Eid: Thousands mark Muslim festival in west Belfast

As the festival of Eid al-Fitr came to an end, an estimated 2,500 people gathered in west Belfast to celebrate.

The Muslim festival marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan - a period of fasting for many adults.

The biggest gathering in Northern Ireland to celebrate Eid was at Colin Glen Leisure Park.

One of the organisers of the event said the Muslim community in Northern Ireland was almost three times the size it was five years ago.

Muhammad Atif from the Belfast Multi-Cultural Centre said the organisation felt there was a need for a bigger venue this year,

"We felt that there was a need to go to a bigger place and organise something big where you could actually have the Eid feel - the celebration, people come around, they get together, pray together," he said.

"The last time we counted nationalities, which was about a year ago, we had 42 different nationalities coming around and today I think we have more than 50 nationalities.

"In terms of the numbers today, we've done some headcounts and we believe it's around two-and-a-half thousand."

Muhammad Atif said the event would help promote understanding

Mr Atif said events such as Wednesday's were important in promoting understanding for both Muslims and non-Muslims in Northern Ireland.

"There's a big educational piece which we feel like we need to do and we are doing our bit to make people aware of what Islam is, what this religion is," he said.

"It's not the religion that some people portray it as - Islam is a very peaceful religion.

"I personally felt when I came to this country around 16 years ago that I didn't have that platform.

"Now people have the platform, they mix, they integrate and we help them integrate between the two communities, including the local communities.

"Northern Ireland people are very hospitable, this is my home and I can't see myself living anywhere else,"

People from many different countries and cultures took part in the festival

Eid marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan and is therefore a feast day, as well as a religious holiday, and is often marked by family celebrations, gifts and gatherings.

The name Eid al-Fitr translates as "the festival of the breaking of the fast".

One of those attending Wednesday's event was Sareena Ikram, who said she was grateful to everyone who had made it possible.

"It's really good to have this festival here because we are Muslims and we need something to be heard," she said.

Sareena Ikram said she was really grateful to all those who had made the event possible

"This time it's a big festival and it's on open ground, even though the weather's not good, but it's indoor.

"The Muslim community is spreading all over Northern Ireland."

Amina Obefunse said to experience the festival staged in such a way in Belfast was very important.

"It's very encouraging, it's massive," she said.

Amina Obefunse said the west Belfast venue was perfect for the event

"We feel good, we are so happy, you can see no-one wants to leave yet, they're still taking pictures because the environment looks so good, so it's perfect."

Jason Barnes said it was a special occasion for him as it was not something he had been to before.

"It's very, very impressive - we weren't sure because of the weather and everything how many people were going to be here, but we realised coming in that there were so many cars and lots and lots of people here," he said.

Jason Barnes said it was amazing to see people from all around the world at the Belfast event

"I think the main thing we noticed was that there were people from all over the world, which is an amazing thing to see in Northern Ireland.

"What I think is really amazing is over the last five, 10 years we've really seen the diversity increasing in Belfast and in Northern Ireland and I think that really enriches our culture in general because we can learn from each other.

"People here are very keen to integrate into society and I think are very proud to make Northern Ireland their home."