Bogor, W Java (ANTARA) - The majority of about 236 million Indonesian Muslims celebrated Eid al-Fitr nationwide and abroad on Wednesday.In Indonesia, they thronged mosques and flocked to soccer fields and grass fields in city parks to perform the Eid mass prayer.
Muslims in Bogor City and its outskirts, for instance, crowded mosques. Under a relatively blue sky and the morning sun, many also trooped into the city's Botanical Garden's grass field to perform the Eid mass prayer.
In Jakarta, Home Minister Tito Karnavian and thousands of Muslims joined the Eid mass prayer at the Istiqlal Grand Mosque in Central Jakarta. Speaking to journalists after performing the prayer, Karnavian said that this year's Eid al-Fitr will hopefully serve as a momentum for all Indonesians to reunite and move forward given that the general elections have ended.
"Happy Eid Mubarak. Insya Allah (God willing), Eid al-Fitr will bring us happiness and a better, calmer, and more peaceful situation as the parliamentary and presidential elections are over," he remarked.
People are currently awaiting the Constitutional Court's (MK's) final ruling on the presidential election result dispute filed by candidate pairs Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD against the General Elections Commission (KPU) on March 25, 2024.
The court is scheduled to resolve the election result dispute within 14 working days of its filing.
Meanwhile, in Taiwan, which was recently rocked by a powerful earthquake, around 18 thousand Indonesian Muslims — majority of them migrant workers — flocked to the National Taiwan Museum's yard to offer the Eid mass prayer.
The Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Preaching and Alms Division and the NU Special Chapter in Taiwan co-organized the prayer.
In Canberra, Australia, several hundred members of the Indonesian diaspora crowded the Indonesian Embassy's complex on 8 Darwin Ave, Yarralumla, to celebrate Eid al-Fitr.
The Eid celebration in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) started with a mass prayer, followed by members of the congregation wishing each other Eid Mubarak and enjoying Lebaran dishes.
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Before the prayer commenced amid cold weather, frequent chants of takbir (praise Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) could be heard.
Muhammad Teguh Ariffaiz Nasution, one of the Eid mass prayer congregants, said on Wednesday morning that the temperature in ACT was about 8 degrees Celsius.
"I am freezing to wait for the Eid prayer to start," said Nasution, who is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Strategic Studies at the Australian National University.
Despite the relatively cold weather in Canberra, the people flocking to the Indonesian Embassy complex for the Eid al-Fitr event looked happy, he told ANTARA who contacted him from Bogor district, West Java.
The embassy's Eid celebration took place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time and ended with a buffet featuring several authentic Indonesian dishes.
This year, the embassy served rendang, which has been voted the world's best food, telur balado (egg with balado sambal), sate ayam (chicken satay), and sate kambing (goat meat satay).
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In the Eid sermon delivered after the prayer, the khatib (preacher), Ustadz Azhari Andi, emphasized the importance of unity, Nasution said.
Andi, who represents Australia-based Dompet Dhuafa (Wallet of the Poor), an Indonesian Islamic philanthropic organization, said Islam is not opposed to unity and diversity.
Instead, he argued that Allah creates diversities and differences between the human races on earth to enable them to compete with one another in doing good and seeking God's blessings, Nasution informed.
In this regard, as Allah has created humankind from the soil, the feelings of nationalism and patriotism are regarded as a part of human nature and a manifestation of faith, as Andi was quoted as saying in his Eid sermon.
In the meantime, in his speech at the Eid event, the Indonesian Ambassador to Australia and the Republic of Vanuatu, Siswo Pramono, lauded the Australia-Indonesia Muslim Association of ACT (AIMFACT).
Indonesian Ambassador Pramono said that the embassy and AIMFACT worked closely to run such activities as iftar (breaking-the-fast) gatherings at the embassy every Saturday during Ramadan and the Eid evening program.
He also reminded those attending the Eid event of the true meaning of experiencing hunger and thirst during fasting, namely making Muslims develop feelings of empathy for the less fortunate in Indonesia and elsewhere.
Therefore, Ambassador Pramono called on members of the Indonesian diaspora in Australia to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in a thankful manner, Nasution informed.
"Mr. Ambassador also appeals to Indonesians to pray for their brothers and sisters in Palestine who remain under Israeli occupation while reiterating Indonesia's support for the 'two-state solution,'" he said.
Indonesians' Eid celebrations and messages on unity, Palestine
An Eid al-Fitr celebration at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, Australia. (HO/ANTARA/Muhammad Teguh Ariffaiz Nasution)
An Eid al-Fitr celebration at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, Australia. (HO/ANTARA/Muhammad Teguh Ariffaiz Nasution)