Eid al-Adha

Eid-al-Adha, also referred to as the Feast of Sacrifice if you’re more into English, is an Islamic holiday celebrated every year to commemorate the sacrifice Abraham made when he was asked by Allah to sacrifice his own son. At the last minute Allah stepped in and told him the sacrifice was already done and that there was no need to kill his son, and Abraham had passed the test of obedience. This year I had the opportunity to participate in a small part of the celebration.  My conversation partner, Noor, invited me to an event that explained a little more about this festival and provided food that would typically be served for the occasion.  Eid is a feast celebrated after the Hajj, one of the most important aspects of Islam, a pilgrimage to Mecca. 

The day typically begins with a prayer and continues as any holiday would- great food, family, and friends.  It was really a lot of fun to be a part of a celebration that I was completely unfamiliar with.  I had learned about the basic principles of Islam last year in a religion class, so it was interesting to actually be able to be a part of it rather than just reading about something that seemed to be happening on the other side of the world.  Also, it was something that I enjoyed looking up and reading about after the fact, because the story which they are celebrating is also a Bible story which I have grown up hearing throughout my years in church.  Seeing how similar the two religions are and the values and ethics that each uphold is one way I am able to tear down any sort of prejudice I ever had against the Islamic religion as a whole. I have always enjoyed learning about other religions and what other people celebrated, but never before have I actually gotten to be in the midst of it and be a part of a holiday outside of my own tradition.  Of course this tiny version of a feast and ten minute lesson of the holiday was not even a drop in the bucket compared to how people actually celebrate Eid, but it was at least more than I had been exposed to in the past.

I also had the privilege of meeting Noor’s older brother who is in the Intensive English Program at TCU as well.  She grabbed by arm and dragged me to him with a huge smile on her face and said, “Finally you can meet my brother!!”  I thought it was hilarious that she was so excited about it, but it was also great to see how close she was to her older brother and I was glad that she was so eager to introduce me to him.  Of course he was kind, but I did not talk to him long before she was shoving me towards the table full of food and telling me all the things I absolutely had to try before I could leave.

The rest of the event I stuffed my face with an assortment of foods I had never tried before and honestly do not know the name of now.  I had more than enough Saudi Arabian coffee and dessert, and then went back for a little more.  In the meantime Noor was being a social butterfly, running all over the place talking to everyone there and having a great time.

I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to be paired with a conversation partner, and what I have learned from Noor has gone well above my expectations.  Even simple events that don’t seem like a big deal at the time are something that I later think about and it changes my perspective on the world a little bit.  I honestly think that a pairing with a student from another country should be something that every student here should do at some point.  Sure it may be weird or uncomfortable at first, but it is crazy how much you can learn even through simple conversations, small talk, and invitations to each other’s holidays.