(CLEVELAND, OHIO, 1/28/2004) – Thousands of American Muslims will soon take part in religious observances associated with the annual Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. Hajj is one of the “five pillars” of the Islamic faith. (The other pillars include a declaration of faith, daily prayers, offering regular charity, and fasting during the month of Ramadan.)
Pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for those who have the physical and financial ability to undertake the journey. When the main portion of the pilgrimage is completed, Muslims worldwide gather for communal prayers on the first day (February 1*) of Eid ul-Adha (EED-al-ODD-ha), the second of the two major Muslim holidays. Many Muslims in the Greater Cleveland Area will gather for a city-wide Eid prayer service on Sunday morning at 8:30 am at the Metro Campus of Cuyahoga Community College.
“Participating in the Hajj, perhaps the world’s most ethnically and racially diverse religious event, is a high point of any Muslim’s life,” said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group. To the Chairman of the newly opened Cleveland Office of CAIR, “Hajj is an annual spiritual journey that Muslims from all over the globe undertake to glorify one God, asking for forgiveness and mercy.”