Six Flags hosts hundreds of Muslims

With special arrangements made to accommodate Islamic prayer and dietary needs, about 1,200 Muslims were to spend Saturday at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee.

For this year's Muslim Day -- the fourth since 2004 -- Six Flags officials brought in vendors to make special ethnic foods and transformed an amphitheater into a makeshift mosque so attendees could keep prayer schedules.

In 2006, nearly 1,400 Muslims from around the Chicago area attended the event. That's up from 345 who came the first time the day was held.

Bolingbrook stay-at-home mom Sobia Ahmed said if the changes weren't made, her five children and husband would have to skip the snacks and find a place for their prayers.

"If you go on regular days, it's kind of tough to find a place to pray," Ahmed told the Chicago Tribune. "Usually we can't eat the food, but now we can."

Muslim Day started in New Jersey and the first event was held just days before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Since then, the event has gained popularity and now versions are held in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Event planners said the day offers Muslims a sense of community.

"The kids love it and adults also," Zulfiqar Khan, a Pakistani from Plainfield, said. "We can socialize, have some ethnic food, just create a sense of community."

Islam isn't the only religion that Six Flags has accommodated at the amusement park. Theme park officials also have created events for Catholics, Baptists, Methodists and Episcopalians.

Six Flags in Gurnee was to be open to the public as usual on Saturday.