Eid celebrations in Hamilton

Millions of Muslims around the world celebrated Eid Saturday, including thousands of people in Hamilton.

The city’s Muslim community is growing, and is in the midst of creating new prayer spaces to accommodate that growth.

Thousands of Muslims across the city attended prayers to celebrate the end of this year’s Hajj season.

Eid, also known as the festival of sacrifice, is marked by sacrificing animals to feed the poor.

Over two million Muslims took part in the Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj in Saudi Arabia this year.

Hajj is regarded as one of the pillars of Islam and according to the Quran every Muslim who can physically and financially afford the pilgrimage must perform it at least once in their life time.

After prayers, the Muslim community marked the celebration with a day long family Eid festival in the parking lot of the new mosque in downtown Hamilton.

The mosque will also serve as a community centre when construction is complete.

Hamilton’s Muslim community includes about 30,000 people, thus the need for another prayer space in the downtown core.

The festival featured henna tattoos, food, and even bouncy castles.

All the money collected at the festival will help pay for the new mosque.

Community members expect the mosque to be completed by the end of the year.

By then the mosque will be a fully functional community centre, with a gym, fitness centre and mostly importantly more prayer space.