Source: planostar.com

Bill Conrad / Staff Photo: Nasima Chowdhury refills the food dishes Thursday night at an Eid celebration. The celebration, hosted by Nasima and her husband, Abu, welcomed friends and family, regardless of religion

On the outside of the Chowdhury house in Allen Thursday night, the only visible signs of celebration were two balloons waving in the wind.

On the inside, people of all faiths and nationalities gathered for an Eid celebration, held worldwide each year to signify the end of Ramadan. While Ramadan is the Muslim holy month, Eid is a celebration where Muslims and non-Muslims alike gather to celebrate friendship and togetherness, said Abu Chowdhury.

“We may be from different backgrounds, but we are all the same,” he said.

At the celebration, a half-dozen Bangladeshi entrees including beef hari kabab and chicken biryani, prepared from scratch by Nasima Chowdhury, welcomed guests. While traditional desserts such as cham cham were served, the mix of cultures was evident by the presence of red velvet cupcakes.

“When we celebrate Eid, all I want is to be surrounded by my family and friends,” Nasima said, refilling the hari kabab dish after another wave of visitors showed up. “It looks like a lot of food, but the celebration will last into the night and all the food will be eaten.”

A second Eid celebration was held Friday morning in Allen, this time at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community on Hedgcoxe Drive. At the morning service, Community President Suhail Kausar spoke about the importance of loving and helping one another, regardless of one’s religion.

“It is very important because people have a lot of misconceptions about Islam,” Kausar said. “We have an additional responsibility to counter that perception.”

“Humanity comes first,” said Jari Khan, “Religion is separate because that is between you and your god. We need to meet one another and be nice to one another on a human level. All the different religions such as Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism have different roads but all lead to the God Almighty,” Khan said. “At the end of the day, we are all human beings.”

Khan said he believes outreach efforts held by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community that involve other religions will help bridge the gap that can exist between people and …continue reading at …planostar.com