Vice President Ma'ruf Amin prays Eid prayers at the Istiqlal Mosque : Indonesia

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin and Mrs. Wury Ma'ruf Amin held the Eid al-Fitr 1444 Hijri prayer at the Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, Saturday.

The Id prayer begins at 07.00 WIB led by Imam Ahmad Muzakkir Abdurrahman as Imam Rawatib of the Istiqlal Mosque, while the Chancellor of the State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta Asep Saepudin Jahar acts as the khatib who delivers a sermon with the theme "Idul Fitri Momentum Spreading Sorry for the Harmony of the Ummah".

 Before the prayer started, Vice President Ma'ruf uttered the takbir for about 10 minutes.

"The character of a pious person is that he is generous under any circumstances and is able to forgive others," said Asep Saepudin Jahar at the Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, Saturday.

Eid al- Fitr is a meaningful moment to share happiness President of the Republic of Indonesia for the2004-2009and2014-2019M Jusuf Kalla and khatib Asep Saepudin Jahar.

In the front row were also present the Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court HM Syarifuddin, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Arifin Tasrief, Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno, Deputy Minister of Religion Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi, former Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan, ambassadors from friendly countries, and heads of high state institutions.

This year, the Istiqlal Mosque has prepared space for 250,000 worshipers to carry out the Eid prayer 1444 Hijriah. The congregation performs prayers up to the 4th floor of the Istiqlal Mosque.

The Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque, Nasaruddin Umar, previously said that his party had provided various facilities to support the implementation of the Eid al-Fitr prayers, such as adding a place for ablution, setting up a fire extinguisher, ambulance, and a goods storage system.

The Istiqlal Mosque is equipped with at least 146 surveillance cameras (CCTV) at various points to maintain security during worship. The congregation can enter through the Al-Ghaffar, Al-Aziz, Al-Fattah and Al Mukmin doors, while special guests, such as ministers, ambassadors and other officials enter through the Al-Salam door.

BMKG: Eid al-Fitr, it rains in the majority of big cities in Indonesia

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts that the weather for Idul Fitri 1444 Hijri, or on Saturday, will rain in the majority of big cities in Indonesia.

From the information released by infoBMKG followed in Jakarta, rain with light intensity was found in Banda Aceh City, Pekanbaru City and Pangkalpinang. Meanwhile, for the City of Medan and Tanjung Pinang it is predicted to rain with moderate intensity.

It is predicted that it will rain with light intensity for the City of Padang and the City of Bengkulu, and you need to be on the lookout for rain accompanied by lightning and thunder for those of you who are in the City of Bandar Lampung, Palembang City and Jambi City.

Shifting to the island of Java, it is predicted that rain with light intensity will occur in Serang City, Jakarta City, Semarang City and Yogyakarta City.

In the city of Bandung it is predicted to rain with heavy intensity, and for those of you who are in the city of Surabaya, you need to watch out for rain accompanied by lightning and thunder.

Furthermore, for the Bali and Nusa Tenggara regions it is predicted to be sunny cloudy in Denpasar City, and rain with light intensity in Mataram City and Kupang City.

It is predicted to be foggy for those in Tanjung Selor City, light intensity rain in Palangkaraya and Samarinda City, and moderate intensity rain in Pontianak City. Rain accompanied by lightning and thunder is forecast in Banjarmasin City

Furthermore, for big cities on Sulawesi Island, it is predicted to be cloudy in Gorontalo City and Kendari City, and rain with light intensity in Makassar City and Manado City. For the City of Mamuju, rain is predicted with moderate intensity. Rain accompanied by lightning and thunder for friends who are in Palu City.

Moving to the east of Indonesia, light intensity rain is predicted for the cities of Ternate and Jayapura, while moderate intensity rain will occur for the cities of Ambon and Manokwari.

Furthermore, to coincide with the new moon phase, it is necessary to pay attention to the tides of sea water, including the tides at Tanjung Mas Port, Semarang, which are predicted to reach a maximum height of 1.47 meters, a minimum of 1.16 meters and an average of 1.31 meters.

The Uyghur community in Washington prayed the Eid prayer together

For Uighurs in the diaspora, one of the days that both happiness and sadness is mixed, is Eid, which has been celebrated by Uighurs for centuries and is a national and religious holiday. On the 21st of April 2023, the Uyghurs in the United States, like the Muslim community around the world, began their Eid activities by gathering and praying. Among them, several hundred Uyghur people from Washington and its surrounding areas began to gather at Van Dyck Park in Fairfax from seven o'clock in the morning. The sound of Eid takbir, which started early in the morning, heralded the start of today's supernatural gathering in the fresh air of the morning.

