A Different Eid Al-Adha 2022 in Sydney
By: Masnawi Muhammad Nur, Jamaah Kerukunan Keluarga Sulawesi Sydney (KKSS) and Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Center (AKIC) Sydney, Australia
There is something different with this year’s Eid al-Adha celebration which coincides on Saturday 9 July 2022, Indonesian Muslims who live in Sydney and its surroundings, especially for the KKSS or Jamaah Kerukunan Keluarga Sulawesi Sydney and AKIC (Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Center) congregations.
How can it not be that Indonesian citizens, who usually perform Eid al-Adha prayers this year, have guests of honor from Makassar, Indonesia.
A group of guests who arrived from Indonesia joined and mingled with hundreds of worshipers for the Eid al-Adha 1443H prayer held by Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Center (AKIC) Sydney at the OREON Function Center, Campsie, New South Wales, Australia.
The Eid al-Adha prayer event was very lively after the committee found out that there were worshpers who came from Indonesia.
Around 58 people from the Indonesian and Australian cultural exchange groups were invited to the “Centuries of Friendship” event to commemorate NAIDOC week in Australia this year.
This year’s Eid al-Adha prayer event, the sermon was delivered by the AKIC Family itself, namely Syaikh Rian Wiramihardja, Lc, MA, who is also an Indonesian and one of the Ustaz at Ashabul Kahf and a graduate of the Islamic University of Madina, Saudi Arabia.
The sermon messages conveyed discussed the importance of ukhuwah Islamiyah as we saw the moment of the Hajj which on Arafah Day gathered together regardless of skin color, race, language, and citizen. They mingle, praying to glorify the name of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala together on a holy day.
On this occasion the preacher also gave the message of Eid al-Adha from the sermon of the Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu Alaihi Wassallam in his wada sermon.
The Khatib underlined how we as Muslims should behave and behave, especially Muslims who live in a country where Muslims are a minority.
The Khatib also said that our identity as a Muslim must always be the most important so that we will show Islam as a role model and mercy for all humans.
After the Eid al-Adha prayer, the congregation, the KKSS and AKIC extended families kept in touch, shook hands and forgave each other. Don’t forget to take a group photo as proof of the closeness of the congregation to one another.
The congregation then headed to the Ashabul Kahfi Islamic Center waqf house which was located in front of the Wiley Park park, New South Wales, Australia.
Arriving at the waqf house, the closeness between guests from Makassar is increasingly felt by enjoying the vegetable rice cake which is the mainstay of this year’s Eid menu. Goat satay and of course the unforgettable menu is Australian Barbeque or grilled goat.
Some time after the food and drink from the mothers were enjoyed, the congregation, residents of KKSS and AKIC Sydney were happy with the arrival of the second group from Makassar who had just arrived from Melbourne.
The second group, led directly by the Mayor of Makassar, Ir. H. Muhammad Ramdhan Pomanto. The group was greeted directly by the Founder of AKIC, Dr. Teuku Chalidin Yacob, MA, JP and chairman of KKSS Sydney Australia, Firdaus Muis, BN.RN.
The second group had the opportunity to perform Eid al-Adha prayers in the backyard of the waqaf house because in the morning the group was still on the plane from Melbourne to Sydney so it was not possible to carry out the Eid prayers in congregation on the plane.
After finishing the prayer, followed by a welcoming ceremony; led by MC Masnawi Muhammad Nur.
Welcoming remarks were started by H. Edi Iskandar as an elder of KKSS residents who have lived in Australia for almost 50 years, Firdaus Muis as Chair of KKSS, Nur Hakim as Project Manager for AKIC development, and Teuku Chalidin Yacob as AKIC Founder.
On this occasion, Teuku Chalidin, who is also the author of the book “Malay Muslim Inventors of Australia” published by MINA Publishing House, conveyed scientific facts that the interaction between Bugis Makassarese and Aboriginal tribes had existed almost 150 years before the arrival of Captain James Cook, who was known as the “Inventor of Australia”.
The closeness of culture between the Makassar Bugis and Aboriginal tribes is stated in his book which was then submitted to the Mayor of Makassar, Ir. H. Muhammad Ramzan Pomanto who is better known as Mr. Denny Pomanto and he also had the opportunity to convey that their visit to Australia on this occasion was also the result of the closeness between the Aboriginal tribes in particular and the Australian government in general and the Makassar Bugis.
The day before he gave a public lecture at Monash University, Melborne in front of professors and postgraduate and doctoral students.
He said that giving the public lecture was very memorable, but after arriving in Sydney with KKSS and AKIC residents and praying eid in the field of the AKIC waqaf house, gathering and eating food like in a village, this was extraordinary.
This Familiarity event was closed with the handover of assistance from representatives of the group to AKIC in the context of building the first Islamic Center for Indonesian citizens in Sydney Australia.
The symbolic handover of the aid fund worth 10,000 US Dollars or around 15 was given by the Mayor of Makassar, Ir. H. Muhammad Ramdhan Pomanto. to AKIC Sydney Founder Dr. Teuku Chalidin Yacob, MA, JP.
This event of intimacy is very closely related to Teuku Chalidin’s expression that the group that came from Makassar was not actually visiting, but: “Welcome Home or Welcome to Australia’s hometown,” as Muslim ancestors from Bugis Makassar had set foot in Australia on international trade missions, looking for sea cucumbers in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, long before Captain James Cook landed at Botanical Bay in 1770.
This Eid al-Adha celebration is really different this year, there is intimacy, there is historical value that is revealed and there is pride in being the “Muslim discoverer of Australia”. (T/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
