Lebaran Dirayakan Umat Islam di Seluruh Dunia
Millions of Muslims across the world celebrate the Eid al-Fitr
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
JUTAAN umat Islam di seluruh dunia merayakan Hari Raya Idul Fitri pekan ini dengan suka cita, yang menandai akhir puasa sebulan penuh di bulan Ramadhan.
Kegembiraan umat Islam di seluruh dunia menandai akhir Ramadhan yang mewajibkan kaum Muslim menahan diri dari makan atau minum sejak subuh sampai matahari terbenam untuk menunjukkan keimanan kepada Allah SWT.
Hari Raya Idul Fitri - yang artinya 'berbuka puasa' - memberi kesempatan bagi kaum Muslim yang taat untuk bertukar hadiah, menikmati makanan dan menghias rumah mereka untuk menunjukkan ucapan syukur kepada Sang Khalik.
Sementara perayaan lebaran berlangsung di seluruh dunia, namun duka dan lara menyelimuti orang yang terkena dampak perang saudara di Suriah, perang Gaza dan aksi militan di Irak, seperti dilansir MailOnline.
Selama perayaan Idul Fitri, umat Islam sesuai aturan agama mewajibkan saling bermaaf-maafan dan menyapa dengan salam Eid Mubarak, yang artinya adalah 'berkah Idul Fitri'.
Diikuti doa-doa khusus dan kegembiraan, sebagai tradisi lebaran termasuk mengenakan pakaian baru, makan makanan lezat, memberikan hadiah dan, bagi perempuan, dekorasi tangan dengan henna.
Namun lebaran tahun ini tidak dirasakan oleh sebagian warga muslim yang dilanda konflik bersenjata.
Di Kota Gaza, sebagian besar jalan-jalan sepi, karena warga meringkuk di dalam ruangan untuk berlindung. Lebih dari 1.110 warga Palestina telah tewas, lebih dari 6.500 terluka dan puluhan ribu pengungsi di tiga minggu terakhir pertempuran antara Israel dan Hamas, menurut pejabat Palestina. Sementara di pihak Israel, 53 tentaranya tewas dan tiga warga sipil tewas.
"Yang kami pikirkan adalah untuk tetap aman," kata Fedaa Abul Atta, seorang perawat dan ibu dari enam. Keluarga berduka atas kematian keponakannya, yang tewas dalam serangan udara. Rumahnya termasuk di antara ratusan rumah yang dihancurkan oleh Israel di Kota Gaza di kawasan Shijaiyah.
Suasana duka cita menyelimuti lebih dari 1 juta pengungsi Suriah di Lebanon.
'Kegembiraan Lebaran tidak kami rasakan di sini sama sekali," kata Umm Ammar, yang mengungsi dari negaranya tiga tahun yang lalu bersama keluarganya dan kini tinggal di sebuah perkemahan di Lembah Bekaa, Lebanon timur. "Kami rindu merayakan Idul Fitri di Suriah, di kampung halaman kami."
Meskipun pemboman mobil sering terjadi di ibukota Irak, Baghdad, pengunjung tetap ramai mendatangi mal dan toko-toko menjelang lebaran untuk menyambut silaturahim bersama keluarga.
Di luar Timur Tengah, umat Islam yang bermukim di ibukota Republik Afrika Tengah memberanikan diri keluar ke masjid bawah pengawasan pasukan penjaga perdamaian bersenjata.
Lain halnya Aminata Baryn yang memilih tinggal di rumah, masih terlalu takut untuk keluar karena khawatir pada serangan dari milisi Kristen yang memaksa ribuan Muslim mengungsi dari ibukota negara.
Muslim di Indonesia, di Timur Tengah, sebagian Afrika, Eropa dan AS mentapkan Idul Fitri pada Senin. Jutaan muslim di Maroko, India dan sebagian besar Pakistan memulai lebaran pada Selasa.
Hal ini karena umat Islam menggunakan kalender Hijriah atau perhitungan bulan dan perbedaan metodologi penghitungan waktu, sehingga penetapan akhir puasa bisa berbeda hari.
Di Afrika Barat, sholat Ied didedikasikan untuk para korban dua tragedi di wilayah ini - yakni kecelakaan pesawat Air Algerie yang menewaskan 118 orang dan wabah Ebola berkelanjutan yang telah menewaskan lebih dari 670 warga.
Perayaan Idul Fitri tidak meriah dari biasanya di Malaysia, karena diselimuti duka akibat tragedi yang menimpa dua pesawat Malaysia Airlines.
Perdana Menteri Malaysia Najib Razak dan kabinetnya membatalkan perayaan lebaran dan menyatakan berkabung bagi para korban.
Demikian pula, Perdana Menteri Lebanon Tammam Salam mengumumkan bahwa ia tidak akan menerima tamu atau ucapan selamat karena situasi genting di dekat Gaza.
