Muslims in New Zealand prepare for Eid al-Fitr. As reported by Stuff on Monday (10/5) more than 12 thousand New Zealand Muslims are expected to gather to celebrate Eid al-Fitr at the country's largest stadium in Eden Park, Auckland. The Muslim gathering at Eden Park was organised by the New Zealand Eid Day Trust commissity.

Last year, the event was cancelled because New Zealand was at level 2 of the Covid-19 alert which led to restrictions on the number of people. Namin said this year the organizers plan to split the two sessions of the meeting.

Javed Dadabhai, the chief organizer of the Muslim gathering at Eden Park, said as many as 6000 people were expected to attend prayers.

"The morning prayer time is when you can see a lot of people in one place," he said.

Dadabhai said celebrating Eid in New Zealand helped the Muslim community find its identity. "Many of us were involved in this project when looking back at our past while growing up in New Zealand, we didn't know much about our own history and religion. Eden Park event is a day of sharing, learning, understanding and enjoying in the Muslim community," dadabhai said. The event started at 09.00 with prayers together, followed by festivities with food stalls and carnival games throughout the day.