Pakistan

Pakistan celebrates Eidul Azha, sacrifices continue

Muslims across Pakistan carry out ritual sacrifice amidst some reports of violence.

Express November 17, 2010

LAHORE: Millions of people prayed for peace, security and prosperity of Pakistan during huge Eid congregations across the country today (Wednesday).

In Lahore, the main congregations were held in Badshahi Mosque and Data Darbar Mosque. Punjab Chief minister Shahbaz Sharif offered Eid prayers in Gari Khair Muhammad in Rahim Yar Khan.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi offered prayers in Baha-ud-din Zakria University in Multan.

Thousands of people attended Eid congregation in Quetta and prayed for the solidarity of the country.

In Karachi, the main congregation was held at Bagh-e-Jinnah, which was also attended by Sindh Governor Ishrat ul Ibad.

Violence on Eid

Two people were killed and six injured in violence over the collection of animal hides in the Lyari area of Karachi. The incident took place during Eid prayer at Niazi Chowk, when unidentified men opened fire during the dispute, killing two people and injuring six, including three children.

Lyari Superintendent of Police Rana Pervez has said gangster Badshah Khan's men were involved in the incident.

In Balochistan, 25 people were shot and injured during a clash in Khuzdar. Officials say the clash erupted between two groups over who will lead Eid prayer. So far twelve people have been arrested in connection with the clash.

COMMENTS (37)

Arijit Sharma | 14 years ago | Reply @Mahesh: "If Hindu does then they are culprit, ........ " I so totally agree with you. Killing of animals for sacrifice is so abhorrent - and I know there are Hindu Pujas that require animal sacrifice. Even killing animals for food is terrible. ( I am a meat eater myself )

@realMuslim | 14 years ago | Reply Most of u pious do know that the sacrifice is symbolic. It is suppose to symbolize what Abraham did. to sacrifice ismail his son , who was dearest to the Abraham! So the sacrifice during Eid is meant to let go of something dearest to U! How about sacrificing ur car, motorcylce etc. for poor, instead of poor animals! Instead of our people going around with begging bowl around the world to help flood victims, we could have donated the animals to be sacrificed (goats, cattle etc.) to the victim of flood who had lost their live stocks in the flood!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Mahesh | 14 years ago | Reply I cries when I saw someone is in trouble then why this is only for human, dont we see the love of a mother animal to her child? cant we see how a mother cow so violent if someone comes closer to her new born baby? Cant we see a bird how feeds one by one corn to her baby? isnt they love their kid? if we can see all and still we dont feel the love and in our crural brain pulls them and slughters and eats happily and that too on the name of God, what I can say more about Human? Its not about any religion. Its about humanity. If Hindu does then they are culprit, if muslims or christians does, then they all are evil. Whole humanbeing is only two religion. 1. being a good man/women 2. bad, evil people. Thats all. You decide what you want to be. Sorry if I am hurting any one's centiment. but my explanation is about humanity, either its any religion, cast, creed, race or sex. If we are better animal (Human) then we need behave like that. Not like limited knowledge animals who are fix with their knowledge.

Rehan | 14 years ago | Reply Its really sad to see some of the people here, you would say "why shouldn't we perform animal sacrifices when the people in west and all across the world sacrifice animal in the name of rituals, raw meat, animal hides, bones and tusks ...etc " Each one of us have a choice of our own. The point really is, "Animals are being sacrificed, be it to serve any purpose". Its high time we understood this and bring an end to it.

Faiza Khan | 14 years ago | Reply @Waqar ..very nice and comprehensive explanation!

Amer | 14 years ago | Reply @Sikandar: Why don't you eat your lunch hypothetically dude?

Amer | 14 years ago | Reply @Justin & all the other Joe six packs: What Hypocrisy! Maybe you forgot the turkey on thanksgiving.... or maybe you like to eat a double cheese burger but don't wana know where the meat comes from. Either way, can't you just mind your own western world business for a day or two! I have lived in the west for a long time but never complained about thanksgiving being cruel to animals etc. Heck, I pride myself for understanding different cultures, religions and traditions. I do agree that we could be more hygienic on Eid but then again, with the sheer number of animals that are sacrificed privately, I think the people do alright....

ALi | 14 years ago | Reply @Justin:And @Joe: If this is cruelty and sick for you guys in the western world. I just have to remind you that even in your countries you sacrifice animal and Eat. Are you forgetting all Fast food restaurants where meat and chicken are used??Do you think they just come from nowhere?? You guys Eat chicken and meat every day and don't really bother how you get it. And we...we just don't hide the reality....

Dev | 14 years ago | Reply After all other countries also have muslims, but no where do I hear people carrying their butchery on road and in public) practices which is there in this articleg.Pls inculcate some humanism in you !! Gross and Barbaric, disgusting to understate….

