Beijing's Muslim population celebrates Eid

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• published: 31 Jul 2015
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Beijing - August 8, 2013 1. Men bowing down in prayer 2. Imam standing at entrance to hall 3. Man looking on 4. Wide Imam and people kneeling down in prayer 5. Sign reading "Happy Eid Festival" 6. Men seated on ground 7. Close up men's faces 8. Wide of women seated in courtyard of women's section 9. Women's faces 10. Women seated on ground 11. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Wei Chunjie, Deputy Director of the Mosque's Administration Committee: "We have completed one month of fasting. Everyone is very worn out and tired, but today we are very excited because we can clearly see that thousands of Muslims have gathered here at Beijing's oldest Niujie mosque to carry out the morning prayers under the leading of our imam. There's no need to mention how wonderful this is." 12. People walking in mosque vicinity 13. Tower in mosque 14. Ornaments on roof of tower 15. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Ying Guofang, Imam: "Islam is a peaceful and harmonious religion, and Muslims also defend peace. Our religion has contributed a lot to peace. But for some of those who are different from the rest, they are not a representation of Islam or Muslims. It is entirely individual behaviour. So as imams of the Muslim faith, we also need to do our best to safeguard peace and harmony in society." 16. People gathered around stall selling accessories 17. Women shopping at stall 18. Hands inspecting material 19. Seller speaking to customer 20. Various of people shopping 21. Man wearing hat 22. Stalls on street selling food 23 People buying food at stall 24. Girl serving customer 25. Hands packing food in bag 26. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Han Xiaomo, Vox Pop "As we have fasted for a full month, this afternoon our family and friends are all going to gather and have a meal together. We have cooked up a lot of good food, such as our fried dough twist, salted sesame cake, powdered candy, and lamb. We'll all get together and eat." 27. Various of people buying food at stall 28. Man serving customer 29. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Kang Yao, Vox Pop "Eid for the younger generation of Muslims such as myself is also a very important festival every year, because over the past month the older people or those who don't have to go to work have had to fast, so today we can start to eat." 30. Man carrying cake out of cart 31. Cake in cart 32. Police cars parked on street 33. Various of policemen looking on 34. Close of policeman directing crowd 35. Various of people walking past stalls LEADIN Chinese muslims have been marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr occurs when the new moon is first sighted - and it's time to halt fasting from sunrise to sunset. STORY LINE: Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan and hinges on the sighting of the moon. China's estimated 20 million Muslims are observing Eid with the majority of the world this year, while neighbouring India and Pakistan celebrates a day later. Around 6,000 Muslims, mostly of Hui and Uighur ethnicities, attended the Eid morning prayers at Beijing's largest mosque. Wei Chunjie, the deputy director of the Niujie mosque, says that the festival is the busiest time for the mosque each year. "We have completed one month of fasting. Everyone is very worn out and tired, but today we are very excited because we can clearly see that thousands of Muslims have gathered here at Beijing's oldest Niujie mosque to carry out the morning prayers under the leading of our imam. There's no need to mention how wonderful this is," With the main prayer hall accommodating only hundreds at the most, the mosque rolled out carpets for the overflow of believers in its courtyards, while police patrolled the streets outside. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/8ba6b0905536c85ac43d4dcdec48365c Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork