On September 25, 2005, the 20th annual Muslims Day parade was held in New York City. Although it started with its traditional zeal by offering a dhar (afternoon prayer), the salient feature of the even was the scant participation by New York Muslims.

Out of the 800,000 Muslims who live in New York City, less than 500 turned up to represent the city’s Muslim population. The lack of interest in the parade upset many participants, who described it as a shameful display of Muslims’ lack of unity.

The participation of the Pakistani community, however, was comparatively better this year, with several Pakistani Muslims volunteering to hold the parade. Ainul Haq, chairman of the parade, worked very hard to make the event a success, by giving time and funds to organize the parade. Imam Pasha was the grand marshal of the parade. A special bazaar was also set up where many stalls offered a variety of foods.

New York City’s Immigration Affairs Commissioner Guillermo Linares read Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s statement for the occasion and later it presented to Ainul Haq.