Muslim community to celebrate 'Super Eid' at US Bank Stadium in Mpls

The Muslim community is celebrating one its holiest days Tuesday, and they’re inviting everyone to join them from 6 a.m. to noon at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Organizers and attendees are all gathering for prayer as part of the Eid ul-Adha celebration in honor of the prophet Abraham, who is key figure not just in the Islamic faith, but to Christians and the Jewish faith, too.

“At the time of Christmas, families come together and enjoy together, they celebrate together, they eat food together, and it’s like that,” said Ahmed Anshure, who helped organize the event. “It’s a time of joy and a time of celebration.”

In the past, Minnesota’s various Islamic centers have held their own individual prayers for Eid, but this year with more than two dozen mosques all coming together at U.S. Bank Stadium, they’re calling it Super Eid.

The organization Super Eid hopes to bring together more than 50,000 Muslims from 6 a.m. to noon at US Bank Stadium to pray, with a celebration afterwards at The Commons park adjacent to the stadium. 

The religious gathering is the second of its kind at U.S. Bank Stadium after Pulse, an Evangelical Christian movement, hosted a concert event on May 18. The Super Eid event will feature Eid prayer, kids activities, a bazaar and food vendors at the stadium.

Janae Bates with ISAIAH, a faith-based coalition that aims to allow Minnesotans to more effectively live out their faith, helped organize the event.

“It’s a time where Muslims can be fully Muslim, where Christians can be fully Christian, where Jews can be fully Jewish, but we can come together in unity; we can come together cross-culturally and learn about one another’s faith. There’s a lot of ignorance out there where people just don’t know and so this is time where you can learn,” Bates said.

“Our interfaith allies are welcome to participate in the prayer or to just watch the prayer. They can do either, whichever they are compelled to do,” said Imam Asad Zaman with the Muslim American Society of Minnesota.

On Monday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on law enforcement to increase security for worshippers.

“We call on local law enforcement to increase patrols in the area of Eid prayers to ensure a safe and joyful Eid for the Minnesota Muslim Community," said CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein. "With an increased hostility toward the Muslim Community and recent bias incidents against mosques in the past few months, we need to make sure that we take all necessary safety precautions.”

The event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 7 a.m. with singing, speeches and the first prayer at 9 a.m. There will also be a carnival outside of the stadium from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. that will feature attractions such as horse rides, carnival games, ziplining, bumper cars, free food, face painting, inflatables, toddler activities, a petting zoo, and contests and prizes. There is a $15 fee for the carnival.

For more information on the event, click here.