Muslims Celebrations

The tears came when Lubna Nashashibi recalled the thunderous cannon that would signal the end of the day's fast during Ramadan in Kuwait. After sunset, family and friends would gather together, swapping stories over a hearty feast. Children were allowed to stay up past their bedtime, sipping a special concoction of peach-flavored juice. "My sister and I were watching television and we started crying thinking about the good old days and what it was like," Nashashibi, 31, said recently.

With Christmas comes tradition in the Traband household: A plate of cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. A stocking full of treats for Omar, the family dog. A noble fir decorated with golden garland and keepsake ornaments. But there is no angel atop the tree. Sahira Traband feels that would conflict with her family's faith. They are Muslims. "The magic of Christmas is the part we celebrate," said Traband, 45. "We didn't get into the whole religious thing.

The holiday season is always a bit of a struggle for Muslim parents like Saida Pernas. Last December, her 6-year-old son brought home plates decorated at school with Christmas trees and a Hanukkah menorah--but nothing to symbolize his own traditional holiday of Ramadan. "I asked him, 'What's this?' " Pernas said. "It's impossible to convince him of our traditions. He thinks it's all one holiday. In school, they teach about many different holidays, but I wish there were more of Islam in it."

Ramadan's month of fasting left 67-year-old Mohammed Nadery tired and a little weak. But on Wednesday, the Afghan native and North Hills resident was grateful to have made it through another year. He and hundreds of other Muslims gathered at the Odyssey restaurant for Eid al-Fitr, which marks an end to the month of reflection and fasting commemorating the prophet Mohammed's revelations in the Koran, Islam's holy book. "Thanks to God," Nadery said, "that he has given us all this opportunity."

Ramadan's month of fasting left 67-year-old Mohammed Nadery tired and a little weak. But on Wednesday, the Afghan native and North Hills resident was grateful to have made it through another year. He and hundreds of other Muslims gathered at the Odyssey restaurant for Eid al-Fitr, which marks an end to the month of reflection and fasting commemorating the prophet Mohammed's revelations in the Koran, Islam's holy book. "Thanks to God," Nadery said, "that he has given us all this opportunity."

With Christmas comes tradition in the Traband household: A plate of cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. A stocking full of treats for Omar, the family dog. A noble fir decorated with golden garland and keepsake ornaments. But there is no angel atop the tree. Sahira Traband feels that would conflict with her family's faith. They are Muslims. "The magic of Christmas is the part we celebrate," said Traband, 45. "We didn't get into the whole religious thing.

In a pious conclusion to a month of fasting and self-discipline, an ethnic rainbow of local Muslims--numbering in the tens of thousands--gathered at spots throughout Southern California on Sunday to pray and celebrate the end of Ramadan. At the Los Angeles Convention Center, organizers predicted such a big turnout for the day's festivities that they scheduled two separate prayer sessions in the morning. The faithful proved them right, as more than 15,000 people turned out.

Dressed in traditional Islamic clothing, about 7,000 Southland Muslims Saturday gathered to celebrate the Festival of the Sacrifice, the day after their most important worldwide religious event, with prayer and food. For one family, the Karahlis from Northridge, the outing to Mile Square Regional Park was a chance for them to worship for the first time with members of the Orange County Muslim community.

The tears came when Lubna Nashashibi recalled the thunderous cannon that would signal the end of the day's fast during Ramadan in Kuwait. After sunset, family and friends would gather together, swapping stories over a hearty, Thanksgiving-style feast. Children were allowed to stay up past their bedtime, sipping on a special concoction of peach-flavored juice.

When Shazia Mohiuddin looks at the partially completed mosque in Granada Hills, she ignores the rooms without doors, the dusty floors, the spackle-striped walls. To her, the walls are exquisite canvases painted with hope. "We started with nothing. Now we've gotten to the point [that] walls are surrounding us," she said. "This is a place we've been working 10 years to have."

The holiday season is always a bit of a struggle for Muslim parents like Saida Pernas. Last December, her 6-year-old son brought home plates decorated at school with Christmas trees and a Hanukkah menorah--but nothing to symbolize his own traditional holiday of Ramadan. "I asked him, 'What's this?' " Pernas said. "It's impossible to convince him of our traditions. He thinks it's all one holiday. In school, they teach about many different holidays, but I wish there were more of Islam in it."

In a pious conclusion to a month of fasting and self-discipline, an ethnic rainbow of local Muslims--numbering in the tens of thousands--gathered at spots throughout Southern California on Sunday to pray and celebrate the end of Ramadan. At the Los Angeles Convention Center, organizers predicted such a big turnout for the day's festivities that they scheduled two separate prayer sessions in the morning. The faithful proved them right, as more than 15,000 people turned out.

When Shazia Mohiuddin looks at the partially completed mosque in Granada Hills, she ignores the rooms without doors, the dusty floors, the spackle-striped walls. To her, the walls are exquisite canvases painted with hope. "We started with nothing. Now we've gotten to the point [that] walls are surrounding us," she said. "This is a place we've been working 10 years to have."

There's Hanukkah. There's Christmas. There's Kwanzaa. Now add "USA: Muslim's Day" to an increasingly crowded December holiday calendar. USA: Muslim's Day is the 11-year-old creation of the New York-based National Council on Islamic Affairs. The holiday falls on the third Friday--the Muslim sabbath--of December, which this year is Dec. 16.

Dressed in traditional Islamic clothing, about 7,000 Southland Muslims Saturday gathered to celebrate the Festival of the Sacrifice, the day after their most important worldwide religious event, with prayer and food. For one family, the Karahlis from Northridge, the outing to Mile Square Regional Park was a chance for them to worship for the first time with members of the Orange County Muslim community.

The tears came when Lubna Nashashibi recalled the thunderous cannon that would signal the end of the day's fast during Ramadan in Kuwait. After sunset, family and friends would gather together, swapping stories over a hearty, Thanksgiving-style feast. Children were allowed to stay up past their bedtime, sipping on a special concoction of peach-flavored juice.

There's Hanukkah. There's Christmas. There's Kwanzaa. Now add "USA: Muslim's Day" to an increasingly crowded December holiday calendar. USA: Muslim's Day is the 11-year-old creation of the New York-based National Council on Islamic Affairs. The holiday falls on the third Friday--the Muslim sabbath--of December, which this year is Dec. 16.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher distanced herself on Sunday from U.S. vows to punish whoever planted the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103. "I don't think an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth is ever valid," she said in a wide-ranging New Year's television interview. "The most important thing to do is to try to get the cooperation of all nations to track these people down so that they are brought to justice," she said on the "David Frost on Sunday" program.

The tears came when Lubna Nashashibi recalled the thunderous cannon that would signal the end of the day's fast during Ramadan in Kuwait. After sunset, family and friends would gather together, swapping stories over a hearty feast. Children were allowed to stay up past their bedtime, sipping a special concoction of peach-flavored juice. "My sister and I were watching television and we started crying thinking about the good old days and what it was like," Nashashibi, 31, said recently.