In hopes of American warmth at Eid

The presents are wrapped, the new clothes are ironed and the cookies are baked. My family and I are all set for Eid. Muslims follow a lunar calendar, so Eid falls 10 days earlier each year. We celebrate two annual major holidays - one Eid marks the end of Ramadan (the month of fasting), and the other Eid marks the end of hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca). This year the first Eid is today, one day before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy.

As does any other American, I remember the thousands of lives lost in 2001. As a Muslim who has lived in the Northwest suburbs for nearly 12 years, my life changed that day along with the rest of the country. However, this lunar coincidence has resulted in mixed feelings this year. I am not apologetic about celebrating my holiday, but I worry about the fact that right-wing media pundits may have a field day and exploit this twist of fate.

Then we have the Florida pastor who is intent on burning a copy of the Quran, the Muslim Holy Book, on Sept. 11. So, while my heart wants to celebrate with my children and my community, my mind is not at ease.

My children are 8 and 5, so they have no idea about 9/11. Just like other kids, they are waiting to wear new clothes, open presents, take a day off school to go for prayers with the community and then play games at Dave & Busters at night. Eid is their day. I want them to enjoy it.

Wearing my work hat, I have seen the American Muslim community be very proactive about this happenstance. We are airing public service announcements about how Muslims were also first responders on 9/11 and holding news conferences and joint prayers with faith and civic leaders calling for a day of prayer and healing. We have also worked toward a voter-registration drive to capitalize on the thousands of Muslims that come for Eid prayer in Villa Park, Rolling Meadows, St. Charles and so many other venues.

Wearing my mom hat, I wrapped little gift baskets for my children's teachers, bus drivers and neighbors. However, this year I went the extra mile and visited their principal to make sure she is on the same page with me regarding the heightened Islamophobia in the nation. It was heartwarming to know that she understood my concerns. Kids may not know about 9/11, but they may hear parents discussing the stabbing of a Muslim cabdriver or the desecration of a mosque.

While I obviously don't expect every American to celebrate Eid, I expect my fellow citizens to respect it. In the past few weeks, there have been more than a dozen hate incidents around the country stemming from the New York Islamic center controversy. I hope and pray the number does not rise this Eid weekend.

We do not want the world to look at America through a narrow hate-crime lens, but rather through a wide-angle lens that depicts our generosity and warmth.

While many young children may not comprehend the magnitude of 9/11, they somewhat understand the devastation after the recent Pakistan floods. So, we plan to take down Eid festivities a notch this year to enable our kids to participate in helping those in need. They don't understand online and text donations, so we are encouraging guests who visit us on Eid to bring ready-to-eat packaged food that kids can pack in boxes and send to Pakistan as a gift from their friends in Roselle.

In this way, we hope that along with Oreos and Cheerios, the homeless, the sick and the orphans in Pakistan can get a chunk of American love, too.

• Kiran Ansari is communications director at the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, www.ciogc.org, and the editor of the Chicago Crescent. She lives in Roselle with her husband and two children.