Celebrating Eid...American Muslim Culture

As the dust settled from Eid we moved immediately in to the school year at Dartmouth and the Waldorf school with my girls. The last thing I remember was making all the preparations for the eidul-fitr service and post-service celebration on campus. And now we have begun the same process for the second eid! The movement of time always amazes me.

Shortly after the eid I received a call from my good friend Adnan Durrani, CEO of Saffron Road. He called to wish our family a blessed eid, and hear how things are going in his favorite part of the country (Quechee, VT). I let him know that our eid was great, and we were able to spend time in Boston with friends.  My family and I spent time with Nuri and Kristina Friedlander and had an amazing meal at an Algerian restaurant--Baraka Cafe! The kids were happy, a ton of candy, a remote control helicopter buzzed around our living room, and new faux-jewlery embellished little wrists and necks. Kind of what you would expect on a "traditional day of Eid."

I asked Adnan how he spent his eid, thinking it would have sounded like something similar to mine. However, it was not similar at all!

Adnan and I have had many conversations regarding the American Muslim experience. The beauty about these conversations is that American Muslim culture is constantly developing and we are creating it as we live it.

During my years in Damacus there were many age old traditions around the eid that had formed distinct cultural norms. For example, it was understood that the Syrians always spent the first day of eid with famliy members and then would open their homes to guests on the following days. Or the tradition of placing a green palm frawn at the grave of a deceased family member, and other various customs that are distinct Syrian Muslim culture.

However, in the States we don't have distinct traditions. Perhaps you will find certain members of the immigrant Muslim community upholding traditions from back home. But as far as established traditions, its still being formed.

That's what was special about my conversation with Adnan. His answer to "how was your eid?" was nothing that one would expect about how Muslims would celebrate eid. Adnan had celebrated his eid on a fishing  boat off the coast of Block Island, NY with his son and his son's classmate from Columbia University. The catch was filled with Porgies, Sea Bass, Blues and mainly Striped Bass.

 

If you know me, then you know that I love the outdoors. And you also know that I am equally excited to get people connected with the outdoors. So when I heard about Adnan choosing to celebrate the eid by heading out to sea for some fishing, I was ecstatic.

Adnan had mentioned that his son's friend, Abdul, is the current president of the Columbia MSA. A bright young man from the Gulf, with an equal amount of passion for his intellectual and spiritual development. Growing up near the water he had never been on a boat and had never fished! You could not contain the excitement!

This is what I am getting at! As American Muslims we have every oportunnity to create meaningful, intelligent and beautiful expressions of Islamic tradition. Traditions that are one-hundred percent authentic, with regard to Islamic tradition and one-hundred percent American!

These are amazing times we are living in. At this moment in history the American Muslim community is blessed with the opportunity to create its own narrative. I am happy that people like Adnan--through Saffron Road--and many others are carving out spaces in all segments of society that people will be able to recognize as authentic American Muslim culture.