Ahmed | 14 years ago | Reply Happy Eid to all! But, my prayer goes out to all those hapless animals that were slaughtered with blood (literally) flowing in the streets. It is small step from here to slaugherting other humans, which we also do regularly. That link is hard to miss. May the almighty give us compassion today for all sentient beings. Ahmed

Ameer Hamza | 14 years ago | Reply Someone said, Eid is cruel because animals are slaughtered. Well, what about electrocution of animals for eating in the West? Whenever I ask some West's citizen regarding this double-standard, they have no answer. Oh and yes, slaughter has always been the method for killing animals; only tribal and hunters used spears to finish off the animal or fish.

Harsh | 14 years ago | Reply Eid Mubarak :)

Iqra Baig | 14 years ago | Reply Happy Eid-ul- Adha... and remeber the sacriface of Hazrat IBRAHIM that He even to sacrifice his most lovely son Hazrat Ismail (A.S) only to fulfill the order of Allah!

Waqar | 14 years ago | Reply With reference to a few comments above regarding the 'cruelty' and 'barbarity' of slaughter and animal sacrifice, I thought I would make the attempt of removing the misconceptions that non-Muslims have with regards to the prescribed Islamic way. In the absence of a common language between man and animal, one has to look for a comparable human model. Experience suggests that the sharper the blade used in shaving, the less the pain. The human model demonstrates that an everyday shaving cut is not in itself painful. Profuse bleeding leads to a gradual decrease in blood pressure. Eventually, consciousness is lost, accompanied psychologically by a resigned, peaceful feeling. When an animal is slaughtered according to the halal method, the big blood vessels in the throat—the carotid arteries and the jugular veins—are cut, terminating the blood supply to the brain and causing an immediate loss of consciousness. The cut produces instant shock, rendering the animal unconscious, and since the heart is still beating, heavy blood loss occurs under high pressure. The animal remains motionless for about 90 seconds and is then subject to involuntary spasm caused by lack of oxygen in the brain. It is believed that sensation ceases upon the initial cut. Some people think that it is cruel only because of their ignorance of the actual processes involved. Professor Schultz and Dr. Hazim of Hanover University, Germany, proved through an experiment using an EEG and ECG that the halal method is a more humane method of slaughter than the captive bolt stunning practiced in the West. In the first three seconds from the time of halal slaughter, the EEG recording did not show any change from before slaughter, indicating that the animal did not feel any pain during or immediately after the incision. For the following three seconds, the EEG recorded a condition of deep sleep unconsciousness. This is due to a large quantity of blood gushing out from the body. After these six seconds, the EEG recorded zero level, showing no feeling of pain at all. As the EEG dropped to zero level, the heart was still pounding and the body convulsing vigorously (a reflex action of the spinal cord), driving maximum blood from the body and resulting in hygienic meat for the consumer. In the captive bolt stunning, the EEG showed severe pain. Immediately after stunning, the animal’s heart stopped beating. This is clearly unhygienic for the consumer. Thus the animal rights campaigner’s concept of mercy in the slaughterhouse does not correlate to the animal’s physiological responses, as it increases the animal’s suffering rather than reducing it. People in the West are often horrified at the thought of animal sacrifice and regard it as cruelty and a barbaric practice. They are confusing Islamic slaughter with the ancient practice of offering blood to deities. They forget that it was Prophet Muhammad who stopped the practice of spattering the blood of the sacrificial animals on the walls of the Ka`bah and throwing their flesh at its door. The Qur’an declares: [It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches God; it is piety that reaches Him.] The Qur’an specifically mentions the attitude of humanity while slaughtering (22:36). Sacrificing an animal represents sacrificing all worldly desires and ambitions to show one’s total devotion and submission to God. A creature that God has made sacrosanct (Al-Furqan 25:68) is being slaughtered for the benefit of man. As animals are valuable assets to us, sacrifice of them should be imbued with the spirit of self-sacrifice. The act is an outward symbol of one’s readiness to lay down one’s life and to sacrifice all one’s interests and desires for the cause of Truth. That the slaughter is intended as a sacrifice is clear from the Qur’anic dictum that if a Muslim proposes to take advantage of both `Umrah and Hajj, an animal should be slaughtered, and if such an animal is not available, fast is prescribed for ten days (Al-Baqara 2:196). The slaughter of animals for food for the poor, which is one of the ceremonies of the Muslim pilgrimage, is not a propitiatory sacrifice, but is in commemoration of the sacrifice of Abraham, which marked the end of human sacrifice among the Semitic race, and which made it clear that the only sacrifice that God requires of man is the surrender of his will and purpose. The God of Abraham does not need the blood of man or animals (Al-Baqara 2:37; 37:99–111). The repeated Qur’anic insistence on pronouncing the name of God whenever one slaughters an animal is meant to make the believers, as Pickthall notes, “to realize the awfulness of taking life and the solemn nature of the trust which God has conferred upon them in the permission to eat the flesh of animals.25” Taking the life of an animal and shedding of its blood does not make men ferocious, but rather creates humility in their minds. Peace. (To the moderator - This is a rather long comment, but feel justified to answer all of the misconceptions about the ritualistic slaughter and educate them, in a way that does not attack anyone).

