Das Opferfest + mein verschlossenes Herz

[malaika]

The pleasant massacre of sheep


It is Eid el-Adha again! Kids wearing new clothes, adults conducting Eid prayers as soon as the sun rises, and relatives, neighbors and friends exchange Eid salutes and congratulations with much happiness and excitement. Yet, the most important feature is the sheep and other sacrificial animals – e.g. buffalo and cow – slaughtered, literally, in every single street of Egypt.

Walking randomly in Cairo’s streets on the morning of the first day of Eid el-Adha might give you the impression that a massacre has taken place. Blood is poured into streets and you should be very careful while walking in order not to get wet. You also should cover your nose well in order not to get offended by the smell of flesh and blood coming from every house. Butchers are moving from one house to another with blood on their big knifes and white galabiyas.

As an essential ritual of Eid el-Adha, some might see such a blood bath as a reason for joy and celebration. Although I am a devout Muslim, I still cannot see this horrible scene but a group of bloody people killing innocent animals in a very savage, immoral, and unsanitary way. Seeing a sheep slaughtered in a previous Eid el-Adha, when I was a kid, is the reason why I do not eat. I am sure I am not alone in this!

A random thought came across my mind on the night of Eid el-Adha about the Egyptian government and the slaughtering habit. I expected – or wished – the Ministry of Health would prevent the slaughtering sheep and other animals outside licensed butchers. Since July, after the appearance of the H1N1 virus, or Swine Flu, the Egyptian government has banned most of the usual activities of people in similar religious celebrations and public places. For example, the government banned holding Sufi celebrations of the birthdays of some Sufi figures. This was very offensive to Sufis who had to cancel their celebrations for the sake of keeping public health. The government also banned smoking sheesha, or water-pipes, in several coffee shops, including those in tourist places, like Khan El-Khalily and the Hussein area. It is expected that such a ban would result in negative effects of tourism in the city.

Likewise, the Ministry of Health should have banned the random slaughtering of animals at citizen’s houses or in streets; not only for pollution reasons, but also for moral reasons.

Actually, it is absolute insanity to attribute such a habit of slaughtering at one’s home to their divine record of good deeds! Some might claim that this is about following the steps of Prophet Muhammad, who used to watch the sacrifice of animals slaughtered at his house. A very clear fact that people usually tend to ignore while trying to follow Prophet’s habits is that he lived in a Bedouin society, in the desert. Slaughtering sheep was something that happened all the time then.

Nevertheless, we are in the 21st century now, with all the professional, clean, and sterilized butchers. Why do we need to butcher animals at our houses, then? There is no logic in slaughtering animals in such a primitive way, which might cause the spread of infections and increase the possibility of the meat spoiling, no need to mention the sight of pollution. If it is a ritual, we should find safe and healthy ways to practice it.

On the morning of the first day of Eid el-Adha, while watching the sheep from my house and other houses in my street herded, without resistance, to a spot at the end of the street to be slaughtered, they reminded me of the submissive majority of my country, who are not willing to show any resistance against the tyrants who drive them, slowly but surely, to their definite end. Like sheep, they are stronger, but still do not want to resist the man driving them with a stick from behind or the man waiting for them with a big knife at the other end.



http://bikyamasr.com/?p=6141

[Musafira]

Ich glaube nicht, daß Du zum Einkaufen nach Den Haag fahren möchtest

also ich waere - zumindest von NRW aus - durchaus faehig zum Einkaufen nach Den Haag zu fahren Fuer derartige Schandtaten bin ich eigentlich immer zu haben

[Birtanem]

Für eine ausgedehnte Shoppingtour, ja. Aber um ein Kilo Hackfleisch zu kaufen?

[starlight1210]

Zeit hätte ich auch, aber die Spritpreise.

[Musafira]

Für eine ausgedehnte Shoppingtour, ja. Aber um ein Kilo Hackfleisch zu kaufen?

OK
Ich haette aber auch kein Problem damit, aus 1 kg Hackfleisch eine ausgedrehnte Shoppingtour zu machen
Gut, aber die Spritpreise in Europa hatte ich vergessen

[starlight1210]

Bin ein wenig verwirrt. Wo wohnst du denn? Dachte, NRW?

Anja

[Musafira]

Bin ein wenig verwirrt. Wo wohnst du denn? Dachte, NRW?

Anja

nee, viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel weiter oestlich

[Subrosa]

Jenseits von Afrika, eben.

