Site in Hand, Better One Sought for Muslim Holy Day

Orange County Muslim leaders said Monday that they have found a venue to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, one of the holiest days of the Islamic calendar. But unless a last-minute appeal to the federal government succeeds, the faithful will have to worship in two shifts.

The holy month of Ramadan began more than a week ago with no site set for the annual celebration that ends the month--and the daytime fasting that goes with it. As many as 15,000 Muslims typically join the prayers in Orange County each year, which will fall this season on Jan. 8.

Unable to book the Anaheim Convention Center, where they worshiped last year, Muslim leaders hoped that the influence of Reps. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), Ron Packard (R-Oceanside) and Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) will open the gates to the closed El Toro or Tustin Marine bases, which both have hangars that can accommodate the crowd.

But Sanchez hasn’t heard back from the Department of the Navy in Washington, D.C., her spokeswoman Sarah Anderson said. Cox is waiting for the U.S. Marine Corps to give him an answer, his spokesman Paul Wilkinson said.

In 1998, the Marine Corps allowed Muslim worshipers to use one of the blimp hangars at the Tustin base. But this year officials say they have had to turn away all civilian groups seeking access to the closed facilities, and Muslim leaders are not optimistic they will be granted an exception.

So they have rented two buildings at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Because the buildings are not large enough to hold the expected crowd, worshipers will have to choose one of two services at different times.

“There’s definitely more joy if we can fit everyone at the same time in the same place,” said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of Council on American-Islamic Relations. “Since the space is not as large, I’m sure a lot of mosques and Islamic centers will opt to keep their own service instead of joining together in one centralized location.”

The holiest of the Islamic holidays, Ramadan celebrates the revelation of the Koran, Islam’s holy book, to the prophet Muhammad. Orange County is home to an estimated 150,000 Muslims.

The last-minute rush to find a location is caused by the inexact science of determining Ramadan’s precise beginning and ending, leaders said. The precise dates are not known until the new moon is sighted. That means Eid al-Fitr could fall on one of two days.

“That’s one of the challenges of having Ramadan in the wintry season,” when clouds make it difficult to sight the new moon that officially begins the month, Ayloush said. “Since we don’t own the location, we’re at the mercy of when the month will end so that we can find a place for that time.”