Taipei to host Muslim cultural festival for Eid al-Fitr

2019/06/06

A Muslim arts and cultural festival will be staged June 9 at Daan Forest Park in Taipei City to celebrate the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
 
 Organized by Taipei City Government, the event is set to feature concerts, dance performances, workshops and a halal food market. Also included are outdoor forums on the customs, music and tourist attractions of Muslim countries across the region and around the world.
 
 Among those scheduled to deliver addresses at the celebration are Kimyung Keng, an Indonesia-born assistant professor at Feng Chia University in central Taiwan’s Taichung City; Ma Jun-ren, a percussionist specializing in traditional Middle Eastern music; and Turkey-born TV show host Urgur Rifat Karlova.
 
 Speaking at an Eid al-Fitr event June 5 at Taipei Main Station, Mayor Ko Wen-je said that the city government is committed to fostering a Muslim-friendly living and travel environment. Related measures include boosting the number of halal-certified hospitals, hotels and restaurants in the city, he added.
 
 According to TCG, this is the first edition of the annual festival to feature forums on Islamic heritage. It is hoped that these engaging seminars will encourage more residents to participate in the event and deepen cross-cultural understanding among people of diverse cultural backgrounds, it added.
 
 Also known as Hari Raya Idul Fitri, Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. It falls June 5 this year.
 
 Celebrations for the Islamic holiday are staged annually by local governments across Taiwan, including in the northern metropolises of Keelung and Taoyuan, Taichung, and the southern city of Tainan. The Taipei festival is among the largest, with last year’s edition drawing around 40,000 visitors from home and abroad, TCG said.
 
 Taiwan is ranked as the third most Muslim-friendly destination among non-Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries in the MasterCard-Crescent Rating Global Muslim Travel Index 2019. The result is Taiwan’s best to date in the non-OIC segment of the annual survey spanning a total 130 destinations.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)