EID MUBARAK

Today we extend our greetings and best wishes to the Muslim community on the holy occasion of Eid ul Fitr.

For the past month, Muslims have shown the country by the example of fasting and prayer, the important role that such discipline should play in our lives regardless of our different religious persuasions. As President George Maxwell Richards stated in his Eid message, “Fasting signals ability for self-restraint and it goes beyond the mere denial of food to the possibilities for living at a higher level of personal development that eschews rage, lust for power and other qualities that limit our growth.” At a time when so much is wrong in our society, when discipline is so low, when we show so much rage in our dealings with one another, Ramadan encourages us to pause and to try to so discipline ourselves that love replaces rage. The fast of Ramadan is no easy one and requires deep belief and commitment to searching for the truth of what life is all about and of what we must do for each other. Today we celebrate the successful conclusion of the month's fast and extend congratulations to our Muslim brethren for the example that they have set before the nation.

Today as we celebrate Eid, we must appreciate how wonderful it is for us to live in peace with one another. A point that bears restating is that in Trinidad and Tobago, long accepted as one of the principal multi-cultural nations in the world, the followers of the several religions not merely live in peace one with the other but respect each other's right to worship according to the dictates of his/her religion. But while Muslims in Trinidad and Tobago will observe the season of Eid ul Fitr in the happy spirit in which it was ordained, there are millions of Muslims in other countries, for example in Iraq, Palestine and Syria, whose celebrations will be muted because of the overhanging clouds of invasion, conflict and the possible threat of war. Iraq was invaded by the United States earlier this year; Palestinians remain unsettled by encroaching Israelis, and there has been sabre rattling with respect to Syria. We extend our very best wishes to the Muslims and to our readers in general who respect and appreciate the occasion of Ramadan and Eid.

Eid Mubarak from Newsday.