Members of the Elon University community gathered in the McBride Gathering Space in the Numen Lumen Pavilion at Elon University Thursday to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holiday of sacrifice.
The event featured speakers discussing the importance of the holiday, the food and the holiday’s traditions.
“Elon is very strongly committed to fostering multi-faith dialogue,” said Carrie Seigler, multifaith and intern coordinator at the Truitt Center. "Not just multi-faith conversations, but also creating safe and celebratory spaces. It’s one thing for us to say on paper that we want to accept and bring all voices to the table, but it’s another thing to do what we’re doing tonight and say, ‘We are providing a place to really celebrate in this tradition.’”
The event opened with a brief reading from the Quran by Shane Atkinson, Muslim Life coordinator at Elon. Atkinson first delivered the passages in Arabic, followed by English translations.
Haya Ajjan, a Syrian native and associate professor of management information systems at Elon, also spoke to the crowd assembled in Numen Lumen. Ajjan shared tales of her youth in Syria and her experience celebrating Eid as a child.
She also brought attention to the ongoing conflict in Syria and how students can get involved with Elon’s “Speak out for Syrians” club.
The Truitt Center hosts a number of various religious celebrations, such as the Hindu spring celebration Holi, as part of their efforts to share and celebrate the diverse group of religious backgrounds represented in the Elon community.
“Getting to know people who are different from you makes you a more worldly person,” said junior Olivia Arges, a student intern at the Truitt Center. “And understanding something as important as somebody else’s religion will lead to more cooperation on so many different levels.”
By representing the Muslim voices of the Elon community at the event, the Truitt Center hopes to educate students about other religions that can be sometimes misunderstood.
“Eid is great to focus on because a lot of stereotypes and news stories might lead you to focus on things in the Islamic tradition that are not as positive,” Arges said. “This is something that is so beautiful and so focused around community, and I think that’s something that’s really good for Elon students to notice.”