Bashir Ahamed | 14 years ago | Reply Re: Justin: We don’t want your 'western' comments on rituals and we don’t care if they are viewed as sick or slick. On the other hand, we can cite a lot many barbaric pursuits in the west such as boxing where human beings are maimed (and left to perish later) for their 'civilized' audience's entertainment. We know how those 'westerners' live out there but we are more dignified to leave them. And despite of comments of people like you, nothing will change at all on our age-old customs and rituals.

Humanity | 14 years ago | Reply for God sake .. you don't have to show these pictures .. we get the idea ..

Subair.M | 14 years ago | Reply Re: Mahesh : Shut up and keep your sermons to Indians. We know what to do with our rites.

lota6177 | 14 years ago | Reply Killing animals makes God happy.

Saif M | 14 years ago | Reply To celebrate an occasion, must you take a life. And, I agree Mustafa, above, please take out this picture.

Mahesh | 14 years ago | Reply Once a boy was loving a girl and girls' parents opposed with his cruelty nature. The boy forcefully entered the house of girl slaughtered her parents, brother and all who opposed other then the girl. She was shivering on fear. But girl decided to tell her some thing. She asked do you love me? Boy said yes I can kill other and even don't mind to be killed. Then the girl said after 10 days I will marry you due to ritual bound. After 10th day the girl asked him to come to a place where she reached early and stepped up to a place where no one can quickly reach there. Then the girl asked the boy, do you really loves me? Boy said yes. Girl jumped to die and told before jumping that feel the pain when some one get killed whom you loves most. I know human have a brain which ignores the reality of others' pain but the true is until and unless we feel the pain of others, we are not human, we are no difference from animal and we don't have rights to say we are superior then other creatures.

Mahesh | 14 years ago | Reply Its so sad that on the name of God we slaughters animal either its Muslim or Hindu. Although I dont eat non-vegetarian food but I dont oppose if someone eats. But to be very frank do you think that God really likes eating other animal? Its so painful to see slaughtering either animal or human. If you feel to sacrifice then first give sacrifice yourself or very close relatives of yours so that you feel the pain. I cant wish you guys in such a sacred festival which involves slaughtering animals.

Arnie | 14 years ago | Reply If one wants to emulate the prophet then one should sacrifice his son or himself and not these hapless animals. This is outright cruel.

Justin | 14 years ago | Reply This is really sick. I am sorry to say this. But for a guy from western world EId is about blood and cruelty...

MilesToGo | 14 years ago | Reply What's wrong with the pictures? Killing animals is a part of the celebration...

Sikandar | 14 years ago | Reply Eid mubarak. Why not stop slaughtering and sacrifice hypothetically

Sarah B. Haider | 14 years ago | Reply Thanks for changing the previous pic. It was really gross and depicted a negative image.

The Only Normal Person Here. | 14 years ago | Reply Eid greetings everyone. Hope that this eid brings lots of blessings for our mother land.

Humanity | 14 years ago | Reply Eid Mubarak. However, there is no need to use graphic pictures, please!

muhammed | 14 years ago | Reply In Eid , The second photo and third photo means the same in content to me .Eid Mubarak!

Joe | 14 years ago | Reply This is cruelty.

Waqar | 14 years ago | Reply My heartiest greetings to all my Muslim brothers on Eid. Thankyou for your kind wishes and thoughts, SKChadha.

Muhammad Ahsan Khan | 14 years ago | Reply "Pakistan celebrates Eidul Azha, sacrifices continue", and the sacrifices of people of Pakistan will continue. Also the Eid for the Rulers of Pakistan as well as for Army Generals will continue as long as the people of Pakistan do not take their fate in their hands.

Hassan | 14 years ago | Reply Eid Mubarak To All

rikky | 14 years ago | Reply Happy EID, but I am not totally against sacrifices of animals in the name of god.

Qasim | 14 years ago | Reply Thanks SKCHADA . Eid Mubark to All Muslims

Mustafa | 14 years ago | Reply pls change this pic!

SKChadha | 14 years ago | Reply My heartiest greetings to all my Muslim brothers on Eid.

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