Eid al-Adha -- The Muslim 'Festival Of Sacrifice

[مستر محمد سلام]

Eid al-Adha -- The Muslim 'Festival Of Sacrifice




'Radio Free Europe

October 26 marks the Islamic Eid al-Adha festival, which is also known as the "Feast of Sacrifice" in English. Over the course of this holiday period, Muslims across the globe have been slaughtering their best halal animals as a symbolic homage to the willingness of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his first son as an act of supplication to God. (Like the Christian telling of this tale, God thankfully intervened at the last moment and provided Ibrahim with a ram to kill instead). According to some estimates, as many as 100 million animals will be slaughtered across the Muslim world during Eid. As is traditional, a significant portion of the meat from these beasts will be distributed to the poor and needy
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Sheep are corralled for sacrifice near Astana, Kazakhstan.

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Kazakhs prepare for the ritual killing of a sheep during the "Feast of Sacrifice."

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A busy Eid livestock market on the outskirts of Herat, Afghanistan.

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An Afghan vendor holds his goat as he waits for customers at a livestock market ahead of Eid al-Adha in Ghazni province.

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A camel that has been purchased by a customer for Eid al-Adha is hoisted onto a vehicle at a market near Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

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Pakistani men walk with camels they hope to sell at an Eid al-Adha market on the outskirts of Faisalabad.

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A Pakistani livestock trader stands with his cows as he waits for customers in Quetta ahead of Eid al-Adha.

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A Syrian man with a sheep at a market set-up on the outskirts of the northern city of Aleppo.

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People at a market in Diyala, Iraq, look to buy sacrificial animals for the Eid festival.

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A sacrificial Eid al-Adha ram is slaughtered outside Marjani mosque in Kazan, Russia.

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