Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 31, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that while many were celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, hundreds of Muslims gathered in the San Fernando Valley this year for Eid-al-Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which "commemorates what Muslims believe was God's revelation of their holy book, the Koran, to the prophet Muhammad nearly 1,400 years ago. It is a month of prayer, reflection, goodwill toward those less fortunate and fasting from dawn to dusk. Eid al-Fitr...is celebrated with family and feasts, and children...receive gifts." 20 years ago there were so few Muslims that they had to go downtown to celebrate, but their numbers have grown so much that 10 mosques now stand in the Valley. Of the estimated 6 million Muslims in the United States, half are African Americans, "many of them recent converts. A quarter are from India and Pakistan."