Celebration of Eid Al-Adha in Brussels, Belgium (6 November 2011)

Regardless of the relatively cold weather that morning, around 300 Muslims gathered at the premises of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Brussels on November 6, 2011 to do the Eid Al-Adha prayer. Ambassador Arif Havas Oegroseno joined hundreds of people who came from cities throughout Belgium, and even from the Netherlands, to celebrate Eid Al-Adha, one of the important religious worship conducted by Muslims worldwide. Among them were Indonesian students and professionals. After the prayer and religious speech, the celebration was followed by a lunch which featured Indonesian cuisines. 

Eid Al-Adha is celebrated annually on the 10^th day of Dhu al-Hijjah of the lunar Islamic calendar. The celebration starts after the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca by Muslims worldwide, descends from Mount Arafat. It is celebrated to commemorate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son Ishmael (Ismail) as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep to sacrifice instead. (Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Brussels).