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Hundreds gather at Monash for festival prayer

16 November 2005

More than 800 people gathered for prayers at Monash's Clayton campus earlier this month as part of the Islamic Eid-ul-Fitr festival.

Members of the local Muslim community pray at Monash as part of the Eid-ul-Fitr festival.

The festival came at the end of the holy month of Ramadhan -- a time of fasting that happens once a year according to the Islamic calendar.

The festival is celebrated by Muslims worldwide, with many taking the day off to spend time with family and friends.

Monash staff and students attended the prayers, as did staff and students from Minaret College -- a coeducational Muslim College located in Melbourne's south-east -- and members of the local community.

There were people from countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, the Philippines and South Africa.

Mr Mohamed Mohideen, a lecturer in the Department of Microbiology and member of the Monash University Mosque Committee, said the festival was a good opportunity for the Islamic community at Monash to gather with the broader Muslim community.

"Everyone brought traditional food and sweets and shared a morning breakfast after the prayers," Mr Mohideen said.

"People started the day with prayers and a sermon and then visited friends and relatives, so it really was a day of celebration."

The Eid-ul-Fitr prayers at Monash were organised by the Monash University Mosque, the Monash University Islamic Society, the Monash University Indonesian Society, Al Furqan -- a school specialising in the teaching of the recitation of the Qur'an, the United Sri Lankan Muslim Association of Australia, the Malay Association of Victoria, the Islamic Society of Deakin University and FAMSY -- a national student and youth Islamic organisation.