DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM More than 300 Muslims gathered at Kapiolani Park yesterday to celebrate the Eid ul-Adha. Shown here are participants starting prayers after reciting the Takbeerat Ul Eid, praising God.

As they commemorate a
festival of sacrifice, Hawaii
Muslims find themselves

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By Mary Adamski
madamski@starbulletin.com

Hundreds of isle Muslims celebrated a major religious holiday yesterday with prayers that the United States will not enter a war that the group's leader said "will certainly lead to the deaths of thousands of Muslim innocents."

"We see the clouds of war gathering once again over the Muslim homelands as our country prepares to launch a senseless, ludicrous war against Iraq," said Hakim Ouansafi, president of the Muslim Association of Hawaii, speaking at a morning prayer service in Kapiolani Park.

More than 300 Muslims participated in the Eid ul-Adha festivities, which continued throughout the day with breakfast and lunch picnics attended by invited guests from the government, religious and business communities.

Ouansafi said the group chose the high-visibility Waikiki park to raise awareness that Islam is active in Hawaii, not just part of a distant culture. The group also wanted to offer information about the faith that has about 1.3 billion followers worldwide and 3,000 faithful in Hawaii, he said.

Several passersby wandered through an array of informational panels about Islamic history and beliefs and their application in modern questions of human rights, women's role in society, care of the elderly and other issues.

State Democratic Party Chairwoman Lorraine Akiba said she came to show support with a particular concern that the government not violate the civil rights of Muslims in America in the name of security.

"Being of Japanese-American ancestry, I am especially sensitive of the impact of unjust internment," she said, recalling the 100,000 Japanese Americans who were interned during World War II.

Retired building contractor Nizar Hasam said: "Saddam Hussein is an evil man ... but to kill innocent people in Iraq will make more Muslims hate the United States and give Osama bin Laden more fuel for his terrorism. I voted for George W. Bush, but I'm sorry now."

Rashid Abdullah, an American convert to the faith, said, "If it were just taking out Saddam, I wouldn't blink an eye." He said the prospect of war in Iraq "is a mental anguish for many of us."

The threat of a U.S. war with Iraq was discussed, but the theme of the day was mostly celebratory. People were dressed in the colorful tunics and robes that reflected a variety of ethnic origins. Being dressed in their best didn't hamper dozens of children from vigorous play in the inflatable bouncers set up for the party.

Eid ul-Adha, which translates as festival of sacrifice, commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to God, explained Abdullah Hulwe, an Army chaplain. God spared Ishmael, the son of Abraham's second wife Hagar, according to Islamic scriptures. The story as told in Hebrew scriptures has God sparing the life of Isaac, the son of a Hebrew woman, Sarah.

One of the two Islamic holidays, it comes at the end of the season when thousands make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the birthplace of Islam.

"These are the worst of times for Muslims in this country," Ouansafi said in his speech, "because there are forces, very active and vocal, that are trying to demonize Islam and create hate against us. Anybody can say whatever he pleases about Islam, no matter how bigoted or ill-informed, and find open invitations to the most prominent TV and radio shows."

He said it is also the "best of times, for we see the number of Muslims rapidly expanding in this country, doubling and tripling."