REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Al Azhar Mosque in Jakarta plans to distribute sacrifice cattle (qurban) meat among villagers in the islands of Sumatra, Java, Papua, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali and Nusa Tenggara. Al Azhar Foundation chairman, Shabah Syamsi, stated here on Sunday that the mosque had slaughtered 12 cows and 148 lambs.
The mosque, he added, would slaughter a total of 27 cows and 526 lambs during the Eid Al-Adha (Islamic Day of Sacrifice) from August 11 to 14. After slaughtering hundreds of cattle, the mosque would distribute the meat among the have nots in Greater Jakarta, Pandeglang District in Banten Province, Purwakarta, Bandung, West Bandung and Cianjur Districts in West Java Province.
Not only in West Java, the sacrifice meat will also be sent to the have nots in Wonogiri, Brebes, Klaten, Magelang, and Cilacap Districts, Central Java Province, Sleman and Kulon Progo Districts, Yogyakarta Special Province, as well as Surabaya and Kediri in East Java Province. The chairman also said that the Al Azhar Mosque would also distribute the meat to Padang City in West Sumatra, Donggala District in Central Sulawesi, Gowa District in South Sulawesi, Bedugul in Bali, North Lombok, South Timor and Flores in East Nusa Tenggara, and Jayapura City in Papua.
Slaughtering cattle and distributing the meat to the have nots are part of the rituals performed during Eid Al-Adha. Referring to verses in the Quran, the slaughter is aimed to commemorate the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim or Abraham who sacrificed his son, Prophet Ismail, on God's command.
As the second annual celebration on the Islamic calendar, Eid Al-Adha marks the completion of Hajj in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, while in other countries, Muslim communities will slay a few mammals such as cattle, goat, or lamb as a symbol of obedience to the Almighty God. In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, Eid Al-Adha is a public holiday. Besides Indonesia, the sacrifice day is also celebrated in other Muslim-majority states such as the Middle East, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, and Afghanistan.
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