VOA/ Kurban Bayram, this is how it was celebrated in Albania

Thousands of Muslim believers are celebrating Kurban Bayram today in Albania, one of the most important days of their faith.

They gathered early in the morning at the Nation's Martyrs promenade, where they congratulated each other and followed the holiday ceremonies, as well as the messages of the religious leaders.

The religious leaders appealed to the believers for solidarity with people in need as well as for a greater engagement of intellectuals in the issues of concern to society.

The President of the Muslim Community of Albania, Bujar Spahiu, emphasized in his message that this is a celebration, in which joy, the hand of solidarity and support should enter every heart and hearth.

He called for this holiday to become the starting point of spiritual and cultural reformation, to turn into a society of values, where knowledge prevails, leaving aside the ignorant.

"Knowledgeable people are the compass of a nation. Scholars and intellectuals are asked to speak more. Their voice, their opinion and their attitude should be heard, because this is for the benefit of all people. This is how their knowledge and its value become meaningful. If they are silent, humanity is silent, or those who do not know speak. The sign of the destruction of this world is when the ignorant speak and the wise remain silent", said Mr. Spahiu.

He said that the thoughts of scholars and intellectuals should not be programmed with the interests of individuals or groups, but they should speak for the sake of truth and justice, for the sake of the Motherland, the Nation, and they should be the encouragers and fighters of these high ideals.

Kurban Bayram is marked by faithful believers as a holiday of awakening hope and optimism for more loyalty to God.

In today's celebration, it was learned that among many believers from all over the world, who are performing the Hajj pilgrimage, there are also several hundred believers from Albania.

The Muslim faith is the most widespread in Albanian society, there are less Orthodox, Christian and Bektash believers. They coexist for centuries in understanding and tolerance, so much so that no conflict based on religion has ever been recorded in Albania. /VOA