Thousands of Nepali Muslims were joined by people of different faiths to celebrate Eid-al-Fitr at over 2,500 mosques across the country on Thursday.

Eid, one of the biggest festivals of the Muslim community, is observed to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan during which Muslims observe dawn-to-dusk fasting.

The government had declared a public holiday on Thursday on the occasion of the festival.

Samim Ansari, adviser at the Jame Masjid, the biggest mosque in the country, said over 10,000 Muslims offered prayers at the Jame Masjid on Thursday.

Gani Ansari, a journalist with BBC Nepali Service, who hails from Bisrampur of Parsa district, says that over 90 percent of the Eid greetings he received on Thursday through social media and phone were from his Hindu friends.

“Although the Nepali society appears divided on ethnic and regional lines, the cultural unity remains intact, and we should not allow any politics in it,” said Ansari.

Avas Shakya, 29, from Lalitpur, who follows Buddhism, on Thursday visited Kashmiri Masjid in Durbarmarg, and offered prayers.

He says he is inspired by the discipline and humanistic approach taught by Quran.

Singer Almoda Rana Upreti, released a cover version of Kun Faya Kun, a Hindi song, to dedicate it to the people of the Muslim community to mark Eid, on Youtube this week. “We compose Dashain and Tihar songs to celebrate the festivals, why not celebrate Eid with Sufi music,” says Rana.