9, August 2019
More than two million Muslims begin Hajj pilgrimage 0
Muslims gathered from around the globe in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia have begun this year’s Hajj pilgrimage.
According to local media, about 2.5 million believers are participating in the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which started on Friday.
Each and every able-bodied Muslim, male or female, is required to complete the religious trip at least once in their lifetime if they also have the sufficient financial capacity to do so.
The nearly month-long pilgrimage features various rites, including stoning a column representing the devil, sacrificing sheep in remembrance of Prophet Abraham’s offered sacrifice, and Tawaf, which consists of walking and praying around the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
‘An indescribable feeling’
“It’s an indescribable feeling. You have to live it to understand it,” said an Algerian pilgrim describing his first time taking part in the spiritual trip.
“It’s a golden opportunity and moment,” said his female companion.
The gathering is also seen as a symbol of Muslim unity, with all participants required to wear a simple and identical outfit during the processions.
The clothing consists of a two-piece white seamless garment for men, and a loose cover-all dress for women.
Muslim scholars have pointed that the simple attire, along with other aspects of the pilgrimage, are meant to express unity and the humility of the Muslim Ummah — the Muslim people as a whole — towards God.
The pilgrimage ends with the start of Eid al-Adha, also known as the “Festival of Sacrifice”.
Saudis fear political opposition
This year’s Hajj takes place as the country is marred in a number of conflicts with its neighbors and faces the prospect of popular expressions of discontent.
The kingdom’s push to normalize relations with Israel and further isolate the Palestinian cause in taking part in the US-backed so-called “deal of the century” has been specifically met with anger in many Muslim countries.
Saudi officials have consequently warned pilgrims to avoid any political topics during the pilgrimage, despite the belief held by many Islamic scholars that the Hajj is in fact intended to be an opportunity for Muslims to discuss social and political issues affecting the Ummah.
“Leave all other matters in your countries to discuss,” said Mecca Governor Prince Khalid al-Faisal earlier this week.
Riyadh has also faced strong criticism for its mismanagement of the Hajj specifically after thousands of pilgrims died in a tragic human crush incident in 2015.
Saudi authorities gave an initial tally of 770 deaths and then stopped updating that figure, even as official counts from individual countries whose nationals had died in the incident rose to more than a total of 2,400 individuals, reaching nearly 5,000 deaths according to some reports.
At least 464 Iranians lost their lives in the incident.
Source: Presstv
11, August 2019
Ambazonia Crisis Pushes Muslims To Go for Substitutes As Sacrificial Sheep are Scarce 0
Cameroon Muslims are looking for alternatives for the sacrifice as recommended by prophet Muhammad on the day of the Eid al-Adha feast. Sheep, traditionally slaughtered, have become very scarce as a result of the Boko Haram conflict and separatist war in the country’s main production areas.
Hundreds of Muslims are buying food stuffs from the popular market called “Marche Huitieme” in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde in preparation for the feast of sacrifice.
In Cameroon, large numbers of sacrificial animals, especially sheep, are slaughtered and their meat distributed to the poor as a religious tradition in Islam.
41-year old Abdoul Aziz says for the first time in 20 years, he will not have a sheep to sacrifice.
He says with the scarcity of sheep, he has decided to buy either a she or he goat. He says he does not want to miss a religious rite just because prices of the few sheep he has seen have increased drastically. He says the prices of goats are also increasing.
Aziz said because of the scarcity, some families are buying chickens, leading to arguments on whether the substitution is religiously correct.
Mohaman Aboubakar, assistant Imam of Yaounde’s central Mosque says Islam allows people to adjust with the changing times.
Imam Aboubakar says their religion finds nothing wrong if Cameroon Muslims who can not find the sheep they traditionally bought to slaughter in honor of Abraham’s willingness to slay his son Ishmael at Allah’s request, turn to goats and fowls today. He says the scarcity that started so many years ago with camels is now affecting cows and sheep.
Most of the sheep sold in Cameroon towns comes from the area around the central African state’s northern border with Nigeria that has been suffering Boko Haram atrocities, or from the English speaking Northwest and Southwest regions where separatists have been fighting to create an English speaking state, or neighboring Chad.
Issa Tchiroma, Cameroon minister of employment and vocational training, and a Muslim, says the crises the country is facing has had negative impacts on livestock production.
He says many people have escaped from ranches in the far north region of Cameroon due to Boko Haram terrorism, and from the English speaking north west region because of the war against separatist groups. He says on Cameroon’s border with Nigeria alone, close to five five thousand cattle and an unknown number of sheep have been stolen by Boko Haram terrorists.
In 2016, the World Bank approved a $100 million fund to help Cameroon improve the productivity and competitiveness of livestock production over six years. It said besides replenishing what had been lost as a result of the Boko Haram conflict, the program would help build resilience to climate change and improve the nutrition status of vulnerable populations.
Last July, Cameroon began distributing 60,000 goats and sheep to young people in villages along the border with Nigeria to provide livestock for a basic income, and replenish what has been lost in order to stop the Islamist militant group from recruiting the youths.
More than a thousand Mbororos, who are indigenous people in Cameroon have also fled their cattle ranches following repeated attacks and seizure of their cattle by separatists fighting for the creation of an English speaking state. The Mbororos say they are victimized and killed because they refuse to join the fight.
Source: VOA