Mosques were filled with people who performed their Eid al-Adha prayers, and celebrated their holiday.
Turkey began to celebrate four-day Eid al-Adha holiday, or Feast of Sacrifice.
Besides Turkey; Macedonia and Albania began to celebrate Eid al-Adha today, while other Islamic countries will begin to celebrate on October 26, and Pakistan, India and Bangladesh on October 27 due to different calculating methods in Islamic calendar, or Hijri calendar.
Early in the morning, mosques were filled with people who performed their Eid al-Adha prayers, and celebrated their holiday.
President Abdullah Gul is celebrating the holiday in Ankara, while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul.
Gul performed his prayer in Sungulu Mosque in capital, and celebrated the holiday with the people in the mosque.
Premier Erdogan, who performed his prayer in Mimar Sinan Mosque in Istanbul, expressed hope that the terrorism in Turkey and the violence in Syria would end soon and peace would prevail in the region.
Eid al-Adha or Feast of the Sacrifice is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honor the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep to sacrifice instead.
The basis for the Eid al-Adha comes from the 196th verse of sura 2 (Al-Baqara) of the Quran.
Eid al-Adha celebrations start after the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descent from Mount Arafat.
The meat from the sacrificed animal is divided into three parts. The family retains one third of the share; another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbors; and the other third is given to the poor and needy. The regular charitable practices of the Muslim community are demonstrated during Eid al-Adha by concerted efforts to see that no impoverished person is left without an opportunity to partake in the sacrificial meal during these days.
Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. Being a purely lunar calendar, it is not synchronized with the seasons. With an annual drift of 10 or 11 days, the seasonal relation repeats about every 33 Islamic years.
Turkey begins its celebration of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha on Tuesday. The festival of sacrifice is traditionally marked by families killing sheep or cattle. But with the price of meat rising to an alarming levels over the past few weeks, there has been a a public outcry.
Muslims around the world will observe Eid al-Ahda, the major Muslim festival marking the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and a remembrance prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice of his son, now symbolized by the slaughtering of sheep, (File)
A buyer and seller are shaking hands while haggling over the price of livestock. As tradition dictates the grip is broken only when a deal is struck. This scenario is being repeated all over the country as more than two and half million sheep and cattle will be sacrificed during the Eid al-Adha festival.
This year, however, the haggling has hit a snag as sky high meat prices factor in. Mehmet Tas came here to buy an animal to sacrifice, but will go home empty handed:
We came here to get an animal for sacrifice but the prices are too high, he says. Much higher than the price fixed by the state. So we can’t buy. The price goes up to $2000.
And, the sellers are taking a hit as well. At this market in Istanbul, Sinan Gul tells me there are too few buyers. He traveled 300 kilometer to sell his animals.
There is no buyer now. Nobody buys now, he says, but we can we do. It’s so expensive now for us to bring up animals, and the cost of bring them here.
Last month, Turkey’s religious affairs directorate called on people to not refrain from sacrificing animals as it may further drive up the country’s high meat prices. But under pressure from the government, he immediately withdrew the call.
Despite government claims of no shortages, the price of meat has more than doubled in the last the two years. And they continue to rise.
Over the weekend, TV political programs were filled with discussions about why the price of meat continues to rise. Some blame the sellers for hoarding in a bid to drive prices higher; while others blame Middle Eastern nation’s for buying Turkey’s stock. Other suggest global warning is to blame.
Regardless, the government is feeling the heat, especially as many of its supporters are religiously conservative.
In a bid to bring down prices, the government has eased a ban on importing livestock. Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker promised things will be brought under control.
Yes prices are exaggerated but I am sure things will settle down. This happens every year. The Meat and Fish Authority imported 20,000 animals to Istanbul alone, he says.
Turkey has imported animals from as far as South America. Most have come from neighboring European countries. But, despite the effort, prices remain stubbornly high.
