The WorldPostRefugeesIslammuslims

Displaced Muslims Around The World Mark Eid Al-Fitr With Hope And Resilience

Millions far from home still find ways to celebrate this joyous holiday.
By 

Associate International Editor, The Huffington Post

and

Senior Photo Editor, HuffPost

Muslim refugees celebrate Eid in Torpignattara, a multiethnic suburb of Rome.
Muslim refugees celebrate Eid in Torpignattara, a multiethnic suburb of Rome.
Simona Granati/Corbis via Getty Images

This week Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr — a joyous three-day holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting.

Many start Eid al-Fitr -- or "breaking-of-the-fast festival" -- by performing special morning prayers known as Salaat al-Eid. Families and friends then traditionally dress in new outfits and get together to feast on special sweets and pastries and exchange gifts.

But millions of Muslims are currently displaced and will not be able to spend Eid in the comfort of their homes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced last June that worldwide displacement had hit an all-time high, with Muslim-majority Syria being the largest driver of displacement. One in every 122 people around the globe is either a refugee, internally displaced or seeking asylum, and half of all refugees are children, according to UNHCR.

Still, Muslim refugees and other migrants are finding ways to joyously observe the holidays.

Scroll down to see their Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr observances in refugee camps and shelters.

Getty Images
Muslim refugees celebrate Eid al-Fitr at the Greek-Arabic Cultural Center in Athens on July 6, 2016.
Getty Images
Muslim refugees in Torpignattara, a multiethnic suburb of Rome, display a banner of condolences for the victims of the massacre in Dhaka during Eid al-Fitr prayer on July 6, 2016.
Getty Images
Muslim refugees celebrate Eid in Torpignattara on July 6, 2016.
Getty Images
Refugees pray in Rome during Eid al-Fitr on July 6, 2016.
Halil Fidan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Syrian refugees shop at a camp grocery store in the Suruc district of Sanliurfa, Turkey, on July 1, 2016.
Haydar Hadi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Internal migrants a few days before Eid al-Fitr in Anbar, Iraq, on July 3, 2016.
Associated Press
Palestinians buy sweets for the upcoming Eid al-Fitr holiday in the Nusseirat refugee camp, Gaza Strip, on July 4, 2016.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A Syrian refugee moves grocery bags in a wheelbarrow at a refugee camp in the Suruc district of Sanliurfa, Turkey, on July 1, 2016.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Syrian refugees observe the last few days of Ramadan in the Suruc district of Sanliurfa, Turkey, on July 1, 2016.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A Syrian refugee shops at a camp grocery store in the Suruc district of Sanliurfa, Turkey, on July 1, 2016.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Syrian refugee children look at groceries on July 1, 2016, in the Suruc district of Sanliurfa, Turkey.
Louisa Gouliamaki/Getty Images
Muslim Shia refugees in Greece pray at a makeshift mosque on July 6, 2016.
Associated Press
Syrian refugee Moustafa Shikh Habib and his daughter Noor get ready to eat at a refugee shelter in Berlin on July 5, 2016.
Associated Press
A man makes falafel on the first day of Eid al-Fitr near a mosque in the predominantly Arab immigrant neighborhood of Neukoelln in Berlin on July 5, 2016.
Associated Press
Syrian refugees Ahmad Shabu, his wife Azmaa Badaoui, and their children (from left) Mohammed, Hanin, Abdullah, Ruha and Gusay attend a celebration on the first day of Eid al-Fitr near a mosque in the predominantly Arab immigrant neighborhood of Neukoelln in Berlin on July 5, 2016.
Getty Images
Muslim refugees in Torpignattara, a multiethnic suburb of Rome.
Associated Press
Muslim men, mostly migrant laborers from Central Asia, stand next to a fence decorated with a picture of the Kremlin as they prepare for Eid al-Fitr prayers outside Moscow's Cathedral Mosque on July 5, 2016.
Markus Schreiber/Associated Press
Syrian refugee Aysha sits in a room at the refugee shelter where she lives with her family in Berlin on July 5, 2016.

Related

RefugeesIslammuslimseid al-fitrramadan 2016
|
Submit a tip

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot