NEW YORK—A diverse community of Muslims gathered in Harlem on April 12 at an annual post-Eid celebration sponsored by New York State Senator (NYS) Cordell Cleare.
Muslims from more than 25 mosques joined together in the fourth annual event, bringing families together with food, entertainment, inspiring speeches from invited guests and elected officials and observing salaat during the times of prayer.
Traditional Quranic recitations from the children of Madrasahs (Islamic schools), home-schooled children and students from the Nation of Islam’s Muhammad University of Islam (M.U.I.) filled the Dunlevy Milbank Center with surahs from the Holy Qur’an delivered with emotional and expressive composure.
“We were excited once again to participate in the Annual Post-Eid Celebration organized and hosted by New York State Senator Cordell Cleare,” Student Eastern Regional Minister Arthur Muhammad said. “This was the fourth year recognizing our ‘oneness’ inspite of our diversity.
One God (Allah), One Ummah (community of faith), and One Harlem. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan encourages us in the Nation of Islam to unite and get to know our larger Islamic family better.
So, when we gather in this way, we strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood. Muhammad Mosque No. 7 will always stand in strong support for this cause and effort.”
Other community leaders were also grateful to be at the event.
“I am honored to once again co-sponsor this year’s post Eid celebration alongside my sister in service, Senator Cordell Cleare,” New York Councilmember Dr. Yusef Salaam said. “This annual tradition is more than a gathering, it is a powerful expression of our shared values of compassion, community, and resilience.”
“Alhamdullilah (All praise is due to Allah), this is the belated Eid, so this is a recurring happiness and it’s always good to be with the family,” said Imam Izak-El M. Pasha, of 116 Street, Masjid Malcolm Shabazz.
“We were very excited to be involved in the community Eid celebrations. Part of what we do is in our mission to create unity within the Black Muslim community across New York City, even though it started in Harlem.
We look forward to uniting all of the Muslims in the other boroughs in the future, which would be my dream to create that. We need to create a real power base so that we can advocate for ourselves,” said Sister Sahr Ali, president of Black Muslims Now Collective.
“I’ve been around New York for a long time, almost 40 years. I can honestly tell you that this was the most unifying Ramadan that I have ever experienced. Every day from day one until the end, we had interfaith iftar going on throughout the city.
So, for us now to come to Senator Cordell Cleare’s annual post-Eid to celebrate is an extension of what took place during Ramadan.
Senator Cordell is one of the most prominent supporters of the Muslim community in Harlem,” said Sheikh Musa Drammeh, chairman of ICNA (Islamic Circle of North America).
“This is my first time coming to this Eid celebration, and it’s a beautiful celebration because Ramadan is my favorite month of the year.
It’s a month where we understand what solidarity means, but also what it looks like, and what it feels like. Eid is that celebration of all of us coming together,” stated Zohran Mamdani, NYS Assemblyman and first Muslim mayoral candidate.
“I think that it is a testament to Senator Cleare’s leadership over the many, many years because these kinds of events don’t just happen in and of themselves. They have to be put together.
They have to be led by somebody who believes that this is an important part of what we do with our time and with our life,” Assemblyman Mamdani also added.
“One Ummah after all is what unites us as a community that is bigger than where we were born or where we came from. It’s what we see in this world, what we see in ourselves and what we see in each other.”
“This was another magnificent community event. It was a successful endeavor that had us honoring the post-Eid festival with our Muslim family,” said NYS Senator Cordell Cleare.
“We once again joyfully celebrated the oneness of Harlem. Everyone in the whole community was invited and came to enjoy the celebration.”
Food was a collaborative effort from local Muslim restaurants and food from the M.G.T. and G.C.C. of Mosque No. 7 under the stewardship of Student Eastern Regional Captain Johnna Muhammad.
Festive moments included gifts for the children, a demonstration of synchronized swimmers from The Harlem Seniors Honey Bears and Bees in the pool. The Jr. F.O.I. and M.G.T. performed their drill routines.
A special musical selection performed by Brother Christopher Muhammad titled “Allah-One God,” captivated the audience, all of which led to a beautiful evening of Islamic festivities.
–Daleel Jabir Muhammad