Not all FISIP UB academics can celebrate Eid al-Fitr with their families. Several lecturers who undergoing study assignments, especially to overseas campuses, have to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr alone. Even though they are alone, of course there are several stories and impressions that are obtained. One of them was experienced by Abdul Hair, a lecturer in Communication Science at FISIP UB.
Abdul Hair is currently undergoing a Doctoral program at The University of Edinburgh, Scotland. This year is the first time he has celebrated Eid in a foreign country. According to Hair, there are several things that differentiate Eid in Indonesia and Scotland.
“Here (Scotland) seems they don’t use hisab. Everyone uses the hilal method. In Indonesia, it was only known on the 29th of Ramadan after Maghrib, but here, it was seen around 2 pm, the hilal was visible before sunset. Here we celebrate Eid on the 30th,” he explained, Tuesday (8/4/2025).
Hair said that this was the first time he performed the Eid prayer without wearing a sarong and only wearing regular trousers. According to him, for the past 17-18 years celebrating Eid, he has always worn a special Donggala sarong woven by his grandmother.
“Why didn’t I wear a sarong like usual, it’s not because I didn’t bring it. But because I felt strange wearing a sarong because during my life in the UK (United Kingdom), I have never seen people here praying wearing sarongs, some wear robes or trousers,” he said.
“The second reason is that the Eid prayer here is held when the temperature is below 10 degrees, so if you wear sarong it will be cold,” continued the man who is an alumnus of UB’s Bachelor of Communication Studies.
However, Hair will not do the decision to not wear a sarong during Eid prayers again. Because apparently Muslims from the Middle East or Africa are indifferent when wearing their traditional clothes when praying Eid.
“So when praying Eid at the Edinburgh Central Mosque, Muslim friends from the Middle East and Africa were indifferent, they wore traditional clothes, didn’t care and it turned out that the locals didn’t care either. That’s why at that time I realized that my decision not to wear sarong was an unfounded assumption, so if I conduct Eid prayer again, I will use the tradition of wearing a sarong again,” he explained.
Hair said that the Eid prayer in Edinburgh was carried out four times. This was done because the number of Muslims was large but the mosques or fields were limited.
“In Edinburgh, Eid prayers are held four times, at 7 am, 8 am, 9 am and 10 am. Why is it held 4 times, Muslims here are a minority and there are not many mosques, so in order to accommodate, it is made for several congregations. I, who prayed at 10 am, did not get a place in the mosque,” explained the man from Palu.
One thing that Abdul Hair misses is family. This year’s Eid al-Fitr is the first time he is not with his family. According to him, when in Indonesia they always take turns celebrating with his family or his wife’s family.
“This is the first time I don’t celebrate Eid with my family, my wife is also not in Edinburgh since she is studying in Hamburg, Germany, if it were the two of us it might cure the longing for Indonesia, this is purely the first time there is no family during Eid, I feel sad because I can’t celebrate Eid with my family,” he explained.
However, regarding typical Indonesian food during Eid, Hair is not too worried. He revealed that on the second day of Eid or March 31 (Scottish time), Indonesian students in Edinburgh held a halal bihalal and each person brought typical Indonesian food.
“This is what cures the longing for Indonesian food, some bring opor, some bring fish,” he concluded. (*/UB PR/ Trans. Iir)
