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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, February 24, 2002

Ideal conditions shine on Muslim feast

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Religion & Ethics Writer

The party at Kapi'olani Park began for some at 8 a.m. and was still going strong by early evening.

A child prays as about 300 Muslims celebrate the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, or hajj, with communal prayers at Kapi'olani Park. The feast's location drew increased visibility, which many say brings more understanding of their faith.

Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

Yesterday's Eid-Uh-Adha, the Islam feast of sacrifice that commemorates the end of the hajj, or annual pilgrimage to Mecca, had several things in its favor:

• The high cloud cover: With no hot sun bearing down, this is perfect hijab-wearing weather. Women's traditional head coverings and demure outer garb and men's best long robes stayed pressed and fresh.

• Kapi'olani Park: Because their regular park was unavailable, the group of about 300 had greater visibility for their celebration, drawing journalists to the site.

"We wanted it to be more visible," said Shereen El-Kadi, a University of Hawai'i graduate who works for the state Department of Health, noting that increased visibility brings more understanding of her faith.

• Eid-Uh-Adha fell on a weekend: Muslims follow a lunar calendar. Last year, it was on a Friday, so people popped in to the Manoa park near their mosque and headed straight home.

This year, Muslims such as Hassan Huntington had plenty of leisure to nosh on malassadas and chocolate doughnuts while his wife, Jauhara, balanced her 6-month-old daughter, Jameela, on her hip.

"It's a fun day for the family," said Huntington, a Waikiki police officer who with his wife was born Christian and embraced Islam in the late 1990s.

The day had a twist for him: He served in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War, and now turns to face Mecca with his new friends in faith.

"I remember when I left, I said I never wanted to go back to Saudi Arabia again," he said with a laugh. "Now I have to go back" to make his pilgrimage, as all able-bodied Muslims are expected to do at least once.

From the inside, this day's celebration looked like any church picnic, with older men congregating to talk story, mothers making plates for their children, young ones like Huntington's 5-year-old stepdaughter Brittany Aneesa wanting to go play.

But from the outside, there are some things that stand out. The men on their prayer rugs faced the tennis courts, where mixed doubles play was going on. The women sat separately, a discreet distance behind.

Hakim Ouansafi, the Muslim Association of Hawaii president who led the prayers in his kufi (head cap) and long white robe, talked about the importance of community, beginning with one's own family.

Afterward were the announcements: The group was beginning a $100,000 fund-raiser to renovate the mosque, improving the women's prayer area to provide more privacy.

Aly El-Kadi, Shereen's father, agreed with Ouansafi's message, telling the story of the dying father who lectures his children on the importance of a twig: Alone, it is easily broken, but ...

"You are stronger because you are united," said El-Kadi, whose wife and daughters were mixing and mingling. "In difficult times like these, the community is needed. We need to be united, to teach others about our culture."