Eid al-Adha is one of the most significant Muslim holidays that is celebrated by the 800,000+ Muslim community in Australia and more than 2 billion Muslims worldwide.
It is the latter of the two ‘Eids’ which are celebrated in Islam, with the other being Eid al-Fitr (celebrated on May 1st to 2nd each year after Ramadan).
Known as the ‘Feast of the Sacrifice’, Eid will traditionally be celebrated beginning on the 10th day of Dhū al-Ḥijjah, the last month on the Islamic calendar. This year, it will be celebrated on July 9th to 13th, under more relaxed COVID-restrictions in Australia.
Why is Eid al-Adha celebrated and why it is significant?
Eid al-Adha commemorates the Muslim Prophet Ibrahim’s devotion to Allah and his willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, by God’s command.
It also marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, one of the five pillars of Islam.
Eid al-Adha is especially significant because it not only celebrates selflessness and dedication to the Islamic faith, but it is also a time which focuses on charity and giving to the less fortunate.
How does the Muslim community celebrate Eid?
The Muslim community will celebrate Eid al-Adha by performing communal prayer at daybreak. This will usually consist of a special prayer called “Salat al-Eid” and a sermon called a khutbah.
An important tradition to mark Eid al-Adha is the sacrifice of an animal (also known as “Qurbani”) usually a cow, sheep or goat, to pay homage to Ibrahim’s sacrifice. The meat is then shared among family, friends, neighbours and the poor to be consumed. Families who do not sacrifice an animal will often purchase halal meat and donate to charity instead.
This will then be followed by visits to family and friends, after which food and gifts will be exchanged. The Muslim community will traditionally express well wishes with the greeting “Eid Mubarak” meaning “Blessed Eid”.
Sharing a meal plays a special role in bringing family and friends together. Popular dishes vary among cultures but meat-based dishes such as Halal biryani, kebabs and curries are very common.
How can brands tap into Eid celebrations to connect with the Muslim community?
The Muslim community numbers 813,392 according the latest 2021 Census, making up 3.2% of the population.
Almost 126,000 people who arrived in Australia between 2016 and 2021 were also affiliated with Islam. The main countries of birth for these recent Muslim migrants are Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh.
As Eid is the second most important festival on the Islamic calendar, it is a valuable and timely opportunity for brands to connect with growing Muslim audiences. Some ways brands can participate in the festivities include:
1 . Sharing special Eid greetings: Simple but effective, brands can automatically develop goodwill by sharing Eid greetings on social media and other platforms of relevance. They may like to extend their Eid campaign further by going digital and partnering with Arabic media, including online news sites to publish Eid-based communications. When brands acknowledge important celebrations like Eid, audiences are more receptive.
2 . Sponsoring Eid community festivals: With the pandemic behind us, festivals are once again fantastic on-the-ground initiatives which can generate positive word-of-mouth, widen increased visibility and heighten your brand reputation among Muslim audiences. Marketers can tap into the Eid spirit by sponsoring popular Eid festivals across Australia. Some popular Eid al-Adha festivals happening in 2022-23 in Sydney include The Annual Islamic Eid Show (July 16th and 17th 2022), Multicultural Eid Festival and Fair 2023 and Sydney Eid Festival (July 9th and 10th July 2022).
3 . Seek prime PR activation location points: Location is an important factor when targeting different multicultural communities in Australia as some suburbs will have higher concentrations of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities than others. For example, in Sydney’s Lakemba, more than half of the population is Muslim and predominantly Lebanese. Other notable suburbs include Greenacre, Guildford and Punchbowl. If you are planning a PR event, hosting it in prime locations where there is a large percentage of Muslims will set you up for great success during Eid.
For further information on targeting this and other multicultural communities, contact MultiConnexions: https://www.multiconnexions.com.au/