Muslims in Britain and around the world begin celebrating Eid al-Fitr as holy month of Ramadan comes to an end

The Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan is being celebrated by Muslims around the world today, with family reunions, new clothes and sweet treats.

Almost four million Muslims in Britain began their celebrations today after the first sighting of the new crescent moon, bringing to an end their month of fasting.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shared a video message to Muslims across the UK on X, saying: 'After the long month of fasting, I wish you all the joy of this festival that brings people together for thanks and reflection.'

Muslim countries saw the streets of their capital cities flooded with worshippers, with stunning images showing crowds of tens of thousands gathering to celebrate the holiday together in Cairo, where flares were set off in jubilant scenes.

But the usually joyous celebrations have been far more muted in many parts of the Muslim world, with the holiday overshadowed for many by the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza as the war grinds on. 

In the war-torn enclave, displaced Palestinians marked the holiday amid the ruins of a bombed-out mosques, including in Rafah, where around 1.5 million people are seeking shelter. 

'There is no joy or appetite for celebrating the holy occasion,' Ahmed Ismail, a shopkeeper in Rafah, told Qatari outlet Al Jazeera. 

'Even children have no interest in toys as they did in the past. This is the worst season we have ever lived.' 

In his statement, Mr Sunak said: 'I know many will be thinking particularly of those in Gaza . The bloodshed and suffering are unbearable,' adding that the UK government is working 'to bring the conflict to an end.'

US President Joe Biden said his thoughts were with those in Gaza in his Eid message.

'As Muslim families and communities come together for Eid al-Fitr, they are also reflecting on the pain felt by so many. My thoughts are with those around the world enduring conflict, hunger, and displacement, including in places such as Gaza and Sudan,' he wrote on X.

'Now is the time to recommit to the work of building peace and standing for the dignity of all.'

Muslim Americans will observe the holiday today with morning prayers along with events hosted by mosques and Islamic organizations.

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, nearly three-quarters of the population were traveling for the annual homecoming known locally as 'mudik' that is always welcomed with excitement.

'Mudik is not just an annual ritual or tradition for us,' said civil servant Ridho Alfian, who lives in the Jakarta area and was traveling to Lampung province at the southern tip of Sumatra island. 

'This is a right moment to reconnect, like recharging energy that has been drained almost a year away from home.'

Before the Eid al-Fitr holiday, markets teemed with shoppers buying clothes, shoes, cookies and sweets. 

People poured out of major cities to return to villages to celebrate the holiday with their loved ones. 

Flights were overbooked and anxious relatives weighed down with boxes of gifts formed long lines at bus and train stations for the journey.

Video shows thousands piling into boats to depart the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka yesterday as they headed home for Eid al-Fitr celebrations.

In Pakistan, authorities have deployed more than 100,000 police and paramilitary forces to keep security at mosques and marketplaces. 

People were shopping as usual Tuesday, with women buying bangles, jewelry and clothes for themselves and their children.

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the financial turnover during the Eid holiday this year will reach nearly $10 billion and cross sectors including retail, transit and tourism.

For Arini Dewi, a mother of two, Eid al-Fitr is a day of victory from economic difficulties during Ramadan. 

'Eventually I'm happy in celebrating Eid holiday despite surge of food prices,' she said.

Former Vice President Jusuf Kalla was among Jakarta residents offering prayers at the Al Azhar mosque yard. 

'Let's celebrate Eid al-Fitr as a day of victory from many difficulties... of course there are many social problems during fasting month of Ramadan, but we can overcome it with faith and piety,' Kalla said.

On the night before the holiday, called 'takbiran,' Jakarta residents celebrated the eve of Eid al-Fitr by setting off firecrackers on streets that were mostly empty as city residents traveled home.

On Wednesday morning, Muslims joined communal prayers shoulder-to-shoulder on the streets and inside mosques. 

Jakarta's Istiqlal Grand Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, was flooded with devotees offering the morning prayers.

Preachers in their sermons called on people to pray for Muslims in Gaza who were suffering after six months of war.

'This is the time for Muslims and non-Muslims to show humanitarian solidarity, because the conflict in Gaza is not a religious war, but a humanitarian problem,' said Jimly Asshiddiqie who chairs the advisory board of the Indonesian Mosque Council.

In Malaysia, ethnic Malay Muslims performed morning prayers at mosques nationwide just weeks after socks printed with the word 'Allah' at a convenience store chain sparked a furor. 

Many found it offensive to associate the word with feet or for it to be used inappropriately.

In Afghanistan's capital Kabul, the third Eid al-Fitr festivities under the Taliban government were marked under heightened security.

Extra checkpoints were erected around mosques as morning prayers began, with police and Taliban government security forces deployed and mobile phone signals disrupted.

Worshippers gathered in the thousands, spilling out into the streets as mosques were packed to capacity.

The Taliban's hyper-reclusive supreme leader made a rare public appearance Wednesday, an Afghan government spokesman said, leading thousands of worshippers in prayers marking Eid al-Fitr.

Akhundzada has made only a handful of public appearances since inheriting leadership of the Taliban in 2016 and leading the movement back to power with the withdrawal of US forces in 2021.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said prayer in the largest mosque in Kandahar was 'performed under the leadership of the supreme leader'.

In a statement on social media platform X, he said the early-morning service 'was attended by thousands of compatriots' in the southern province considered the birthplace of the Taliban movement.

There is only one photograph of Akhundzada. He previously appeared in Kandahar marking 2022's Eid al-Fitr with a speech congratulating Afghans 'on victory, freedom and success', his back to the crowd to preserve his anonymity.

Kabul's religious affairs ministry on Tuesday issued instructions that imams across the country should read aloud a message published by Akhundzada earlier in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In it, Akhundzada urged Afghans to respect sharia law and called for good relations with the international community. 'Injustice and being opposed to Sharia leads to insecurity,' the statement said.

In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad was among those attending Eid al-Fitr prayers at a mosque in the capital Damascus.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended a prayer ceremony in Tehran, where he used his appearance to condemn Israel over the killings of Iranian generals in a strike on its consulate in Syria last week.