Presiden Turki Abdullah Gul mengingatkan rakyatnya dalam pesan Idul Fitri-nya bahwa meskipun Turki sedang menikmati liburan yang damai, banyak negara tetangganya yang dilanda konflik bersenjata.
Di ibukota Qatar Doha, kegiatan perayaan dibatalkan di satu area dan maupun perayaan lainnya untuk turut berkabung atas korban di Gaza. Beberapa restoran juga memiliki kotak sumbangan dan mengatakan mereka akan menyumbangkan sedekah dari Idul Fitri untuk Gaza.
Iman Eddbali, 26, mengatakan imam shalat terkemuka di masjid setempat di Doha mendesak jamaah untuk merasa bahagia menyambut lebaran namun janganlah berlebihan.
"Ini adalah perinta Islam untuk merayakan akhir Ramadhan, ... tapi pada saat yang sama akan tidak senonoh kalau dilakukan berlebihan tahun ini," katanya.
"Kami tidak bisa mengabaikan bahwa ada banyak, banyak orang, bukan hanya di Palestina, yang bahkan tidak bisa memiliki hari yang tepat untuk hidup tenang dan damai dan kami menyatakan berkabung mati mereka."
MILLIONS of Muslims across the world have been celebrating the start of the Eid al-Fitr holiday this week, which marks the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan.
Celebrations have been taking place across the world for the three-day holiday to mark the end of Ramadan which sees observant Muslims refrain from eating or drinking anything from dawn to sunset in a show of spiritual devotion.
The festival of Eid al-Fitr - the 'breaking of the fast' - sees devout Muslims meeting to exchange gifts, enjoy food and decorate their homes in a show of thanksgiving.
While celebrations have been taking place across the world, the mood has been dark for millions of people affected by the Syrian civil war, the Gaza war and the militant advance in Iraq.
During Eid celebrations, Muslims traditionally greet each other with the greeting of Eid Mubarak, which translates roughly as 'Eid blessings'.
As well as the special prayers and celebrations, customs of Eid include dressing up in new clothes, eating special delicacies, giving presents and, for women, decoration of the hands with henna.
This year's celebrations however have been darkened across many parts of the world.
In Gaza City, streets were largely deserted, as residents huddled indoors for safety. More than 1,110 Palestinians have been killed, more than 6,500 wounded and tens of thousands displaced in the last three weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas, according to Palestinian officials. Israel has seen 53 Israeli soldiers and three civilians killed.
'All we think about is to stay safe,' said Fedaa Abul Atta, a nurse and mother of six. The family was grieving the death of her nephew, killed in an airstrike. Her house among hundreds demolished by Israeli fire in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shijaiyah.
The mood was equally subdued for the more than 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
'Eid has no flavour here at all,' said Umm Ammar, who fled her country three years ago with her family and now lives in an encampment in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley. 'We want to celebrate Eid in Syria, in our homes.'
Despite frequent car bombings in Iraq's capital of Baghdad, shoppers packed malls and stores ahead of Eid in anticipation of family gatherings.
Beyond the Middle East, the few remaining Muslims in the Central African Republic's capital city ventured out to a mosque under the watchful guard of armed peacekeepers.
Others like Aminata Baryn stayed at home, still too fearful to venture out for fear of attack from Christian militias who drove thousands of Muslims from the capital this year.
Muslims in Indonesia, across the Middle East, parts of Africa, Europe and the U.S. marked Eid on Monday. Millions in Morocco, India and most of Pakistan however were due to start to celebrate the festival today.
This is because Muslims use a lunar calendar and a moon-sighting methodology, which can result in the fasting ending on different days.
In West Africa, Eid prayers were dedicated to the victims of two tragedies in the region - the crash of an Air Algerie plane that killed 118 people and an ongoing Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 670.
Eid celebrations were less extravagant than usual in Malaysia as it tried to come to terms with loss of two Malaysian Airlines flights.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Cabinet cancelled their celebrations to mourn for the victims.
Similarly, Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam announced that he would not be receiving guests or congratulations because of the situation in nearby Gaza.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul reminded people in his Eid message that though Turkey was enjoying a peaceful holiday, many of its neighbours were not.
In Qatar's capital city of Doha, celebrations were cancelled in one area and in another the festivities were curbed back to mourn victims in Gaza. Some restaurants also had donation boxes and said they would donate their Eid profits to Gaza.
Iman Eddbali, 26, said the imam leading prayers in her local mosque in Doha urged worshippers to be happy for those who cannot be happy this year.
'It is a religious duty to celebrate the end of Ramadan, ... but at the same time it would be indecent to overdo it this year,' she said.
'We just can't ignore that there are many, many people, not just in Palestine, that simply just can't even have a proper day to rest and mourn their dead.'