Students, staff and their friends and family are being invited to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid at the University of Lincoln on Thursday (1 November).
Eid-ul-Adha is the second most important festival in the Muslim calendar. It relates to the Old Testament story where God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son. In the story God then stops Abraham and offers him a lamb to sacrifice instead. In some countries an animal is sacrificed as part of the celebrations. As this can not happen in the UK, Muslims donate a set amount of money to charity, this is so an animal can be sacrificed in other countries and then shared between the poor.
The University of Lincoln have had Eid celebrations before but never in the heart of the university. Michael Bissell who is the international officer at the university Lincoln says they want international students to feel involved. “In the past, Eid events have been off campus or here, there and everywhere, we wanted to make sure it was in the centre of the campus so symbolically everyone can take part. This is how much we value our international students. We want them to be at the centre stage and mix with UK students as well.”
Mr.Bissell has said that the event “is one of the ways the international office is helping students come together and break down barriers”.
The celebration will be held at 6:30pm in the Main Atrium building of the university. There will be a selection of free Asian food and drink to sample. There will also be entertainment such as henna hand painting.