Naples celebration marks the end of Ramadan

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Naples resident Muhammad Tantsh, center, embraces fellow locals Muslims at a Eid Al-Fitr celebration at Fleischmann Park Community Center on Friday, Sept. 10, 2010 in Naples. More than 150 local Muslims gathered to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan with prayer and a shared meal to begin three days of the celebration of Eid al-Fitr. David Albers/Staff

NAPLES — To mark the conclusion of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, more than 150 local Muslim men, women and children gathered Friday morning at the Fleischmann Park Community Center to begin the three-day festivity of Eid al-Fitr.

The event mirrored similar celebrations in Muslim communities across the globe.

Before a prayer service, participants were asked to contribute $10 for each of their family members as a charitable donation, or fitrana. Islamic Center of Naples president Rasim Kut said the leaders of the mosque had decided this year's donations would be sent to flood victims in Pakistan.

After reciting verses of the Quran and a prayer, the group embraced and shared a meal together.

Dawn-to-sunset fasting during Ramadan is one of five pillars of the religion of Islam and it is intended as a time of self-reflection, self-control and piety for Muslims.

"You want to come out of Ramadan being a better person, a more faithful person," said Rasim Kut, president of the Islamic Center of Naples. "Now is a time when we meet with family, eat and celebrate."