Why is it that Abraham's convictions and the depth of his faith in God are never questioned as he gets ready to sacrifice one of his sons Isaac (in the Bible version)? And as the picture above by Caravaggio depicts, such a killing must be performed by slitting the boy's throat! I mean, weren't other methods of 'humanely' killing a human being invented at the time? Why is 'The West' silent when it comes to the bible's 'sacrilegious' content?
Anyway, in the Islamic version only the names of the innocent have been changed. Isaac is Ishmael (the 'other' son). But the story ends the same way. A ram is sacrificed instead when it is determined by God that Abraham had passed the test of his will and determination and love for God...
"I've got the 'ram flu!"
So it is... each year at the festival of Eid al-Adha (or "Kurban Bayrami" in Turkish -- 'Feast of Sacrifice' as loosely translated), sheep and other suggested animals are sacrificed by Muslims, and a portion of the meat is distributed to those in need, as well as neighbors, and friends and family.
Millions of animals are slaughtered each and every day for our own edification all over the world. So this systematic killing and sacrificing of animals on this holy day does not amount to anything we must all condemn.
But the practices employed by some, mostly primitive and unprofessional, have to be stopped. And most religious clergy lately have offered other passages from the holy books as proof, that such mass and public killings must be performed by professional people designated for that purpose, and that children should not be around when the deed is done.
The Islamic clergy in India have even gone as far as to declare that cows should not be sacrificed out of respect for the Hindus. And I commend them for it!
In the U.S., the United States Postal Service introduced the 'Eid' stamp back in 2001, a few months before 9/11. The stamp is still in existence today, and can be obtained via the post office for your holiday needs.
Some people are offended and contend that the post office should not mark 'religious' holidays. But the post office defends its position that Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, as well as Eid are all celebrations of festivals of large communities within the U.S. and therefore do not honor religions or religious observations per se.
People have a right to pick and choose what they don't like I guess, due to the overall hypocrisy and 'sheep' like behavior as displayed unashamedly by some.
Go figure! ... Happy Bayram!
