Muslims in Perth have enjoyed celebrating Eid together after months of Covid restrictions stopped them from meeting.
Organised by the Perth Mosque Committee, around 75 people met for a buffet meal at the Station Hotel on Tuesday evening after prayer in the morning.
The Eid celebrations ensured current Covid guidelines were followed.
Aziz Rehman, vice chairman of the Perth Welfare Society – which supports minority communities in Perth and Kinross – said: “We all were very happy especially as a lot of people haven’t seen each other in months because of Covid restrictions.
“But we made sure all safety rules were followed and we wish that we can all stand together in these hard times and fight Covid.”
Supporting the community
Throughout the pandemic, the Perth Welfare Society has worked tirelessly to support the local community.
Member Laeeq Rehman is the shop manager of Perth takeaway Must Eat.
He and his team delivered more than 100 hot meals a week and essential items to members of staff at care homes and hospitals, families in need and local charities.
He said: “When lockdown hit, we posted on our Facebook that if anyone locally needed help or food to let us know.
“We got a lot of responses from elderly people and neighbours of vulnerable people.
“At the start of lockdown we were also delivering them milk, bread and butter so they wouldn’t have to go out and get some.
“I was also getting maybe five or six contacts a day from the Perth Welfare Society regarding vulnerable people in the local area, so we were often getting bread and milk and the essentials for small families through them.”
Eid al-Adha
Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, is typically marked by communal prayers, large social gatherings and, for many, slaughtering of livestock and giving meat to the needy.
It takes place at the end of Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Millions of Muslims usually travel for the Hajj but it has been scaled back for the second year in a row due to the pandemic.