On 10th April, 2024, Muslims around the globe celebrated Eid ul Fitr this year. Afghanic e.V. in Bonn has determined to bring Afghans in Germany and around the world together in a virtual and face to face platform to explore the joys of Eid.
Gul Agha Ahmadi, an Iranian based Afghan writer and poet was connected online to the meeting who has provided the participants with poems and a spotlight on how is it Eid as a refugee in Iran. Overall, he was happy and excited for Eid despite being away from homeland.
On the opposite, Eid days relatively were going tough for Afghans in the neighboring Pakistan as the country has started an imminent campaign against illegal Afghan refugees, despite the country has many linguistic, cultural and religious ties with Afghanistan, stated by Mohammd Sharif, an Afghan merchant in Peshawar, Pakistan. According to him, Pakistani authorities deal the ordinary refugees differently harsh than the business Afghans which has made the situation tough. In spite of this, he was happy for Eid while he could celebrate it comparatively in freedom as the people in Afghanistan are lacking it due to the systematic restrictions on music, women and other personal autonomies.
A U.S. based writer and lecturer, Mahmmod Marhoon, talked about the importance of relations and the role of Eid playing in building networks. He called for similar events to be organized on various special occasions, including Eid and national Independence Day.
Ihasanullah Aryanzai, an Afghan writer from Netherlands assigned to deep dive the Muslim culture including Eid in the European society.
Mr. Rasoolzada, an Afghan writer based in Sweden explained about Afghans and their way of Eid celebration in Sweden. Mr. Atal Wardak, a newly arrived Afghan refugee talked about the difference in celebration of Eid compared to the previous Eid he had at homeland.
On top of the online participants, around 14 people attended the event in person in Afghanic office in Bonn. Many of them put across their Eid experiments both in the past and current.
The participants agreed that Muslims have been able to gain better access to religious rights and cultural norms now in Germany or Europe, than in the past. The event also entailed an Afghan music and happy story telling moments that gave the participants smile. Afghanic e.V. offered tea and cake as refreshment, consumed together throughout the event.