Many, such as Abdullah Kaptan, are left hoping to find a late bargain.
This is not a realistic price for an animal, it’s just too high so we will wait, he says. If it is financially possible we will sacrifice. If not we won’t. We can’t sacrifice for such a higher price.
But analysts warns that bargains are in short supply this year, meaning many will have to forgo the tradition of sacrifice.
via VOA | Rising Meat Prices in Turkey Put Crimp on Eid Festival | Middle East | English.
Charity in Islam takes many forms. It can even be the meat and skin of an animal sacrificed during the Feast of the Sacrifice holiday
This picture depicts a chief physician in his robes at one of the hospitals in Istanbul during the Ottoman era. The development of the Muslim trust served to advance education at the same time that it offered health care and food for the needy.
Giving to the poor and less fortunate is nothing new. It may be as old as mankind. Even institutionalizing it isn’t new and forms of it such as trusts and endowments are known as far back as the time of Zoroaster (11th or 10th century B.C.) in present-day Iran.
The rise of Islam presented a challenge in the need to find tools for society based on the Quran. There are a few lines in the Muslim holy book that refer to giving.
“And be steadfast in your prayer and pay charity; whatever good you send forth for your future, you shall find it with God, for God is well aware of what you do” (Quran 2:110). “Those who bestow their wealth in the way of God are like the grain of corn that sprouts seven ears, a hundred grains in every ear. So God multiplies for those whom he will” (Quran 2:263).
“Whatever good you do surely God has knowledge of it. Those who expend their wealth night and day, openly or secretly, their reward awaits them with their Lord” (Quran 2:275). “You will not attain true piety until you voluntarily give of that which you love and whatever you give, God knows of it” (Quran 3:86).
Following on what is said in the Quran, charity can only be given in the form of money if that money has been lawfully earned. As one scholar has pointed out, there’s no concept of robbing the rich to pay the poor as one sees in the western concept of Robin Hood.
The concept of ownership of wealth in Islam is that all wealth, after necessary personal and family expenses, belongs to God. It is up to the individual to decide how much of this excess wealth he should give back to the cause of God; if he or she does not give some of it, then it is claimed by Satan. Similarly all land belonged to the political ruler who could give it and reclaim it as he saw fit. One could argue that the Ottoman sultan as the caliph or highest religious figure in the empire had the right to claim it for his own.
Philanthropy thus was for God alone and mankind had the duty to carry it out but not for the sake of how he would look in God’s eyes. That would be tantamount to trying to bribe God through good works into granting the donor eternal life.
Over the centuries, two types of Islamic charity have arisen. One is zakah or zakat and is one of the five main elements of Islam enjoined on Muslims everywhere. It refers to an obligatory donation to charity and is something like 2.5 percent of a person’s net worth and has to be donated every year on the first day of Ramadan or one of the ensuing days of that holiday. However, according to Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, this need not be at any specific date or time of the year. The only stipulation is that a whole lunar year passes since the money was acquired. The other form of Islamic charity is sadaqah, or voluntary charity, which depends on need and the amount of excess wealth.
Turks today don’t give zakat as they believe that they are giving it in the form of taxes. Times really have changed. For the really religious person however, he may still donate part of his earnings but perhaps to a charitable foundation of his choice instead.
The development of the Muslim trust or vakıf (trust foundation) served to advance education and scholarship at the same time that it offered health care and food for the needy. It also represented patronage and a way of helping rulers who quite frequently were military conquerors find favor with the masses they ruled. For instance after the tenth century virtually all of the rulers were of Turkish origin in Persian, Arab and Byzantine countries. They needed the loyalty of organized groups who might be willing to make common cause with them and this became the academics and the mystic orders for the most part and especially among the Ottoman Turks.
