Syeda Alisa Ali
Correspondent
On the night of Tuesday, Sept. 27., the Decker Social Space was the site of smiling faces, sharing of faiths and enticing aromas of cultural food.
TCNJ Muslim Student Association (MSA) hosted its 11th annual Eid Dinner, the celebration marking the end of Hajj, the Holy Pilgrimage to Mecca, where Muslims come together to remember the story of Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son and, instead, was rewarded with the sacrifice of a lamb. A story recognized in all three Abrahamic faiths, this celebration brings a variety of people together, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
The dinner included two comedians, Atheer Yaqoob and Dean Obeidallah, who proved to be big hits. Bunyad Bhatti, co-vice President of MSA and a junior political science major, worked hard to get Obeidallah to perform.
“I first saw Dean perform in (Washington) D.C,” Bhatti said. “When he first introduced himself, he said he was half Palestinian and half Italian. I thought he was perfect for the TCNJ Muslim Association event because we do not have a really diverse Muslim population, so I thought he would serve very well for our community here. I love his humor. He’s very light on the jokes, but he has everyone in the audience laughing.”
Obeidallah, who also hosts America’s only national radio show hosted by an American-Muslim, had the crowd both intrigued and delighted by his life story and jokes. He interacted with everyone in the crowd and was genuinely interested in getting to know the College’s students and guests who attended.
Yaseen Ayuby, MSA president and a junior math major, was humbly pleased with the turnout.
“It was a very successful event,” Ayuby said. “(The comedians) had some great performances and the crowd loved it. We had over 200 people come tonight, with food from three different cultures: Afghan, Middle Eastern and South Asian.”
This array of culture is what makes the Eid Dinner such a popular event. Ayuby and Bhatti described the evening as the perfect opportunity to bring together people whose ethnicities range from all over the world to enjoy food, laugh at jokes and open their eyes to a new culture.
“One of the things about Eid Dinner that I think is important is the fact of coming together as a community,” Ayuby said. “It’s really just the TCNJ family coming together, enjoying food, having some laughs, and it was a very great event, and we are glad everybody came.”
MSA hosts the Eid Dinner every year and the club will be sure to continue its tradition of bringing people together for years to come.