[Arife]

Nochmal zu dem Türkischen Schlachter:
Mit der Sauberkeit ist es bei dem den ich kenne glaube ich okay. Aber ich weiß nicht genau wo die ihr Fleisch herbekommen. Zur Pute meinte er einmal (hat sowieso voll blöd geguckt als ich das gefragt habe) dass Geflügel aus Holland kommt. Aber das soll da doch nicht so toll sein oder? Und der Rest keine Ahnung, hat er irgendwie nicht wirklich beantwortet. Und ich habe so meine Befürchtungen dass sie da Massentierhaltung betreiben. Und darauf habe ich gar kein Bock

[rotermangold]

Helal+öko+sauber?

Berlin, Wedding, Nähe Bilal-Moschee
(dort bei den Frauen nachfragen)
masalame

[Musafira]

Nochmal zu dem Türkischen Schlachter:
Mit der Sauberkeit ist es bei dem den ich kenne glaube ich okay. Aber ich weiß nicht genau wo die ihr Fleisch herbekommen. Zur Pute meinte er einmal (hat sowieso voll blöd geguckt als ich das gefragt habe) dass Geflügel aus Holland kommt. Aber das soll da doch nicht so toll sein oder? Und der Rest keine Ahnung, hat er irgendwie nicht wirklich beantwortet. Und ich habe so meine Befürchtungen dass sie da Massentierhaltung betreiben. Und darauf habe ich gar kein Bock

Das IST Massentierhaltung.

[malaika]

Das hat mich gerade an diesen Thread erinnert.

Opferfest in Nepal Das Tiermassaker von Bariyapur

[malaika]

Es ist wieder soweit … in einer knappen Woche ist Opferfest, und ich habe schon beim Gedanken daran einen Kloß im Magen. Eigentlich wäre ich gerne über die Feiertage in den Sinai gefahren, aber da ich kurz vorher umziehe, brauche ich die Zeit um mich einzurichten.

Wahrscheinlich werde ich mich zwei Tage lang im Haus verbarrikadieren.

[malaika]

Australia says no Aussie sheep for slaughter in Egypt


CAIRO: The streets will run red with blood. Thousands of sheep will be slaughtered. It is part of the religious tradition of Eid al-Adha, but Australia says they won’t be sending Aussie sheep to Egypt for the Islamic feast. The move has been praised by animal groups in Australia and across the world, but condemned by scholars and Egyptians.

Animals Australia was the most ardent proponent of the ban, criticizing the Egyptian government over their use of the animals.

“Vision of sheep tied to roof racks of cars, bound and shoved into car boots in extreme temperatures, and trussed on their backs in trucks shocked the Australian public and proved the new Memorandum of Understanding between Egypt and Australia—in which the Egyptian government committed to treating Australian animals in accordance with international standards—worthless,” the Australian-based animal rights organization said in a statement on its website.

But, in Egypt, where the Islamic holiday is taken as a necessity, Islamic scholars at al-Azhar – the Arab world’s most prominent Islamic authority – are becoming increasingly angry with the ban, saying it is an anti-religious stance based in “racist” ideology.

Sheikh Yussif Gama’a from al-Azhar, told Bikya Masr that the Australian government is “participating in more anti-Islam behavior that has nothing to do with animal welfare.”

He argued that sheep that are sacrificed in the feast are given the “utmost care and humanely killed for the purpose of progressing one’s faith.”

The move to not export thousands of sheep to Egypt will mean less animals available for the slaughter, but Goma’a says Egypt will be able to secure other sources for the “important Islamic holiday.”

A spokesman for the ministry of agriculture said that Australia has long been concerned about the impact of the long voyage that animals must make to Egypt and “this was largely part of the issue. We have to come to a compromise in order to keep our traditions.”

The official, who did not give his name, said that “Islamic tradition is important and all Egyptians who are Muslim believe in the right to fulfill our religious obligations.”

But report after report from Animals Australia and other rights groups have said otherwise. They have shown video of cattle trampling one another on the ship to Egypt and have demanded an end to the “horrific conditions animals are placed into” when being exported to the Middle East.

In 2005, Australia did put a moratorium on cattle live exports to Egypt, but in the past year, this ban has been lifted.

Egypt currently imports all cattle for meat.

“As a direct result of Animals Australia’s exposure of cruel treatment in Egypt, tens of thousands of Australian sheep will be spared unimaginable cruelty, while international outrage at Egyptian treatment of animals has sparked nation-wide public and political focus in Egypt about the importance of animal welfare,” Animals Australia added.


http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=19026


Eid al-Adha 2008 in Cairo (Warning: Graphic Images)

[Dilara]

Die Neuseeländer haben - soweit ich weiß - beschlossen, keine lebenden Schafe mehr zum Schlachtfest zu exportieren