Muslims gather for Eid al-Adha morning prayers at Catholic high school in London

Muslims in London and around the world are celebrating Eid al-Adha, one of the holy celebrations in the Islamic calendar.

This year, the London Muslim Mosque co-ordinated with the London District Catholic School Board to host Eid al-Adha morning prayers at Saint Andre Bessette Catholic Secondary School.

More than 5,000 worshippers gathered on the field at the back of the school this morning — the highest turnout Jihad Elrafih of the London Muslim Mosque has seen yet.

“We had people here from our faith, and we had people from different faiths as well. The mayor was here. We had a few councillors from the city.”

Elrafih says when the mosque reached out to the Catholic school board about using their space, there was no question the board would say “Yes.”

And that says something about the London community, he said.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, what faith you belong to… this city, London, is one community.”

London District Catholic School Board spokesperson, Mark Adkinson, says they were able to accommodate the request through their community use of schools.

“We’re all neighbours within the city. We work together, we shop together, we play together. This is just one part of an ongoing co-operation that we hope to have. Our high schools are open access so there are a number of Muslim students in all of our high schools. It’s just an extension of who we are.”

During Eid, Muslims begin their celebrations with morning prayers, followed by food and exchanging of gifts with family and friends.

The four-day holiday wraps up on Monday.