"Eid mubarak!"

"Eid mubarak, sister!"

Two women wearing hijab, traditional head coverings, greeted each other with the blessings of the season before exchanging air kisses and bending down to coo over one another's children in strollers at their knees.

It was Eid ul-Adha, the festival celebrating the sacrifice Ibrahim was willing to make for God, and roughly 300 people — a diverse group, representing home countries as far and wide as Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Belize — had just finished prayers.

Tuesday's eid was the second of two festivals, just months apart, gathering Muslims together for a day of prayer and reconnection. Muslims from around O'ahu, including a contingent from Schofield Barracks, converged at Ala Moana Park's McCoy Pavilion, proving that the Judeo-Christian holidays of Christmas and Hanukkah aren't the only occasions for public celebration this time of year.

"Today is the greatest day of hajj," began the imam, Ismail ElSheikh, after finishing the chanting of prayers and launching into his message for the crowd.

ElSheikh had called upon the crowd to submit to the will of Allah, a major theme this time of year.

Eid ul-Adha is one of only two major festivals on the Muslim calendar; it celebrates Ibrahim (Abraham for Jews and Christians) and his willingness to submit to God's command.

"Ibrahim is ... (a religious figure for) both Muslims and Christians," remarked Mohamed Salim, whose young sons were helping each other get ready for an afternoon of fun, "but we choose to celebrate it and the others don't."

Outside McCoy Pavilion, activity picked up as the morning breakfast was readied. The smell of doughnuts and croissants wafted across the aisle as white pastry boxes were opened.

When ElSheikh finished, throngs dressed in their fresh-pressed finery — many in elaborate silks and embroidered cloths from their homelands — poured out of the doors, stopping to find their shoes in the stacks before lining up for breakfast.

One thing ElSheikh did not do, for the second time in a row, remarked Bithi Rumi, was call upon all women to wear hijab. Rumi said she appreciated the gesture, which to her signified a willingness to let Muslim women in Hawai'i make their own decisions on the issue.

"The Muslim community (is working to be) very tolerant with each other and with everyone else," she said, adding that she is not reprimanded for not wearing the hijab, or for bringing her husband, Jan, and 19-year-old son, Fayez, into the area dominated by women. "As long as you dress modestly and be respectful of women who do (wear the hijab)."

Games and fun for the keiki were a big part of the community-building. Children followed their noses to the old-fashioned popcorn cart, near two inflatable jumpers — one fashioned like a miniature city, another a castle — as well as a cotton candy machine whirring out blue confections of sticky swirls.

Laurie Abdelwahed smiled at her son, Zachary, who showed off his SpongeBob SquarePants tie, but he's most proud of his new navy-and-gold kufi, or headcap.

"I got it yesterday!" the diminutive Zachary declared, twirling the tiny tassel.

The family came to Ala Moana from Schofield Barracks, where their Muslim group meets in a small room of the chapel building. Abdelwahed and her friends estimated that their community of about 35 includes six families and 10 single soldiers.

Joining the Honolulu celebration helps cement feelings of community, said Salim, whose wife is in the Army and who himself works for Chevron. He and his family moved here four months ago.

"We came at the time of Ramadan (a religious month of dawn-to-dusk fasting), and were invited to so many dinners" by new friends and as part of group celebrations, he said.

While Schofield Muslims Abdelwahed and her friends Jayde Huntington and Dinnie Randolph were happy with the Friday prayers and Saturday Islam classes for their kids, as well as a monthly women's group outing, they were more than willing to take a trip to town to see the bigger gathering: "Anything that joins us with the Honolulu group!" they said, laughing.

It's a way to solidify their identity. Married to a man from Jordan, Abdelwahed had celebrated Christmas as well as Eid ul-Adha, but since converting to Islam observes only the Muslim event.

"I don't think the kids miss Christmas," she said, a sentiment echoed by Esma Arslan, a fifth-grader at Noelani Elementary.

"I think we have more fun because it's four days long," explained the 10-year-old, hovering near her mother, Filiz. "It's a big party, and you see all your friends and play all afternoon."