Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, is one of the two major holidays in the Islamic calendar and is considered the holier of the two. It commemorates Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son in submission to God, and the tradition of dividing the meat from the sacrificed animal into three equal shares, for family, for relatives and friends, and for those in need. This photo essay documents the prayers that open the holiday in Morocco, built as a quiet, observational reportage rather than a staged shoot. It opens on a child dressed in his holiday best, caught in a still moment before the crowd moves, then follows the imam delivering the address that opens the celebration. The bulk of the story sits with the congregation itself: rows of men kneeling and standing in unison during prayer, photographed from a respectful distance.
