Mir Aziz left Bangladesh for Portugal in 2010 in search of a better life. He lived in Lisbon for a year, then moved to Porto, where he opened souvenir shops and grocery stores. The apartment where he lives with his wife and two children is in a building on Rua da Porta do Sol, close to the cathedral, and is looked after by the waiter at lunchtime. “When I come back, he comes to my house for lunch,” says the 34-year-old as he leaves work to visit his family.
The call was not made by accident. This Wednesday, April 10, the Muslim community in Portugal celebrates Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Ramadan fast. The date varies depending on the appearance of the first new moon of the tenth month and marks an earlier end considered sacred in Islamic culture.
“It's a sweet festival, today we only eat meat. It's different to celebrate here than in Bangladesh because everyone knows what it is. Every home has the same food at Christmas, like you and kot,” he explains. Aziz. At home, his wife Afsana and his daughter-in-law Mahi finish setting the table while the children play. There are three large pots in the kitchen on fire. The smell of curry can already be felt in the room, and as they wait for other guests, music is heard.
Paulo Pimenta
Leaning over the stove, 18-year-old Mahi says her aunt took three hours to prepare the food and another few hours to prepare the desserts the night before. There will be 13 people for the lunch, including Mahi's two brothers and several friends.
Rice bowls at 1:30 p.m BasmatiCurry chicken and beef and lamb are already on the table, along with baked curd, egg and milk pudding and two varieties. Shemai. “This is what you call vermicelli,” Mir Aziz explains before starting to eat.
Except for his one-year-old son Anas, who uses a fork, main meals are eaten with the help of his right hand. “We eat very quickly, but take as much as you want. You don't eat this every day, you only get soda in every country”, he jokes.
While eating, he explains what each dish is and what ingredients are used. Chicken thighs have a spicy aftertaste – not so much because of the spicy green chilies, according to the trader. Beef slices are in a bowl with sauce and desserts are made with eggs, milk and, of course, sugar. Too much sugar.
Paulo Pimenta
For Mir Aziz, who is of Portuguese nationality, Eid al-Fitr is not too different from some Christian festivals. First of all, it is a religious celebration that, in the case of Porto, begins at 8:30 a.m. with a prayer on the roof of the Trindade Metro. In Lisbon, since 2011, the end of Ramadan has been celebrated early and outdoors by thousands of Muslim men in Martim Monis, a protocol between the Islamic community of Bangladesh and the Lisbon City Council. Women offer prayers at home or in a private place in the mosque.
The celebrations last for two to three days AzizPeople in Bangladesh video call their children during meals. “My mother is 70 years old and doesn't want to come here,” he explained, hanging up his cell phone.
Lunch with friends on a holiday-like day
In Bangladesh, as in all other Muslim countries celebrating the end of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr is a public holiday. “In Portugal, it's difficult because more people work for lunch,” explains Mahi, who is in year 12 at a public school and, like his brothers, is allowed to miss classes. She has been in Portugal for a year and is the family translator with her uncle. Parents who work and live in the Clérigos area only come for dinner.
At 2 p.m., half an hour after the start of lunch, more guests begin to arrive, this time the friends chose to live in Porto. As there are not enough seats for everyone, lunch is eaten in shifts. After the first group, the girls lift the dishes from the table, wash the dishes, and return to their seats for the three friends waiting on the couch.
Matt Akash, 25, and his wife Th Nobobi, 18, are celebrating Eid al-Fitr together for the first time. They met in Bangladesh and got married in the country three months ago (like food on the family table in a four-day ceremony), so the end of Ramadan this year has a special meaning.
Meanwhile, Mir Aziz takes advantage of his remaining lunch to spend time with his two children in the living room. In the hallway, someone knocks on the door for lunch. If someone else comes in the meantime, they will be given, they are guaranteed.
What is Ramadan?
The word “Ramadan” describes the act of a believer “burning away” his sins and ridding himself of them and corresponds to the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. For the Muslim community, it is a holy month of fasting, prayer and abstinence from sunrise to sunset, a form of profound self-restraint in which believers must prove every day that they are masters of their worldly instincts, freeing them. Sins, failures and mistakes.
Paulo Pimenta
During this month, there is room for two meals a day – before and after fasting, i.e. before sunrise and after sunset. youVoor It is a similar meal to the pre-fasting breakfastftar It takes place at the end of each day, before the evening prayer, and is a time to share peace and hope. There is often music around the table and everyone contributes to the end result. Children, the elderly and the sick, as well as those who are pregnant, breastfeeding or menstruating, are exempt from the obligatory fast.
Since the Muslim calendar is governed by the moon depending on its phases, the dates vary from year to year. Ramadan begins on the last new moon of the eighth month and ends on the next new moon (29 or 30 days later). This year it started on March 10th in the afternoon and ended on Tuesday April 9th in the afternoon. Over time, Ramadan will vary depending on the season – for example, in 2030, it is estimated that Ramadan will be celebrated twice: once at the beginning of the year and once at the end.
The shift from the 26th to the 27th is one of the most important dates of the month: it was on that night that Muhammad received the first revelation of the Qur'an, and there are those who believe that the requests of that night will be fulfilled by Allah. .
Around the world, Eid al-Fitr celebrations are being celebrated against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza. A Muslim community gathers to celebrate the end of Ramadan in Rafah, Palestine, surrounded by rubble. It's usually a time of plenty, with families gathering together for meals and dressing up in their best clothes, but this year's celebrations have been dampened by an Israeli military offensive.
Palestinian flags were raised in Istanbul and chants of support for the people of Gaza were raised outside the Hagia Sophia mosque. In Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim community, the head of the Council of Mosques said: “It is time for Muslims and non-Muslims to show humanitarian solidarity because the Gaza conflict is not a religious war. It's a humanitarian problem.” With Marta Sofia Ribeiro
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