Celebrating Eid in the City of Light

Paris, the city of luuuurve, romance and light is home to a huge Muslim community and probably the most beautiful Islamic building in western Europe. This means Muslim festivals can be a pretty special experience here, so if you find yourself in the capital of France this Eid, here’s our guide on where to pray, drink and eat and what to see and do.

PRAY…

…at the Central Mosque in Paris. This is France’s very own Alhambra, complete with a beautiful, fragrant inner garden where you will hear the sound of a gently trickling fountain.

Tastefully constructed, this stunning homage to classical Moorish art and architecture is the only place to perform your Eid prayer. This green and white complex of mosque, gardens, library, café, restaurant, bookshop, baths and a lot more is a mesmerising piece of Islamic architecture in the heart of Paris. Once inside, it is as if you have been transported back to medieval Al Andalus or the ninth-century Al Quaraouiyine Mosque in Fez, home to the world’s oldest university. Get here early, though; not surprisingly, this is Paris’ most popular Eid prayer venue.

DRINK…

…mint tea in the mosque café. After chest-greeting half of Muslim Paris, you’ll need a sit down and some mint tea to re-energise, and the good news is that you don’t have far to go. At the mosque’s south-western corner, you can step into the shade of young olive and fig trees, where beautiful mosaic tables exported from North Africa await and handsome waiters greet you with a smile and refreshing mint tea. The café also serves an array of delicious Moorish snacks, sweet and savoury, to help refill that Ramadan belly. If the patio gets too hot, you can always step inside, where a cool courtyard with a little fountain greets you. Here, you are as likely to meet a Muslim from London as you are a backpacker from Japan.

EAT…

…anywhere along Rue Marx Dormoy in east Paris. The minute you exit Gare de Paris Est (Paris East Station), you know you have stepped into ethnic Paris. Look around, and between the clichéd Parisian coffee shops, you will begin to notice Asian telecom stores, African barbers, Moroccan cafés and a growing number of halal signs squeezed in. Take a right out of the station and another right onto Rue de Faubourg Saint Denis, and head north. Here, the multicultural facades will continue to grow as the road slowly becomes Rue Marx Dormay. Thanks to a strong South Asian presence here, there is a festive atmosphere along this road during Eid, and a good halal restaurant with excellent Indian, Bangladeshi or Pakistani cuisine is easy to come by.

SEE…

…an exhibition at the Arab World Institute at 1 Rue Des Fosses Saint-Bernard. Right now, the institute is hosting the fascinating Islamic Treasures of Africa: From Timbuktu to Zanziber until 30 July and The Barjeeling Collection: 100 pieces of Modern and Contemporary Arab Art until 2 July.

This is only the tip of the huge iceberg that is the Institut du Monde Arabe, probably the most impressive institute dedicated to Arab and Islamic culture anywhere in the western hemisphere.

There are several permanent collections to admire, an extensive specialist library (closed for refurbishment at the time of writing), a dedicated cinema showing films from across the Arab world, a bookshop, regular music and theatre performances … the list goes on. All of it is housed in a stunningly modern building inspired by classical geometric Islamic design.

EXPERIENCE…

…the banks of the Seine. Few cities in the world have such an eminently walkable river, for the Parisians have sensibly invested in a beautiful walk along the banks of France’s most famous waterway.

You will be entertained by street performers, refreshed at one of the myriad open-air riverside cafés and bars, and well fed by numerous pop-up eateries and restaurants that line the water.

There’s even the opportunity to work off a few pounds using the outdoor apparatus scattered along the walkway. But the real highlight is looking up during your gentle meander to behold the vista of some of Paris’s finest monuments, like the Notre Dame Cathedral, Pont Neuf bridge and the Eiffel Tower. It really is a beautiful way to spend your Eid in one of Europe’s most epic cities.

(This article is written by Tharik Hussain. Tharik is a freelance British Muslim travel writer, journalist, broadcaster and photographer specialising in the Muslim stories of Europe. Hussain’s first ever radio documentary, America’s Mosques; A Story of Integration, has been declared one of the world’s best radio documentaries for 2016. All his work can be viewed at www.tharikhussain.co.uk)