Close relatives of Roy Muhamad Nasser, former member of the Riau provincial house of representatives, take meals in West Jakarta as part of celebrations for Idul Fitri Day in Indonesia. (LEONARDUS JEGHO / CHINA DAILY)

Muslim Filipina Luisa Castro cheers up upon arrival of traditional festival Eid-al Fitr at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, joining hundreds of worshippers in the Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre -- Hong Kong’s largest mosque.  

Castro, co-founder of the Institute of Leadership and Management Foundation, is happy that she can now join other Hong Kong-based Muslims in celebrating Eid-al Fitr. This is a far cry from the muted festive occasions in the past few years when the pandemic has compelled Muslims like Castro to just do their prayers at home with immediate family members. 

“It’s always been a practice to invite friends and colleagues” to celebrate the Eid, she said on April 21, noting that Ramadan and Eid are communal events.

Castro is among the over 1 billion Muslims in Asia who are celebrating the first post-pandemic Eid by returning to traditional practices -- worshiping and feasting together. Celebrations can even last for a few weeks as Muslims usually use this time to go back to their hometown to visit their extended family. 

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Hissein Brahim Taha, secretary-general of the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has issued a statement extending his warmest congratulations and best wishes to the global Muslim community who are celebrating the Eid.

In Saudi Arabia, colorful firework displays in 13 cities marked the first day of Eid festivities, according to a report filed by Saudi Gazette. Eid prayers were also held in the holy city of Mecca. 

We started distributing special packages containing essential food items and cash a few days before Eid to ensure that needy persons can also celebrate the most important Muslim festival with the same zeal and fervor as others. Such occasions teach us compassion, empathy and generosity.

Muhammad Furqan, Philanthropist

In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, an estimated 123 million of people started returning to their hometowns over the weekend after the Indonesian government declared April 21 to 24 as a public holiday.

Of this year’s total, 18 million are from Jakarta Greater Area  (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi) and about 77 million are from the whole island of Java. Indonesian Muslims account for about 87 percent of its total population of 272 million people.  

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Murniati, a fruit and vegetable vendor, has endured long queues, traffic jams and an 18-hour commute from Jakarta, so that she can go back to her hometown in Central Java. She traveled back to the village of Karanganyar together with her husband, children and grandchildren via free mudik bus provided by the government. 

Mudik in Indonesia is the annual Eid exodus, mostly of migrant workers in cities and towns returning home for the festival, which official data noted a sharp increase from 82 million people who returned to their hometowns in 2022.  

“Today we feel so happy to get together. We enjoy special Lebaran meals. We feel free,” Murniati said from her hometown village in Karanganyar, Central Java, on Saturday. Lebaran is Eid in the Indonesian language. She said most people in Karanganyar no longer fear the COVID-19 pandemic although they still wear face masks in outdoor places.

 On Sunday, the second day celebration of the holiday, Indonesian Muslim families open their house especially for non-family members like friends, co-workers and others from relatively faraway places, a long-held tradition.  

Roy Muhamad Nasser, a former member of Indonesian Riau provincial house of representatives, has opened his home in West Jakarta to family and friends to celebrate the Eid. Nasser and his wife served popular Indonesian fare including rice cakes, chicken curry and deep-fried hard boiled eggs that were cooked in chili sauce. 

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Nasser said Eid is about “loving our fellow men regardless of their background”.  He’s active in charity work around his multi-ethnic neighborhood.

Muslims perform Eid al-Fitr prayer marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, on a street in Bekasi on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, April 22, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

Pancoro Basuki, a senior manager at a Jakarta-based manufacturing company, is hopeful this year’s Idul Fitri will pump up the spirit of their workers to make progress amid widely held concern about global recession this year.  He said his company had struggled to survive the coronavirus’ impact and that workers had been haunted by the fear of their company getting out of business like other firms.      

“Today I got phone calls from our staff members and workers.  I am happy that they are all in a joyous mood,” Basuki said.  

Likewise, Muslims in other parts of Asia spent this year’s Eid holidays to finally go back to their hometowns as lockdown and social distancing measures have been lifted.       

Samina Seth, currently based in Islamabad, returned to Hong Kong to celebrate the Eid. The South Asian entrepreneur was born in Hong Kong and has family and friends in the city.  

As the founder of the Muslim Professional Network in Hong Kong, she organized an Eid brunch in an Indian restaurant near the Kowloon mosque in April 22. Seth said most members, some of whom have no immediate family in Hong Kong, went to party as they wanted to celebrate Eid with a wider community.

In the Eastern Malaysian state of Sabah, laboratory technician Baizurah Basri drove from the city of Kita Kinabalu to the town of Kimanis so she can see her family.   

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“We see a significant increase in visitors compared to last year. And we got more invitations for open house,” Basri said, alluding to the common practice of ‘opening’ one’s home for guests, so that they can celebrate Eid together.

“I think more people are reverting back to the way they celebrate Eid before the pandemic,” she said.

In Pakistan, the Pakistan Railways has arranged special trains catering to passengers going back to their hometowns. Hundreds of police teams have been deployed to ensure security of markets, parks and other public places across the south Asian country, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.

Muhammad Furqan, a philanthropist who runs a charity organization in the country's eastern Rawalpindi district, has spent the Eid helping low-income families who cannot afford to buy new clothes and food.  

“We started distributing special packages containing essential food items and cash a few days before Eid to ensure that needy persons can also celebrate the most important Muslim festival with the same zeal and fervor as others. Such occasions teach us compassion, empathy and generosity,” Furqan told Xinhua.

Contact the writers at prime@chinadailyapac.com