Pouring into El Camino College’s Murdock Stadium as early as 7 a.m. and dressed in their finest outfits, over 5,000 Muslims from the South Bay and Los Angeles area gathered to celebrate Eid al-Fitr on Friday, April 21.

Marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, Muslim communities commemorate Eid al-Fitr with prayers, community gatherings and family feasts.

El Camino’s Muslim Student Association (MSA) hosted this year’s prayer in collaboration with the Islamic Center of Hawthorne, the Islamic Center of South Bay and the Islamic Institute of Torrance.

Associated Students Organization President Jana Abulaban was among the 5,000 people celebrating Eid al-Fitr at Murdock Stadium.

“It’s honestly really beautiful, the community coming together to pray and celebrate Eid, especially at El Camino,” Abulaban said. “It just really promoted unity amongst our community.”

Receiving a lot of positive feedback from the community, Abulaban said she is looking forward to seeing Eid celebrations happen every year.

However, she pointed out a lack of support from El Camino College.

The Muslim community on campus expressed disappointment because of the miscommunication between the MSA and college officials. As a result, the community volunteers and guests had to troubleshoot logistical problems during the event.

Abulaban said departments such as facilities and athletics were supposed to show up at the event to bring canopies and test sound systems, but it did not happen.

“The sound system came in 15 minutes before the event was supposed to start and it didn’t work,” Abulaban said. “We had somebody from the mosques bring up a backup but if we didn’t have that the Eid prayer might not have even happened, which is really sad to think about that.”

Muslim Student Association Public Relations Coordinator Sabrina Rashiq volunteered at the Eid prayer and also felt discontent.

“This event was not accepted the way it should have been… we felt that it was not equitable,” Rashiq said. “We had better expectations of having this event run smoother, having more support from our community.”

However, despite the challenges the organizers and volunteers faced, Rashiq said the event was worth it.

“So many people came and it makes me really happy because our purpose was to unite the community,” Rashiq said.

The Eid celebration began with a morning prayer led by Imam Qari Anas Daghameen from the Islamic Center of South Bay and followed by a sermon by Sheikh Hamdy Douma from the Islamic Center of Hawthorne.

A community member from the Islamic Center of South Bay, Rabia Sayed, normally prays at Wilson Park in Torrance and was grateful to El Camino for letting the community use the stadium.

“I’m so glad El Camino MSA hosted this event for free and made sure we got parking,” Sayed said. “I’m glad that there’s enough space and getting to meet everyone. We always wanted a big spot.”

Social Justice Center Coordinator Monica Delgado volunteered at the event and was one of many who greeted the guests and distributed bottles of water and disposable prayer mats to them.

“I think that everything is a learning experience,” Delgado said. “This was all of our first time.”

Muslim Student Association President Uzair Pasta was one of the organizers and worked closely with volunteers from local mosques in the South Bay area.

“I hope when we have this next event, [El Camino will] understand how much this means to the Muslim community and how many people came out on this day to celebrate their faith,” Pasta said.

Pasta said the overall event went well and the Muslim community came together despite the lack of support from college officials.

“I have not seen this many people in one field, showing how strong our community is,” Pasta said. “If [the college is] willing to put in the work, we are, because we we’re willing to adapt.”