(2 Jul 2017) LEAD IN:
Warm weather, good cheer and an open atmosphere has brought people together at the London Eid Festival.
It's a welcome event for attendees of varied faiths and backgrounds, after a challenging Ramadan that saw terror attacks in the UK's capital and Manchester.
STORYLINE:
Opening the Eid Festival in London's Trafalgar Square, broadcaster Rahim Jung leads a prayer for the thousands of people assembled.
Giving two Sunnahs as guides, Jung says the recent terror attacks in the UK capital can only make people stronger and encourage them to help each other.
The Eid festival itself promotes that message.
Food and cultural stalls bring together tastes, traditions and ideas from different parts of the world.
Iranian arts are on show alongside Indonesian clothing, Moroccan food and South Asian henna tattooes.
Algerian rai music (a form of folk music) is on the bill, sharing the stage with a British nasheed (vocal music) artist and a children's peace choir, among others.
The festival is held under the auspices of the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan - himself a Muslim.
He wants London's inclusiveness to be defiant in the face of terror attacks, and he leads the crowd in chants.
"There are some people who want to divide our communities, there are some people who want to fuel division," Khan says in an address to the crowd.
He asks, "are we going to let them?" To which the crowd shouts, "No!"
Khan adds, "No we're not because one of the great things about London is you can be who you are and you are accepted."
Between 15,000 to 25,000 people are expected to mark the end of Ramadan at the festival in Trafalgar Square.
The atmosphere of the festival is one of togetherness, allowing Muslims to learn about each other's Eid traditions and sharing the experience with people of other faiths.
And there's a pride and warmth for the city among attendees.
"It doesn't just feel like a Muslim space, it feels like a London space, which is by nature inter-faith, inter-cultural and diverse," says Mamatha Begum.
"And it's a great way, I think, to celebrate all of that in the heart of London."
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
