Millions of Muslims around the world celebrate Eid with feasts and family visits

Muslims in Britain and around the world ushered in a day of celebrations and family visits for the holiday of Eid al-Fitr which began on Friday.

After the fasting month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Fitr with prayers, celebrations and family visits.

The start of the holiday is traditionally based on sightings of the new crescent moon, which vary depending on geographic location.

The Arab capitals of Damascus, Baghdad and Beirut were crowded with worshipers heading for mosques and cemeteries.

And while the celebration was marred with staccato shots of gunfire amid the explosion of conflict in Sudan, in other countries it was welcomed with hope for a brighter future.

In Jerusalem, thousands of worshipers gathered at Islam’s third-holiest shrine, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where tensions with Israeli authorities have flared over the past month. The compound also houses Judaism’s holiest site.

After the holiday prayers, a clown entertained children and a woman painted a girl’s cheek with the green, red, black and white Palestinian flag. Some attendees stepped on an Israeli flag and unfurled banners in support of Palestinian militant groups.

Many Muslims visit the graves of their loved ones after early morning prayers on the first day of Eid al-Fitr. Visitors carried bouquets of flowers, pitchers of water for plants and brooms to clean tombstones.

Atheer Mohamed at the Azamiya cemetery in Baghdad said, “After the Eid prayer, we always visit our dead – to pray and pay our respects, may God have mercy on them and forgive them on this blessed day.”

The Islamic holidays follow a lunar calendar. But some countries rely on astronomical calculations rather than physical observations. This often leads to disagreements between religious authorities in different countries – and sometimes in the same country – over the start date of Eid al-Fitr.

This year, Saudi Arabia and many other Arab countries started their Eid celebrations on Friday, while Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia, among others, set the first day of the holiday on Saturday.

In Sudan, the holiday was overshadowed by a week of fierce fighting between the army and its rival paramilitary force, which are engaged in a violent struggle for control of the country. The fighting killed hundreds and injured thousands.

In a video message released early Friday, his first speech since fighting broke out, Sudan’s top general Abdel-Fattah Burhan marked the holiday’s somber tone. “Ruin and devastation and the sound of bullets have left no room for the happiness that everyone in our beloved country deserves,” he said.