Eid in the Square: Muslim celebration of Eid ul-fitr in Trafalgar Square, London

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Eid in the Square: festival in Trafalgar Square to celebrate Eid ul-fitr

Eid in the Square has taken place in London's Trafalgar Square each year since 2006. It is a celebration of the Muslim festival of Eid ul-fitr ("breaking of the fast"), which comes at the end of the month of Ramadan.

In 2011 Eid in the Square will be in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 24 September 2011 from 2-6pm. For further information, see: http://www.london.gov.uk/event-meeting/2011/sep/eid-festival

Artists performing in 2011:
Akeem: French MC Akeem fuses rap, hip-hop and spoken word. He also runs workshops that promote music to the younger generation, and works with organisations such as London’s North African Arts.
Cheb Nacim: Cheb Nacim’s distinctive voice and rhythmic style mixes modern Rai with traditional music. Nacim was educated at the ‘El Mousiliya’ school in Algeria and performs with the Rai Music Band.
Islamia Primary School Choir: Ranging from the age of eight to eleven, the choir specialises in singing traditional and modern Naseeds in Arabic and English.
Mohamed Madadi: Currently studying his A-levels, seventeen year old British-Somalian Mohamed aims to inspire other young people through his Nasheeds.
Nabila: London-based, Venezuela born Nabila blends world, jazz, acoustic and dance sounds.
Quest Rah: British born of Egyptian/Polish origin, Quest Rah’s music blends poetry, lyricism and melody with decisive ethnic beats.
Rakin Niass: Previously a member of Cash Crew and M2M, at Eid, Rakin will perform his brand of rap, spoken word and reggae fusion solo.
Ramzi: UK-based, but of Lebanese origin, Ramzi’s global background has flavoured his music, fusing western and Middle Eastern sounds.
Raouf: Oxford-based Raouf’s musical style mixes Arabic, African and western fusion with hip-hop and raga. His lyrics in Arabic, French and English are inspired by poetry.
Sound of Reason: MTV’s artist of the month, Canadian duo Francis and Ku have gained a worldwide following less than a year after releasing their first album.
Suhail Ahmed Qadri: British Pakistani Suhail’s talent for reciting the Quran and singing Nasheeds has seen the sometime TV anchor, leading youth workshops and acting as a judge on Ummah Talent.
With appearances from Zee TV artists:
Jernade Miah – Bangladeshi R&B urban singer
Shide Boss – British rap and slow jam artist of Pakistani origin
Abbas Hassan – London-based, Canadian-born, French-Asian pop artist, actor and model.

The pictures below were taken at the 2007 event.

Call to prayer

Reading from the Qu'ran

English translation of the reading

PRESENTERS

SPEECHES

The event started with a number of short speeches by politicians and Muslim officials. Eid in the Square was organised jointly by the Mayor of London and the Muslim Council of Britain.

Ken Livingstone
(Mayor of London)

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari (Secretary
General of the Muslim Council of Britain)

Dr Hany El-Banna OBE
(President of Islamic Relief)

ENTERTAINERS

Olive Tree Supplementary School perform two nasheeds ...

... they are aged between 3 and 6

Tala Al Badru (originally from Nigeria)

Prince Abdi: Somali comic

Hamza Robertson

Poetic Pilgrimage

Sami Yusuf

Hussein Zahawy playing the Daf (Persian/Iranian drum)

Nazeel Azami

Aashiq Al Rasul

Mesut Kurtis

FURTHER INFORMATION

This event was organised by:
- the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB): http://www.mcb.org.uk
- the Mayor of London: http://www.london.gov.uk
The main sponsor was Islamic Relief: http://www.islamic-relief.com

Music from some of the nasheed acts which performed can be purchased using these links:
Sami Yusuf: http://www.thenasheedshop.com/sami_yusuf.php
Nazeel Azami: http://www.thenasheedshop.com/artists/nazeel-azami.php

For more information about Islam and Muslim festivals, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam

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LINKS

Eid in the Square 2006: Ideas/Album/Eid-2006
Pakistan Independence Day festival: Ideas/Album/Pakistan-Independence-Day

Religion in the UK: Personal/Religion
Useful links for people in the UK from Arab League countries: Links/Arab
Useful links for Bangladeshi people in the UK: Links/Bangladesh
Useful links for Pakistani people in the UK: Links/Pakistan

Photos from other annual events: Ideas/Album
Trafalgar Square: Travel/Tours/London/TrafalgarSquare

Home page: Home

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