Eid al-Fitr is an extremely important annual festival for Muslims, just like the Chinese New Year. In order to transform Taichung City into a friendly city for Southeast Asian migrant workers, the city government will be hosting the Taichung City Eid al-Fitr festival from 09:30 to 16:00 on 1 July at the ASEAN Square, where specialty stalls with Southeast Asian influence and Indonesian dance performers will be invited, while the Islam culture will also be introduced. It is hoped that the ASEAN Square will become a platform for exchanging religions and cultures, thereby enriching Taichung’s diversity.
According to the Civil Affairs Bureau, Islam is one of the three major religions in the world; in Taiwan, there are roughly 60,000 Muslims and 200,000 migrant workers from Islamic nations in Southeast Asia. However, Taiwanese people’s knowledge about Muslims are limited to what is shown by the media, and they rarely have the opportunity of getting in touch with Islam culture; in light of this, the Civil Affairs Bureau collaborated with Taichung Mosque to organize the Eid al-Fitr festival to showcase the Islamic religion and culture.
For this event, specialty stalls with Southeast Asian influence are invited, while Indonesian couples dressed on traditional costumes take to the stage to demonstrate folk dance. Exhibition display boards featuring an introduction to Islamic culture are set up at the scene to create a festive Eid al-Fitr ambiance for the migrant workers, so that they too can feel the affection of their hometown and let the citizens of Taichung appreciate diverse exotic culture.
Civil Affairs Bureau suggests that Eid al-Fitr is an extremely important annual festival for Muslims, just like the Chinese New Year, it is a time of being reunited with one’s family. Muslims must observe the rules of Islam by undergoing a month-long fasting period (Ramadan); the day of Eid al-Fitr signifies the end of Ramadan, and Muslims can get together with their family and friends to worship or enjoy gourmet food.