- April 29, 2024
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Eid al-Fitr celebrants bow in the position of ruku during prayer at the Palm Coast Community Center on April 21. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mikayla Salsabiila prays at the Eid al-Fitr celebration. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The muezzin, Brother Tariq Khawaja, calls for prayer. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Muhamed is the acting imam, leading celebrants in prayer at the Palm Coast Community Center. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Aliya, 2, with her grandma, Farida Ghieva. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Fara Abdurazzakoba and Mark Ayupov with baby Amina. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Women at the Eid al-Fitr celebration participate in prayer on their prayer rugs. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Nisbat Shaw, Fatima Shank-Bah, Bushra Liaquat, Khadija El Maghary and Taybah Khawaja all converted to Islam. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Islamic Center of Palm Coast President Shuhrat Yosin, acting Imam Muhamed and Vice President Abudallah Ospanoff at the Eid al-Fitr celebration. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Nabeel Ansari, a senior member of the Islamic Center of Palm Coast, speaks at the Eid al-Fitr celebration. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Fatima Shank-Bah, left, prays at the Eid al-Fitr celebration. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Men and boys bow low to the ground in the act of sujud as they pray to Allah at the Eid al-Fitr celebration. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Men and boys sit on their prayer rugs during prayer at the Eid al-Fitr celebration. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Women at the Islamic Center of Palm Coast's Eid al-Fitr celebration April 21 at the Palm Coast Community Center. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mikayla Salsabiila prays during the Islamic Center of Palm Coast's Eid al-Fitr celebration at the Palm Coast Community Center on April 21. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Acting imam Muhamed. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Islamic Center of Palm Coast celebrated the festival of Eid al-Fitr on Friday, April 21 at the Palm Coast Community Center.
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the month-long sunrise to sunset fasting of Ramadan. The participants feasted and prayed during the morning to afternoon event. Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin stopped by in the morning to join the celebration and deliver of message of unity.
The Islamic Center is located in the Amaral Professional Center at 4721 E. Moody Blvd.
The members of the Islamic Center are a diverse group, including Muslims from Egypt, Uzbekistan, Chechnya, Morocco and other nations, senior member Nabeel Ansari said. The membership also includes locals who converted to Islam.
"They are representatives of our community," Ansari said.
"We're positive neighbors," said Shuhrat Yosin, the Islamic Center's president. "We all live together in Palm Coast and we treat each other with respect."
One Islamic Center member who converted, Sandra Shank, now known as Fatima Shank-Bah, said she is a descendent of a slave, Lillie Rutledge, who had 11 children with her master, Joseph Rutledge, and is listed on WikiTree as Rutledge's wife.
A former president of the Bunnell-Flagler Beach Satellite Rotary Club, Shank-Bah, became friends on social media with Rotarians from other countries, including an African, who invited her to visit him in The Gambia.
As her plane was taxiing down the runway when it had landed in Senegal, Shank-Bah said she heard a voice she identified as that of her great, great grandmother, Lillie.
"The voice said, 'I did not make it back home my dear granddaughter, but you did.' I just began to weep," Shank-Bah said. "I had no idea that Allah had taken me back to my original roots, my first direct encounter with Islam. I was a Christian for 30 years. Allah used a diverse humanitarian organization to connect me back to my roots."
Shank-Bah, is now married to her African friend, Madoll Bah, who will be moving to Bunnell, Shank-Bah said. She has also connected to a distant cousin, David Rutledge, a descendent of Joseph Rutledge.
"I emailed him and he emailed back within hours, saying, 'This is a miracle. I've been praying to find my Black relatives,'" Shank-Bah said.
