The Muslims of central Oklahoma came together on Saturday at the Mercy Masjid in Oklahoma City to celebrate the second and final Eid holiday of the year. Dr. Imam Imad Enchassi spoke to the attendees who filled the masjid to capacity about the prophets that are revered in Islam that include Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed and said that they are all linked to each other and to God.
He discussed how Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers, but when they later came to Egypt after he had become one the Pharaoh’s ministers he forgave them. Enchassi went on to say that Christians and Jews are what he termed “brothers from different mothers” for Muslims, and that Oklahoma’s Muslims must forgive those leaders who have made attacks on their faith just as Joseph forgave his brothers who sold him into slavery.
The imam pointed out that there are several Muslim physicians in Oklahoma who fight the cancer that afflicts many of the states residents and that to compare the Islamic faith as a ‘cancer” as one elected official in Oklahoma has done is grossly inappropriate. Enchassi said that the support that Oklahoma’s Muslim community has received from people of other faiths in the state in recent weeks has been greatly appreciated, and that he looks forward to reciprocating their support in the future.
The imam told the worshippers that they are an integral part of the state of Oklahoma and the United States of America and that they must work to improve the lives of the less fortunate in our society.
The Rev. David Myers, who is affiliated with the White House Interfaith Disaster Relief efforts also attended the event, and told the assembled guests that he came from Washington D. C. to thank the state’s Muslims for the assistance that they provided to the community of Moore after that community was devastated by a tornado last year. Myers said he saw how Muslims worked with people of other faiths to aid those who had lost their homes in Moore, and that on behalf of President Obama he wanted to thank them.
After the service concluded the attendees gathered in groups outside the building where they were served tea and soft drinks and offered donuts by children who moved through the crowd. Many of the men and women were dressed in colorful robes and some of the children present wore shoes that were covered with what appeared to be gems that gleamed in the morning sun. The Style section of The New York Times recently had a piece on what has become known as the “bro hug” that discussed how certain men, including former President Bill Clinton, have become masters of it.
It would seem that the majority of the Muslim men of Oklahoma City have mastered it as well as they embraced one another and exchanged greetings in Arabic, Hindi, English and a variety of African languages. At one point a soccer ball made its way onto the parking lot, and soon many young children of different races were attempting to dribble it with varying degrees of success. As the crowd began to disperse, camera phones were held as pictures were taken of family members and friends.