Eid al-Fitr, the biggest festival of the Muslim Community, was celebrated throughout the country sharing best wishes for better health and prosperity. It is estimated that Nepal has around 2,500 mosques. People in districts such as Rautahat, Banke, Sunsari, Morang and Kapilvastu thronged the mosques on the occasion. According to the census of 2011, Muslims cover around three percentage of the Nepali population. The community, however, claims that their population is around eight percent.

“Although a lot of things have changed, the way we celebrate Eid has not. And we are receiving a large number of people on the final day of Ramadan,” said Samim Ansari, adviser at the Jame Masjid, the biggest mosque in the country that witnessed around10,000 Muslims on the day of Eid.

Irrespective of their economic status, the Muslim community celebrates the festival with a great fanfare. “The celebration is same for rich and poor, all we have to do is read Namaj and observe Roja,” said Farid Khan, chairman of the Jame Masjid. The celebration marks an end to the month-long fast of Ramdan (which falls in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar). The month is regarded as the holiest period in the Islamic lunar year, when Muslims observe Roza(fasting)—abstaining themselves from taking food, water, and all other physical needs from sunrise to sunset. The fasting is associated with self-control, devotion, and charity as mandated by the Islamic injunction. However, Ansari, who also runs his own business in Kusaltar, believes that only celebrating Ramdan and observing Roza doesn’t make any sense. “The things taught by Quran are good, but just reading Quaran and observing Roza doesn’t make you a true Muslim. Treating all humans as equal and respecting all human beings is what counts,” he said, wearing a big smile on his face.

The government has been declaring Eid al-Fitr as a public holiday.