In Istanbul, the greatest trusts were those set up by the sultans and centered around the imperial mosques. Government officials were also involved in such building projects although on a lesser scale. These started with the mosque built by Fatih Sultan Mehmed which was surrounded by one and two story buildings that housed schools starting with the primary grades through the equivalent of university. There also were hospitals and hospices, a soup kitchen, pharmacy, library and other types of services. Evliya Çelebi, the 17th century travel writer, speaks of the complex services for the poor, the sick, the homeless, the wayfarer and the mentally ill. [For a much more complete view of the Fatih complex and other such complexes, see Istanbul Şifahaneleri, the Sifahnes of Istanbul that has just been published by the Istanbul Culture Corp.]
This year, as usual, the Turkish Aviation Association, or THK, is appealing to everyone to remember that the skins of any slaughtered animal have to be donated by law to it. Since the skins can be sold, the THK has had difficulties in the past in combating people who drive around in trucks illegally collecting skins. The THK website as well this year states that it will not participate in the ritual slaughter of animals outside of Turkey by proxy. The money that it earns from providing such a service in Turkey is distributed as follows: 50 percent to the Social Assistance and Support Foundation Ministries, four percent to the Turkish Red Crescent, three percent to the Social Services and Children’s Protection Association, three percent to the Turkish Religious Affairs Foundation and 40 percent to the THK. The organization for example has over the years been able to distribute nearly half a million pieces of meat to needy families.
The Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate in contrast has suggested that rather than purchase an animal here, people wanting to perform a charitable act ought to send money to specially designated bank accounts. From there it would be transferred to Pakistan where it would be used to help the victims of this year’s disastrous flooding purchase animals for sacrifice.
Given the uncertainties caused by the global economic crisis, it will be interesting to see how charitable people in Turkey are this year. One hopes for the best.
Vegetarianism has been practiced since ancient times for ethical reasons, health concerns, and recently for economic and environmental ones. Hürriyet photo
Many vegetarians in Turkey find themselves in a tough spot this week, torn between their religious and dietary practices as their countrymen sacrifice animals to mark the Kurban Bayram (Feast of the Sacrifice) holiday.
“Even members of the Vegetarians Club in Istanbul sacrifice animals for Kurban Bayram,” Ebru Arıman, the group’s chairwoman, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
The holiday, which traditionally involves slaughtering a sheep or cow as a way of honoring God, does not only create qualms among vegetarians, Arıman added. She said even people who normally eat meat sometimes oppose the ritual sacrifice of animals due to physical and psychological pain the livestock experience.
“Although sacrificing will keep being practiced on religious grounds, one must make sure this is not turned into a painful process,” Berfin Melikoğlu, an ethics professor at Ondokuz Mayıs University’s Veterinary Faculty in the Black Sea province of Samsun, told the Daily News. Calling animal welfare essential, she said sheep or cows should be treated well before and during the sacrifice. In addition, she said, the slaughtering “must be done out of children’s sight” in order not to create emotional or psychological harm.
“Looking it at from an animal-rights point of view, I personally believe [animals’] lives must not be taken through sacrificing,” Seçil Aracı, a vegetarian and a philosophy Ph.D. candidate at Boğazici University in Istanbul, told the Daily News. She agreed with Melikoğlu that if people really believe they have to sacrifice animals to meet their religious obligations, it must be done properly, causing a minimum level of physical or psychological pain.
Though the ritual slaughtering during the Kurban Bayram holiday has become controversial, some believe the story behind the tradition actually highlights the importance of animals. The holiday commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God, who gave him a ram to sacrifice instead. “Thus, sacrificing an animal is as dear as sacrificing one’s own child, as interpreted in the thesis of Adil Bor, a professor at Haseki Theological Education Center in Istanbul,” Aracı said.
Turkish vegetarians such as Aracı are not only focused on the Kurban Bayram holiday, but also fighting throughout the year for the rights of animals, that they say are often mistreated in industrial farms before they end up on dinner tables.
