‘Night of the new moon’ festivities held closer to home

With only a week and a half of planning, leaders of the Islamic Center of Federal Way put together a Chand Raat Mela event on Tuesday, April 9, to finish this year’s Ramadan with food, fun and community.

Chand Raat is a regional South Asian holiday typically celebrated in areas of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It roughly translates to “night of the new moon.” The holy month of Ramadan does not end until the new moon is sighted, so this celebration centers on an event the night before Eid. This version brought some classic Chand Raat traditions, but added a dash of Federal Way and South King County diversity.

A Chand Raat event is also held in Bellevue each year, but that can be a long drive for many members of the South King County community. So this year the Islamic Center of Federal Way leadership decided to have their own version of the event closer to home. Organizers say they expect next year’s event to be even bigger because they will have more time to plan and promote it. They are hoping to host the event in a park in Federal Way to have more space and engage more with the community.

Attendee Nazia Rehman said she appreciated the chance to attend an event closer to home than Bellevue this year. Fondly remembering celebrating Chand Raat in Pakistan, she described decorative lights flooding streets that were packed with henna artists, food and gift vendors on a huge scale. The event was Rehman’s first time at the ICFW, though she said her husband, Muhmmad Farid Rehman, attends frequently.

“In Pakistan it is more common for women to pray at home, so for me that is usually more comfortable for me. I feel more connected to Allah,” Rehman said.

The ICFW Chand Raat also included henna artists and clothing, jewelry and food vendors along with spaces for kids to play games and, of course, breaks to pray.

Next to the large vat of chai, one vendor sold two versions of Palestinian baklava, one flaky triangle filled with sweet cheese and the other a rolled remix of the same filo dough, this time stuffed with walnuts.

The next stall over boasted at least six feet of Uzbeki chicken kebabs grilled over coals, and next to that, staff of Al’s Hot Chicken in Tacoma passed out chicken tenders.

“We gave out over 1,100 tenders and 500 waffles this year,” staff at the stall shared. As the Federal Way center did this year, the ICC in Tacoma gave out free community meals during Ramadan for the meal called Iftar that is eaten after sunset after a day of fasting.

Next to the Al’s was a surprise hit of halal chicken quesadillas, complete with fresh salsa. Alan Cobos and Alicia Sainz ran the stand. They don’t have a restaurant and don’t typically cater, Cobos said, but love sharing food with family, friends and community.

While Cobos and Sainz are not Muslim, they have become friends with many people at ICFW through their work. The president of ICFW, Nadeem Ahmed, owns several Dairy Queen franchises in the area, and Cobos manages one of them. Ahmed had tasted Sainz’s cooking before after having dinner at her home and said it was so good, it would be a hit at the event.

As part of this friendship, Cobos said he decided to fast during Ramadan in solidarity with Muslim coworkers and friends.

“It’s not just a religious thing, it’s a cultural thing too,” Cobos said. He added that he just wanted to experience it and that overall it was a positive and challenging experience.

“It definitely got more difficult toward the end of the month where I was really having those thoughts of, ‘oh I could just have one drink of water or one thing to eat, why not,’ but I actually made it through,” Cobos said.

Approximately 200-300 people ended their observance of Ramadan by celebrating at the Chand Raat event on Tuesday. Longtime volunteer at the ICFW Mohammed Ihsan said that while they were not sure how many people would attend, they were happily surprised by the turnout.

Henna designs were just one of the many activities at the Chand Raat Mela event at the Islamic Center of Federal Way.

Alicia Sainz serves quesadillas made with halal chicken to waiting guests on the final night of Ramadan during the Chand Raat Mela event. Photos by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

Emad Vassa and Sameer Lohawala serve meals from Al’s Hot Chicken in Federal Way at the Chand Raat Mela on April 9.

Ikram Haq pours milk into a large pot of chai that kept guests warm and energized. The tea operation is run by Mohammed Ihsan who has been making tea for the community the whole month of Ramadan for nightly iftars.