CAPE TOWN, 15 December 2002 — Eid, a day of festivity celebrated in unison, is seldom such in South Africa lately. Every year Cape Town highlights this rift during one of the two Eids. The majority of South Africans enjoyed their Eid on Friday but a minority followed the commencement of Ramadan with Saudi Arabia. Some follow the sighting of the moon with the naked eye, while others rely on astronomical calculations. On the last few nights of Ramadan, the faithful headed to prime viewing points in the peninsula to sight the new crescent with each member of major Islamic organizations present.
It’s not uncommon to convey one’s best Eid wishes to relatives only to discover that they are still observing the fast. This is bound to cause friction within extended families. Celebrating Eid on two days is becoming the norm. It’s a far cry from Saudi Arabia where this joyous festivity is celebrated uniformly and with fanfare.
In Jeddah, Eid is a celebration where family outings to the seaside, parks and relatives are part of the day’s itinerary. In the Cape, most of the day is taken up visiting relatives and friends immediately after the Eid prayers. One doesn’t have the relief of a few hours of sleep in the morning after coming from the mosque.
There’s no indulging in amusement parks either and gifts are rarely exchanged between family members. The emphasis is more on sharing and good will and the delivery of yet more cake and pastries. Guests pour into one’s home, there aren’t enough chairs for all the guests and you lose track during the course of the day of those one has already greeted. Apart from catering to the guests, the phone rings off the hook and one has to decipher the sender of the last anonymous SMS text message; all between the incessantly ringing doorbell.
Children knocking on the door usually expect cash on demand following their rote of greetings. Eid is hard work. The average duration of a visit to one’s family usually lasts 10 minutes after which it’s off to dozens more and staying home doesn’t give much relief either — there’s no shirking of duty.
Many visit the graves of their deceased family members and their sick elderly.
Muslims in South Africa have it good. Their freedom of worship is enshrined within the country’s constitution and their children attend Muslim schools wherever they can. Eid greetings are conveyed to Muslims from the majority of established businesses, radio stations, newspapers and the government itself.
In the last week of Ramadan, the minister of social services and poverty alleviation announced that Muslim pensioners could collect their pension checks on Eid so that they could join in the festivity. Muslim charity organizations are busy distributing alms and food to the needy and the presence of Muslims is highlighted at this time of year.
An opportunity to witness Eid in South Africa is a chance to see a unique Muslim minority’s culture flourish that has been preserved for generations and to find solace in a festival that spells continuity.