“In my childhood, I believed that animals have rights too, but I did not know how far this notion could be extended,” Aracı told the Daily News. She decided to become a vegetarian four years ago, after her research for her master thesis showed her how animals were treated in factory farms. “I had doubts in the beginning as to whether I could survive without eating meat,” she said, adding that no excuse was enough to clear her conscience about the terrible treatment animals receive in such facilities.
According to Aracı, people have been eating the meat of animals for a very long time, without even questioning the fact that animals are as aware of their existence as human beings are of theirs. Animals have cognitive abilities that allow them to build social relations among themselves and with people, Aracı said. “Even the concept of grand-parenting exists in cows,” she added.
Even on farms that are considered “modern,” animals experience a lot of psychological and physical violence, said Karanfil Soyhun, a philosophy professor at Boğaziçi University. She told the Daily News in a recent interview that they suffer broken bones, are injected with hormones to make them grow more than normal and experience pain during the milking process. Soyhun has been a lacto-vegetarian – someone who consumes no animal products other than milk – for about three years and said she was planning to soon quit consuming milk and milk products to protest the treatment of animals at dairy farms.
“Eating animals is a luxury,” Soyhun said, adding that although most people believe eating meat is essential for their health, many studies show the opposite to be true. “Sometimes [eating meat] can even be harmful for our health,” she said.
Turkish doctors generally share the common view that eating meat is essential, Arıman told the Daily News, adding that she has been a vegetarian for five years and has been healthy the entire time. “Although the variety of food is more limited for vegetarians, we can get all nourishment necessary for a healthy life from vegetables,” she said, adding that Turkish doctors should be more aware in this regard.
Vegetarianism has been practiced since ancient times not only for ethical reasons, but due to nutritional and health concerns, and recently for economic and environmental ones as well. “Raising animals [for food] is one of the main factors that cause global warming,” Soyhun said, noting the contribution of factory farms to climate-changing emissions. According to a 2006 study by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation worldwide, and modern practices of raising animals for food contribute on a “massive scale” to air and water pollution, land degradation, climate change and loss of biodiversity.
In addition, Aracı said, raising animals for food is not economically efficient and its elimination would significantly contribute to reducing global poverty. “We [consume meat] thinking it tastes good, without considering the economic rationale behind it,” she said, adding that limiting meat consumption would allow resources to be reallocated to resolve poverty issues all over the globe.
With the Kurban Bayram holiday this week, many people across Turkey are shopping for sacrificial beasts to give thanks, in turn then sharing their bounty with neighbors and people in need. In an effort to clean up the activities, an Istanbul district has set up an animal bazaar and slaughtering facilities. Having a good sense is significant when purchasing a sacrificial animal and checking its nails, noses, skin and weight are important, says one salesman.
DAILY NEWS photo, Hasan ALTINIŞIK
The commotion has reached a fevered pitch at an animal bazaar in Istanbul’s Küçükçekmece Municipality, where buyers and sellers are converging to haggle over sacrificial beasts ahead of the Kurban Bayram holiday on Tuesday.
The flurry of bargaining and the flood of people is matched by the ruckus in dozens of 100-square-meter pens where rams and bulls try to escape through wooden fences and salesmen have to beat them back with a stick from time to time to keep them contained.
The temporary animal market set up by the municipality in the Sefaköy neighborhood consists of 40 tents accommodating the pens and the thousands of rams and bulls being bought and sold for the upcoming Feast of the Sacrifice. The market also has four mobile container structures dedicated to sacrificing the animals.
Bayram Bozbay, an Istanbul resident, said he had come to the market to purchase a bull to share with six people and smiled as he shook hands with the salesman. During the bargain, Bozbay told the man to “make it straight,” hoping he would round down to the next whole hundred, but the salesman would not budge. Bozbay paid 7,350 Turkish Liras for a 350-kilogram bull.
“We will sacrifice this bull on the morning of the feast and distribute some to the poor,” said Bozbay on Thursday. “Then we plan to invite relatives for a big meal and visit our neighbors to celebrate their bayram’s afterward.”