In addition to Uyghurs, among the hundreds of people who gathered for the Eid prayer today, there were also some foreign Muslims who had been breaking fast together with Uyghurs at the Uyghur Mosque in Fairfax during Ramadan. After the congregation gathered, Zulfiqar spoke to the young volunteers who have been working closely with the American Uyghurs to purchase the first Uyghur mosque. In his speech, he gave an account of the current state of the mosque purchase plan, noting that the amount of money collected so far has reached 600,000 US dollars, and that the collected donations continue to increase. .

After that, the congregation followed the imam and recited the takbeer for prayer.

After the prayer, Uyghur intelligentsia, who was respected by everyone, Muhammad Abdulla, an active consultant of the Uyghur mosque purchase group, gave a brief sermon and explained the principles of Islam on unity and brotherhood. He also emphasized that such a spirit of faith will be more valuable in the extraordinary historical conditions like today when the entire Uyghur society is becoming the target of genocide.

After the prayer, the congregation from all over the world expressed their love for each other through warm hugs and handshakes. By the time the prayers were finished, the thick smoke rising from the Uyghur Polo's mezli hoods and barbecues showed another aspect of the Uyghur Eid joy. The people who took their seats at the rows of tables were happy because they shared the feeling of being a collective Uyghur.

Between the activities, Mohammad Abdullah received a separate interview with our radio station. He said that the mosque board accepted his suggestion that "all Uyghurs gather together and pray collectively" instead of praying the Eid prayer twice or in separate places to solve the problem of not being able to accommodate the congregation in the Uyghur mosque. He believes that the Chinese government has never categorized Uyghurs in the massacre of Uyghurs, so dividing Uyghurs abroad into separate categories will not benefit anyone except China.

Almost all Uyghur families brought their children to the Eid prayer today, and the laughter of children running around in the spacious garden lawn confirmed that this event was a joy for the children. Muhammad Abdullah said that Uyghur parents bring their children to such activities not only to give them happiness, but also to give them a vivid understanding of Uyghur identity.

Zulfiqar, one of the young volunteers who have been closely involved in the daily activities of the Uighur mosque, also supports this view. Especially this year, when the Uyghur community gathers for prayers, the large number of children joining this line will give Uyghur children new joy, happiness and understanding in the context of the coexistence of various cultures in the American society.

It turns out that another important aspect of this year's fasting activities is the "Heath Market" organized by the Uyghur American Federation, which will be held on the evening of April 21 at the "Uyghur Center" in Fairfax. The organizers of the event will provide free tea, coffee and sweets, and some of the Uyghur community, including the camp witnesses, will bring their own prepared foods such as Sangza, beef noodles, various breads, and lung meat for customers to choose and buy.

This year's Lenten holiday gave the Uyghurs the biggest joy, perhaps, a short advertisement film about Uyghurs that was shown at "Time Square" in New York. It turns out that "Uyghur liberties now" organization, at its own expense, "Uighurs: Eid Mubarak!" The late painter Ghazi Amet's paintings such as "Maqam", "Mashraf", "Bazar" and so on were shown in the form of a film. The pulsating Uyghur music added to the short film adds to the charm of this epic scene in Davar Square.

Around 150 homes were damaged in Kani Township due to strong winds : Myanmar

Sagaing Division Around 150 houses in eight villages were damaged due to heavy rains and strong winds in Kani Township last night on April 21 at around 5:00 p.m., residents said.

Residents said that it rained for around 45 minutes and was attacked by strong winds as well as hail.

Ai Taung (East), A local told RFA that Ai Taung (West) and Ai Taung (North) villages were the most affected, and five surrounding villages were also damaged.

"Roofs and lanterns, Of course the shields fell off. The main village of Ai Taung East West Village North Village is the worst. The rest of the villages were only affected by one or two."

In the three villages whose houses were damaged the most, there are a total of around 600 households, and the local residents said that they also lost their business equipment because they were mainly engaged in the smoking business.

In addition, some war refugee camps in Kani Township have been damaged, but RFA has not been able to confirm this separately, according to local residents.

According to the statement of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) on April 5, there are more than 1.8 million people who have fled their homes due to armed conflicts in Myanmar.

Residents said they are worried about the difficulties they will face when the rainy season comes, as the war refugees are hiding in the jungles.