At 8 a.m. Friday morning, members of Anchorage’s Muslim community gathered in Mountain View to mark the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the Islamic month of Shawwal.

Men gather outside the Mountain View Community Center to observe Eid-ul-Fitr.

Eid-ul-Fitr is an important religious holiday observed by millions of people around the globe. Celebrations take place with prayer and feasting in public squares, mosques and community halls worldwide. In Anchorage, dozens of people gathered at the Mountain View Community Center, filling the gym and the lobby. Women dressed in flowing chadors met to pray in one room, while men wearing long jubbas assembled to pray in another. Families came together to eat and visit in the community center gym.

Mustafa, a young cab driver who came to Anchorage from Pennsylvania, said the holiday is a way to connect with his religion and culture in a place far from home. After the Eid prayer, he shakes hands with his fellow worshipers and exchanges the traditional greeting.

“Eid mubarak,” he says. “Blessed Eid.”