the city’s main prayer site.
In sermons at the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah the imams warned against religious extremism while they prodded the faithful to return to the true principles of Islam and follow its precise teachings. Muslims were also urged to fight the enemies of Islam and the campaigns being waged against a religion which in fact stands for peace and mercy.
The next topic that comes up at social meetings after exchanging Eid greetings these days is the latest developments in Palestine or Afghanistan. “The Afghan people are experiencing the most difficult conditions that any people have experienced,” said Dr. Abdul Wahab Nur Wali, assistant secretary-general of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, which over the past six weeks sent SR35 million worth of relief assistance to the victims of the Afghan war.
Charity organizations had carried out aggressive donation campaigns throughout the Kingdom during Ramadan to support Afghans and Palestinians by posting collection boxes outside mosques, fast-food outlets and major shopping centers.
Not everybody responded favorably.
Outside one of the city mosques, a Saudi man coming out after night prayers hinted that he was not ready to give money to “traitors” when asked to donate for the Afghan people.
He justified his refusal by saying that the money might end up in the hands of the Northern Alliance forces who now control the country. It was a clear sign of despise for the alliance and their American backers.
Traditional Eid visits among relatives and friends in Palestine, Bosnia-Herzegovina and other places where Muslims have been victimized were substituted by visits to cemeteries. People went there to pray on the graves of their beloved and beseech mercy for them.
Thousands lost their lives at the hands of the Serb extremists during the recent Balkan war. The number of those who were killed by Israeli forces in the 14-month Palestinian uprising now exceeds 780.
“Is Muslim blood that cheap, and for how long would Muslims continue to be an easy target for others,” asked one participant in a television debate on the status of Muslims after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
