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Thousands return to city park to celebrate Eid

Tania Sangha
BBC Midlands Today
Andrew Dawkins
BBC News, West Midlands
BBC More than a dozen rows of people in Small Heath Park. Trees are in the distance at the top of the photo.BBC
Muslims worshipped together at Small Heath Park on Sunday morning

Thousands of Muslims gathered in a Birmingham park to celebrate the Islamic festival of Eid.

It was the first time in three years the event, in Small Heath Park on Sunday, had been held, following bad weather in 2023 and 2024.

Eid al-Fitr is the celebration at the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting.

Green Lane mosque, which organises the event, said this year there was even more of a community spirit than in previous years.

The mosque's head of welfare, Sidrah Awan, said hundreds of people had also broken their fast at the mosque.

She added: "That community spirit was throughout the whole of Ramadan and people were so happy to give back and help those that are harder to reach."

Mashal Riaz on the left is wearing blue and Aqsa Nasar on the right is in white. They are looking at the camera.
Aqsa Nasar (right, pictured with Mashal Riaz) said there was a "beautiful feeling"

One person attending the park, Aqsa Nasar, said: "When you see people coming together, it is such an unreal and beautiful feeling.

"I think everyone must visit it, because we celebrate Eid twice a year."

A family group, of Moroccan and Bangladeshi heritage, included Chaymae, who visited her sister Rashida in the Midlands.

Chaymae said: "I've come all the way from London to meet our family, my sister that lives here [in Smethwick] and we actually come here every year, same park, same place, love it.

"The atmosphere's amazing."

Six people standing up, including two men - second from the left and second from the right. The four starting on the left are wearing various shades of blue and the woman on the far right is in brown.
Those attending included this family group, with Chaymae (left), from London, visiting her sister Rashida (third from the left)

In April last year, the mosque said it had made the "difficult decision" to not hold gatherings marking the end of Ramadan at the park and the Edgbaston cricket ground.

Eid al-Fitr prayers took place at the mosque in Small Heath.

On Sunday, Rashida said: "I was checking this morning to make sure it's still going ahead. I was like "it's fine, it's not raining, it's all good'".

Akram Atmani joined the worship at the park and said there was "a great sense of community".

He added: "A lot of people get together, which is amazing. It's really nice that they let us use the park."

Hamza Wahbi on the left has his arm around Akram Atmani, who is on the right. Crowds of people are blurred in the background.
Akram Atmani (right, with Hamza Wahbi on the left) said there was "a great sense of community"

The mosque's head of PR Haniya Aadam said: "There's actually a line in the Quran that says 'when you look up to the sky, do you see my signs?'

"So it's nice to pray outside just to feel that bit closer to God."

West Midlands mayor Richard Parker described the event as fantastic and praised the mosque, the police and the council for organising it.

The woman, Isra, is wearing a white headscarf on the left and the man, Ahmed, with a beard on the right, is in black. They are both holding a child.
This family, including Isra on the left and Ahmed on the right, is from Egypt

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