TIRANA, April 21 /ATA/ Muslim believers celebrate Eid al-Fitr on Friday after 30 days of fasting and prayers.
One hour after sunrise, the Muslim faithful offered the Eid prayers.
Since the early hours of the morning, many believers offered the Eid al-Fitr prayers in the “Skënderbej” square in Tirana, also known as the holiday of closing the fast.
The ceremony continued with the greeting speech which was delivered by the president of the Muslim Community of Albania, Bujar Spahiu, who conveyed to the attendees the best wishes and greetings on this joyous day for all Albanian Muslim believers.
The head of AMC, Bujar Spahiu, addressed the believers in his speech, saying that they had lived a month of sacrifice and spiritual upliftment and that this month has united them in charity and solidarity, in peace and love with each other.
“Dear fasting people, this morning is the most beautiful and meaningful for all of us. Eid is the most beautiful day of the week. We have experienced a month of sacrifice and spiritual upliftment, we pray to God to accept this sacrifice. He is the best rewarder. This month has united us in charity and solidarity, in peace and love with each other,” said Spahiu.
The head of AMC called on the young people not to leave the country, but to stay here to strengthen their nation.
“Sisters and brothers, take care that our Nation grows through virtue! Each one of us has a duty to contribute to curb the aging of the nation. We are shrinking day by day. We, who have been one of the youngest peoples in Europe, are aging at a very fast pace. Why should we choose the easy way out, leaving the country, instead of staying here and strengthening our nation. Let’s give birth to children here, let’s raise them here in our country as virtuous and first class citizens instead of taking them around the world as second-class citizens!”, he said.
He also celebrated the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Muslim Community of Albania.
“It has been an arduous but beautiful journey. We are proud of our history. We are proud of our ancestors in this century. We have given and continue to give this society, this nation the highest and most sincere values. Thanks to the believers and religious leaders in Albania, we have contributed to this nation one of the values we are all proud of, everywhere, inter-faith harmony and dialogue. This contribution will continue in the future as well. In order for this value of religious communities to continue, every component of our society must take care to protect merit and reward it, wherever it is,” said Spahiu.
Fasting, which in Arabic literally means “abstain”, is one of the 5 pillars of the Islamic religion, during which both the poor and the rich are equal.
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