The Religious Affairs Directorate has this year made a large effort to clean up bayram activities and prohibited animal sacrifices on the streets following bloody scenes and numerous injuries in previous years. The directorate has declared that only professional butchers and people who have completed municipal certification courses are allowed to perform sacrifices.
As part of its efforts, the directorate has hired 24 professional butchers to work at the market and brought in four fully equipped mobile slaughtering houses, two of which are reserved for charity foundations.
“We charge 200 liras to sacrifice a bull,” said Salih Erdem, the head butcher. Nearby, salesmen offer a wide variety of knives, hooks and choppers for sale on portable stands or out of the trunks of their cars.
Market trouble
To increase the cleanliness of the Kurban activities, animals from eastern Turkey have been banned from the European side of Istanbul because of the risk for foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious viral disease carried by cloven-hoofed animals.
“The rams and bulls brought from Thrace to prevent foot-and-mouth disease were not enough. I couldn’t bring any animals from the East,” said Şerif Gürsoy, a 35-year-old stockbreeder, complaining about not selling enough animals this year.
“I brought 70 rams and 17 bulls that I raised from Edirne. In five days, I have sold 55 of them,” Gürsoy said, adding that many customers would not bargain this year due to the low number of animals on the market.
He said he charges 13 liras per kilogram for rams and 12 liras per kilogram for bulls, but that he would barely profit in the end because of the high rent for the tents. He said he couldn’t afford to rent his tent for more than 10 days.
Having a good sense about a ram or a bull is a significant element when purchasing a sacrificial animal, Murat Çoşkun, 50, said, and checking the sheep’s nails, noses, skin and weight are important. “The sheep should be energetic and restless. Look at the imported animals; they are immobile. I believe they were injected with hormones,” he said.
Ahmet Uysal, 40, a salesman who brought sheep from Bulgaria, however, said people started rumors about the imported animals to increase the prices for locally raised sacrificial animals.
“I think there are enough animals in Turkey, yet people are trying to charge more money by saying the stock is low,” said Uysal, adding that he has sold 1,000 sheep so far. “I charge 10 liras per kilogram for sheep,” he said, demonstrating that his prices are cheaper.
Meanwhile, 25-year-old Orkun Özbey and 25-year-old Erkan Kaya said all the prices at the animal bazaar were too high. They said they would drive to Lüleburgaz, in Thrace’s Kırklareli province, to get a reasonable deal at the provincial branch of the state-owned Meat & Fish Enterprise, or EBK.
“Here, one seller tried to sell us a bull for 5,800 liras. We certainly won’t spend that much by driving to Lüleburgaz. Driving and shipping altogether will cost about 200 liras,” said Özbey.
Besides prices, some people complained about the facilities and services the municipality offered at the market. Çoşkun said he spends every night in the tent with the animals, hay and feed.
“I paid 4,000 liras to rent this tent, but the municipality hasn’t provided any water, light or toilet services,” Çoşkun said. “I have performed this job for 40 years, and I haven’t benefited from any kind of services this year. We will take this to court after the holiday. Last year, we were renting a stand for 2,000 liras, and now it has doubled.”
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – A congregational prayer ceremony will be held in Zeynabieh Mosque, Istanbul,on November 16, on the occasion of Eid-al-Adha (the Festival of Sacrifice).
According to Zenabiyeh Website, the Cultural and Educational center of the Mosque has announced that the event will take place at 7:00 a.m on Tuesday and attended by devotees of Ahl-u-l Bayt (AS).
Some 10000 Shia Muslims participated in the Eid-ol-Fitr prayer ceremony in the Zeynabieh Mosque back in September.
The Zeynabieh Mosque is one of the biggest religious and spiritual centers in Europe.
Eid al-Adha is celebrated annually on the 10th day of the last Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah. Eid al-Adha celebrations start after the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide.
