2006年VOA标准英语-Kenya's Muslims Celebrate Eid al-Fitr

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
24 October 2006

Kenyans mark end of Ramadan with prayers

In Kenya and the surrounding region, Muslims commemorated¹ Eid al-Fitr, a day of celebration ending the month long Ramadan holiday.

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Most Muslims in Kenya and other parts of East Africa started the day with thanksgiving prayers.

Omar Kazungu was one of the many faithful who attended prayers at Riruta Muslim mosque² in Nairobi. He explains to VOA the meaning of the day. "It is a day to help the needy³. We collect an amount of money referred to in the Qur'an as fitr. This fitr is money, food, clothing, or anything that we give to the poor so that they too can celebrate as the well-to-do families," he said.

Kazungu describes to VOA how he plans to spend the day. "It is a happy day. We have been fasting together, so it is best to be with our family, maybe visit friends together who have invited us. Most of the time it is very good to be with the family," he said.

Eid al-Fitr, which has been declared a civic⁴ holiday in Kenya, marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in which Muslims do not eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset.

Fasting forms one of five pillars of the Muslim faith. It is meant to purify the faithful and bring them closer to God.

Muslims in different parts of the world celebrate Eid al-Fitr on different days, depending on the sighting of the moon in their region.

1 commemorated   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Lincoln commemorated the soldiers killed in the battle in his address. 林肯在演说中表扬阵亡将士。 来自辞典例句
• You'll be commemorated for killing a spy, and be specially discharged. 你们每杀一个间谍将会被记录到特殊档案。 来自电影对白

2 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

3 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

4 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。