Thursday, October 26, 2006 Muslims celebrate Hariraya festival By Al Jacinto
Hundreds of Muslim villagers flocked early Tuesday to a small mosque inside a military base in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines to pray, signaling the end of Ramadhan and the start of the Islamic festival Eid'l Fitr.
Muslims pray side by side with soldiers inside the Western Mindanao Command headquarters, where Army Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo spoke about the Islamic faith.
"We belong to one God and this festival shows our devotion and faith to our religion. We in the military and our family join the Muslim world in the celebration of the Eid'l Fit'r," Cedo said.
Eidil Fitri, or Hari Raya Puasa, is one of the highlights of the Muslim cultural and religious calendar. It is celebrated at the end of the fasting month or Ramadan, when the new moon is sighted.
The Malay words 'Hari Raya' translates as 'Day of Celebration' or the 'Festival of Breaking the Fast'.
Muslims usually attend Eid prayers in mosque in the morning. The celebrations begin with the birth of the new moon of Syawal, the 10th month of the Islamic calendar.
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