How does Baltimore celebrate Eid al-Fitr? With dates, outfits and festivities by the thousands.

Thousands of Muslims — from as close as Woodlawn and as far away as Africa — rejoiced in prayer Friday at a Baltimore County mosque celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month.

“We can’t even speak each other’s languages, but we all pray the same,” said Najma Jones, decked out in an emerald and gold-flecked abaya, or robe garment, with a matching face veil called a niqab.

The 50-year-old is a born-and-raised Baltimorean who lives seven minutes from the Islamic Society of Baltimore’s Woodlawn mosque off Johnnycake Road near the interchange of interstates 70 and 695.

But the masjid, or mosque, is also home to Muslims from around the Islamic world — Morocco, Pakistan, Senegal and Turkey, to name a few — and has become an increasingly diverse community, Jones said.

ISB is not only a mosque but the educational and social services hub for practicing Muslims across the region.

Jones previously served as the ISB’s executive chef, catering to thousands during Ramadan, the month of fasting from dawn to dusk that leads up to Eid.

“One year we spent $8,000 just on dates,” she said with a laugh.

Even Gov. Wes Moore visited ISB this month to join those breaking fast during the evening iftar meal.

The society’s president, Hasan Hammad, explained that, while Eid is a day of celebration commemorating a month of discipline and devotion, the virtues exhibited during Ramadan should continue beyond.

“We can’t be good Muslims if we don’t know the conditions of our neighbors,” he said. “We still have people here in Baltimore City [that] are living in tents underneath bridges.”

What is Eid?

One of ISB’s religious leaders, Imam Yaseen Shaikh, described Ramadan as the embodiment of Islam’s five pillars: shahada (faith), salah (prayer), zakat (charity), sawm (fasting) and hajj (pilgrimage).

And Eid, he said, is an opportunity to thank God and give back to the community while indulging in sweets, special meals and gifts to family and friends.

“It strikes the balance between celebration and worship,” Shaikh said.

Before daybreak Friday morning, Jones and her son went to ISB’s gymnasium to pray.

“If we are an atom and God is above the galaxy, that shows you an inkling of how great Allah is in comparison to us, in terms of spacial distance,” Jones said.

She said Muslims teach their children that just because they don’t celebrate other mainstream, or more religious, holidays such as Christmas and Hanukkah, it does not mean they’re missing out.

Eid is a day of gift giving.

“I got an RC helicopter,” her 6-year-old, Rasheed, said with a gap-toothed smile. “It’s red. It has three propellers!”

On Saturday, ISB will host a carnival for families from 2-8 p.m. complete with bumper cars, food trucks and a petting zoo.

Ahead of Jones and her son, Enna Mirza bowed sharply midworship after 7:30 a.m. — the first of three holiday-specific prayers, which are necessary to accommodate the thousands who flock to ISB.

Originally from Pakistan, Mirza has been a member of the ISB faith community since she moved to the U.S. in 2000.

“I remember where just one prayer switched to multiple,” she said, marveling at the hundreds of women kneeling on the carpet-covered vinyl floor. “This hall was never full. We used to never have difficulties parking.”

Now the room is a sea of hundreds of brightly covered hijabs in multiple shades of fuchsia, lilac and powder blue.

By the second prayer an hour later, women and children were directed to an area next to the mosque’s playground.

Kids in tunics and cotton taqiyahs (skullcaps), chased one another across the jungle gym while adult women and teenagers listened to Shaikh deliver his sermon over the loudspeaker.

ISB’s roots are American, too

Hammad remembers joining the community when his parents moved to Maryland from Jordan when he was a child. He’s witnessed its growth over the decades.

“We’re probably the largest mosque in the state of Maryland,” Hammad said. “We expect to probably see somewhere between 10 to 15,000 people show up ... for the Eid prayers.”

The ISB president hopes Eid offers those unfamiliar with Islam the opportunity to recognize that their Muslim brothers and sisters are no different than any other Baltimore County resident.

“I drive a John Deere tractor. I love having a lot of land,” Hammad said. “My point is, I’m a regular American. I grew up here, I coach sports and I’m no different than most people that are in our communities.”

Shaikh said it’s important for people to remember Islam is indigenous to America.

He said one of the earliest fights for religious freedom in the U.S. was brought by a Senegalese Muslim named Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, or Job ben Solomon, who was enslaved in Maryland before the Revolutionary War.

“The first country to recognize the independence of America was Morocco,” Shaikh said. “Thomas Jefferson even had a copy of the Quran.”

ISB was founded in 1969, and Jones remembers when her parents converted to Islam in the 1970s, joined the community and experienced racism from its Arabic members.

“They struggled with inclusion at first,” said Jones, who is Black. “But this community is amazing. They welcomed me with open arms.”

That spirit of generosity and kindness was on full display Friday for Eid, as volunteers handed out goodie bags and fistfuls of Dunkin’ Donuts munchkins.

During the sermon following the Eid prayer, one of the other religious leaders, Imam Ismet Akcin, encouraged the community to reflect on their duty to one another.

“You will not enter paradise,” he said, “until you love others as you love yourself.”