This morning, while 2 million Muslims gathered at Makkah, or Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, Muslim ISU students gathered for prayer in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. The Muslim Student Association organized a prayer time in celebration of Eid-ul-Adha, a yearly holiday in the Islamic religion, said Mahmoud Abou-Elneel, vice president of the association. Eid-ul-Adha commemorates the prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael at God’s command, he said.Adnan Khan, treasurer of Muslim Students Association, said the ceremony included a sermon by guest speaker Yusuf Wells from Benevolence International Foundation in Worth, Ill., and a group prayer. Participants faced northeast, towards Mecca, during the group prayer, while a prayer leader read from the Koran, Islam’s holy text. The prayer time is a way of starting the holiday and is followed by celebration and the exchange of the greeting “Eid Mubarak!” said Khan, senior in computer engineering. Another holiday tradition is to sacrifice a sheep and give its meat to the poor, said Abou-Elneel, graduate student in business administration. In most Middle Eastern countries, the holiday is celebrated with a feast and four days of vacation to visit family and friends. The student group will hold their feast this weekend, Khan said, because there isn’t time, with classes and work, to celebrate traditionally in the United States. Going to Mecca to celebrate the holiday is one of the “Five Pillars” — main components — of the Islam religion. A display case with with photos of people making the journey to Mecca will be shown all day on the second floor of the Memorial Union.