Sri Lankan Community Eid Celebration in Brisbane
Source: Brisbane Sri Lankan Newsletter – Dæhæna – June 2022
Muslims across the world celebrate the Eid festival every year at the completion of a month of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. On 7 May 2022, Sri Lankan Muslims celebrated this year’s Eid festival with a wide cross section of fellow Sri Lankans living in Brisbane. This was the first time such an event has taken place in Brisbane.
The event was held at the Darul Uloom Mosque in Woolloongabba and attended by about 100 members of the wider Sri Lankan community in Brisbane including representatives of several Sri Lankan organisations, together with about 50 members of the Sri Lankan Muslim community. Mr Anton Swan, Sri Lanka’s Honorary Consul for Queensland was the chief guest.
The event featured a tour of the Darul Uloom Mosque, presentations on the history of Sri Lankan Muslims in Australia and the significance of Ramadan, a virtual tour of Islam’s two holy mosques in Mecca and Medina and a panel discussion. The panel discussed topics such as ‘Community in Islam’ and what that means to Muslims, personal experiences of the panel members on living as a Muslim in Australia, importance of (both religious and secular) education in Islam and the role of women in Islam. The panel discussion was followed by a lively question and answer (Q&A) session on Islam and Muslims.
The morning’s formalities were followed by a traditional Sri Lankan Muslim celebratory lunch, which included Buriyani, Wattalappam and Faluda, and casual interaction among the participants. The organisers believe the event was a great success and the active participation of everyone helped us build bridges of communication and strengthen relationships, as well as harmony and integration between all Sri Lankans living in Brisbane.
A number of participants have sent messages with positive feedback on the event and their appreciation of being able to be a part of the event. The organisers appreciate the feedback received and believe that the event would not have been a success without the support they received from the wider Sri Lankan community.
The organisers thank the Imam of the Darul Uloom mosque, Imam Ahmed Azhari, for letting them use the mosque as venue for the event and for his gracious welcoming speech, Mr Anton Swan for being their chief guest and the support provided for the event, Imam Mohamed Azhari for his participation in the panel discussion, the volunteers who helped to organise the event, and everyone who participated in the event.
Organising Committee
