Breaking the fast: Muslims of Hong Kong, many far from home, celebrate Eid ul-Fitr
City’s Islamic community, including tens of thousands of Indonesian domestic helpers, come together for the end of Ramadan
While most Muslim families around the world spent Thursday evening preparing to celebrate Eid ul-Fitr, the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, many in Hong Kong were yearning for home at the end of another hard day’s work.
Unlike in their home countries, where the celebration is a public holiday and the azaan – call to prayer – will ring out proudly, Muslim migrants in Hong Kong have relatively small communal gatherings to celebrate the end of their month-long fast.
Indonesians – many of them working as domestic helpers – form the largest group of Muslims in the city, their number estimated at about 300,000, according to Saeed Uddin, honorary secretary of the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong. There are also about 150, 000 to 160, 000 Indian Muslims and 40,000 to 45,000 Pakistani Muslims in the city.
“Going to mosques to pray with the whole family and village is a traditional practice for the Muslim community,” said Eni Lestari, chairwoman of the International Migrants Alliance in Hong Kong and a helper who came to the city in 2000. “The feeling stays strong even when abroad.”
“To Muslims, Eid ul-Fitr is a day to relax and connect with family.”
