Eid al-Fitr 2011: Two Suicide Bombings Amidst World-Wide Celebrations

Wednesday marks the second day of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan. While most of the festivities were both joyous and pious, in many Muslim nations the holiday was marred with violence and uneasiness.

On Tuesday, Syrians left mosques and hit the streets to protest against President Bashir al-Assad. At least seven people were shot dead in the Daraa province, including a 13-year-old boy. In Libya, thousands gathered in Martyr Square in Tripoli for prayers and celebration, both for Eid and for the end of the Gadhafi regime.

The rest of Tuesday's Eid round-up can be found here.

Some of the Wednesday Eid events were tragically violent as well. Three countries are of particular note, including Pakistan, Russia and Rwanda.

Pakistan: A suicide bomber killed 10 people outside a mosque in Quetta, in the Baluchistan province. The bomber detonated explosives inside a car while Shiite Muslims left the building after morning prayers. At least 17 people were injured.

In Pakistan, Eid started on Wednesday and will last until Friday. No group has claimed responsibilities for the attack, but Baluchistan is thought to be the home of Taliban militants, including the group's leader Mullah Omar. The Taliban and other extremist Sunni groups view Shiites as enemies.

Chechnya: Three suicide bombers struck the city of Grozny in the Russian federal state, killing nine people including seven police officers. The bombing is thought to have been perpetrated by a Chechen insurgent group led by Dokka Umarov, the self-proclaimed 'Emir of the Caucasus Emirate.'

Umarov, an Islamic militant who wants Chechen independence, is thought to be responsible for the bombing at a Moscow airport in January that killed 37 people, and the 2010 Moscow subway bombing that killed 40.

Chechnya is 94 percent Sunni Muslim, and has been rife with insurgency since the end of the Second Chechen War in 2000. The violence at the start of the holy period of Eid was condemned by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who called the bombers zombified bandits and not people, but the devil incarnate.

Rwanda: Violence was not ubiquitous across the Muslim world, and Eid is indeed a holiday about peace and togetherness. (The word Fitr means charity in Arabic.) In Rwanda, a country once plagued by ethnic violence and genocide, thousands of Muslims gathered at the Nyamirambo Regional Stadium in Kigali City to hear a message of tolerance.

Eid is a day of celebration and fasting is a sign of double happiness. We should do all these in harmony, said Sheikh Abdul Karim Gahutu, the head of Rwanda's Islamic community. Without unity and mutual understanding among the people, there would be no meaningful development.

In other nations around the world, Muslims heard similar messages and prayed for peace. While violence dampened some of the festivities, the one thing that was similar between all the Eid events across the world was the celebration. In Indonesia, fireworks kept people awake late into the night. In Iran, thousands listened to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speak, and in Lebanon people beat drums and sang in the street.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Muslims will feast with their family and friends, giving thanks to Allah for helping them through the month of Ramadan while praying for peace in a troubled world.