Prayer and sweets as Muslims mark the end of Ramadan

Muslims fill Wangee Road as they celebrate Eid al-Fitr
Thousands gathered at mosques at dawn for a prayer service marking the end of Ramadan. -AAP Image

Nearly one million Muslims across Australia are marking the end of Ramadan with prayer, family and sweets.

Eid-al-Fitr, or Eid, is one of the most significant celebrations on the Islamic calendar, marking the end of the month-long, dawn-to-dusk fasting month of Ramadan.

Thousands gathered at mosques at dawn on Monday for prayer ahead of day-long celebrations.

"Eid is a time for family gatherings and reconnecting with loved ones," the Australian National Imams Council said.

"Many Muslims with large families spend the days of Eid visiting close and distant relatives."

NSW Customer Service Minister Jihad Dib, the state's first lower-house Muslim MP, greeted those marking the end of Ramadan at Lakemba Mosque.

"Ramadan is about giving, togetherness, kindness and looking for people who are vulnerable," he said last week, while praising a cafe putting on free meals for 80 vulnerable women every Monday during the fasting month.

Eid is of increasing importance in Australia, amid a surge in the number of Australians identifying as Muslim.

One in 30 Australians, or 810,000 people, identified as Muslim in the 2021 census, doubling in 15 years.