MORE than 400 people are expected to turn out in Ipswich on Sunday for a celebration of the Muslim festival Eid.The event, being organised by the Ipswich Mosque in Bond Street, will be held at the Caribbean Club in Woodbridge Road between 11am and 4.

MORE than 400 people are expected to turn out in Ipswich on Sunday for a celebration of the Muslim festival Eid.

The event, being organised by the Ipswich Mosque in Bond Street, will be held at the Caribbean Club in Woodbridge Road between 11am and 4.30pm.

As part of the celebrations there will be food and drink, a raffle in aid of St Elizabeth Hospice, and various activities.

A prominent Muslim scholar, Rizwan Hussain, will also give a talk at the event as well as other local speakers.

One of the event organisers, Mahbub Shamim, said: “We want to get a good turnout and hope that lots of people will come along and mingle.

“The event is for non-Muslims as well as Muslims.

“We want people to come and see how we celebrate Eid.

“We have held this event before in the past but never on this scale and are hoping to get between 400 and 500 people coming along.”

Mr Shamim said speakers would talk to people at the event about how to live as a human being as well as exploring problems faced by the country.

Eid is one of the Muslim world's most sacred festivals, marking the end of the Hajj - the annual pilgramage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Eid-ul-Adha (Celebration of Sacrifice) marks the occasion when Abraham (Ibrahim) was prepared to sacrifice his son at the request of God (Allah) only for the boy to be spared in favour of sheep at the last minute.

To mark this it is traditional for Muslims to share a feast of lamb with their families and friends.