Eid Mubarak: Nearly 1,000 Northampton Muslims come together to pray on Racecourse

Nearly 1,000 Northampton Muslims came together on the Racecourse to mark the end of Ramadan.

Hundreds of worshippers prayed together on a Northampton park this morning to mark the end of Ramadan.

The Racecourse was alive with community spirit today as Muslims from across Northampton came together to celebrate Eid al-Fitr.

Close to 1,000 people attended the morning prayer at 8.30am and drew together communities from across the town.

Councillor Enam Haque (Castle, Lab), told the Chronicle and Echo: "It was a great feeling to see people from all ages and ethnicity coming together to pray. I went with my son - it reminds me of the Bangladesh days when I used to go to prayer with my dad when I was really young.

Celebrating Eid by praying in an open field is one of the blessed rulings of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

"Praying on an open field is a great way to celebrate the great day with people and it’s one of the blessed rulings of prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be up on him and all the prophets.

"I wish everyone from my family and friends, colleagues and everyone from the Muslim community in Northampton a happy Eid Mubarak 2019."

The event marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan and 29 days of fasting. It is sometimes celebrated over three days and worshippers often enjoy a large meal with their friends and families.

The exact date of Eid is sometimes locally decided based on the lunar calendar and can change from year to year - meaning the prayers this morning were only formally announced late last night (June 3).