Eid festival celebration to take place at Margate FC

Ramsgate councillor Raushan Ara has organised the event which will be hosted at Margate FC

A celebration of the Muslim festival of Eid will take place at the Margate football ground on Friday, July 31 at 9am.

Ramsgate mayor Cllr Raushan Ara arranged the event and is requesting, if appropriate, that everyone brings their own face mask, prayer mat, and, If required, a folding chair.

On behalf of the Margate mosque, and the Muslim community of Thanet, Cllr Ara has thanked Thanet District Council officers, particularly Cllr.Steve Albon, for overseeing the event.

Cllr Ara said: “I would like to thank Margate FC for hosting this special festival. We would like to extend a warm invitation to the various religious organisations, church leaders, synagogue members, and the manager from the Salvation Army, to come and join with us.

“We would like to request that, when the prayers are finished, people leave the ground without congregating, either inside or outside the premises.”

The event is open to the general public and non Muslims. Please take the following points into consideration:

Men and women are separate during the service.

Women are required to cover themselves in a long dress. Please also wear a headscarf.

22 Comments

  1. Is this event open to the public and non-muslims? Article doesn’t make it clear other than other religious leaders being welcome. If it is open-invite it might be good to include a little info on what to expect / etiquette as most people in Thanet haven’t stepped inside a mosque or Eid celebration. Thanks.

    • Have asked the organiser. She has a meeting this evening and will raise whether it would be possible to invite the genera public. Will update you when I hear back

    • The event is open to the general public and non Muslims. Please take the following points into consideration:

      Men and women are separate during the service.

      Women are required to cover themselves in a long dress. Please also wear a headscarf.

  2. Interesting fact. Over 10 million animals are estimated to be killed every year during the Eid festival.

      • No. Just don’t believe in the ritual killing of animals in the name of religion. Humans have always eaten meat but there is a big difference in eating meat for a balanced diet and slaughtering animals because your religion demands it.

        • Absolutely! Its not a requirement of Islam, its just another religious superstition, cutting an animals throat so it bleeds to death is not permitted in Britain, unless its stunned first! Will this be taking place in the Mosque? Best check before going.

          • My point being that your objection seems rooted in the fact this is a Muslim festival, rather than the actual killing of animals. The relation of turkeys to Christmas, the religious roots of it and the time of year it takes place is immaterial.. It rings hollow to gripe about animals being killed when you’re happy to eat with impunity on the day to day.
            Why the animals die is irrelevant and if you think there’s anything humane about the vast majority of abattoirs then I think you need to do a bit more research.

    • Ramsgate also hosts grotesque live transport of thousands of animals specifically for Eid. These animals are suffering dreadfully in scorching heat and heading of for unknown destinations to be variably ritually slaughtered. By all means enjoy this festival but consider the appalling suffering of transporting live animals. It is inhumane.

    • Interesting fact:over a BILLION farm animals are killed every year in Britain alone. If you’re that worried about the animals then stop eating them/wearing their skin/drinking theor breastmilk. Their lives are important too.

  3. How can this happen when you cannot watch a football game socially distanced in the fresh air ?
    Pray for those animals ritually sacrificed for their religion

    • Because they’re completely different things and there’s almost no basis for comparison. My bet is you’d have no issue with any other religious ceremony taking place and gleefully carve up a turkey at Christmas.

      • There is no historical religious angle to eating turkeys at Christmas. It was a tradition which arose in the 16th century.

        In any case, it is highly unlikely that Jesus was actually born in December so the whole Xmas tradition is a bit of a joke. Add to that the highly implausible reality of the nativity scenario and we have now have an established Christian tradition which is up there with Lord of The Rings in its historical accuracy.

      • The point is meat sold in a butchers, or supermarket is by and large humanly killed swiftly, after being stunned. This is not the case when cutting the throats of animals, for religious superstition! Why do you think there is such a trade in live animal exports? Its because these poor animals will travel hundreds of miles in the back of truck, before having their throats cut to bleed to death! If they were just being sold for meat, they could be hunanly dispatched in the UK,and be sold on the hook, not on the hoof!

  4. Will there be a penalty shoot out and a sing song?

    And “Christian” leaders. Those whom God has joined together let no man put asunder. Though in the early days of state policing in England that was a duty of police, to enforce separation of married undeserving poor in the workhouses.

    Just having an Eid laugh at the people who believe in big fella him in sky.

    If a psychobabbler was faced with a patient who ritually waggles his arse, cycle rack style, to the West five times a day? Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

  5. Making use of the open space especially if for prayer from any religion is surely a good thing . The aspects of critizing Muslims for the perhaps unnecessary slaughter of livestock for the celebration of this sacred festival are valid however so to are the valid discussions as to the vast over consumption and cruelty in the meat industry all told. Peace be with you and respect all life

  6. I disagree with Lord Armstrong. I think people should pray in private. “In private” includes churches etc: although these are public buildings, those members of the public who are not religious believers do not go into them often (if ever) unless they are interested in the building itself.

  7. Would there be any comments if other churches had the idea. Well done MFC a club for all in the community

  8. I note that men and women will be separated during the service, I thought the UK had equal rights, so why the separation, we are not in a Muslim country, so why is allowed to happen , fair enough if we are are over in a Muslim country and there laws, but over here it’s the UK law

  9. Jews separate the sexes too! All religions dream up various rituals, doctrines, creeds, in order to control and indoctrinate people. Its about control. Muslim women “wearing the Burka, and Niqab are hideous tribal ninja like garments that are pre-islamic, non Koranic and therefor un-Muslim”. Not my words but those of Dr Taj Hargay, Imam, Oxford Islamic Congregation, printed in the I newspaper 11/8/18! Islam and Judaism are very women controlling, and Female Genital Mutilation is still practiced in many countries, but there is no Koranic instruction for it!

    Hinduism and Bhudism are both pagan, and do not believe in God, Hindu’s have hundreds of gods, and the system whereby people are set in a certain “Cast” still exists, and people cannot leave it because they are born into a cast, even a Prostitute cast! Bhudists don’t believe in God, so are also pagan, and despite their highly vaunted pacifism, are at present committing near genocide in Burma against Muslims!

    The Church of England was responsible for the persecution of tens of thousands of people 300 to 400 years ago, mostly Baptists, Quakers, Congregationists, Ranters etc, because they didn’t pay Church of England taxes. The ruling monarch at the time was also annoyed, because they got a cut of the money, which was much reduced! Here endeth the lesson.

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