Eid al-Adha, the festival of the sacrifice, will be celebrated on Monday 12 September, the Muslim Executive of Belgium, EMB, announced on Friday. The EMB, which is the organization that represents Muslims in Belgium, recalled that the festival is “a moment of sharing and openness towards others” whatever their religion or philosophy.
Aid al-Adha, which involves the sacrifice of an animal, commemorates the submission to God of the prophet Abraham, common to the three great monotheistic religions. It symbolizes the day Abraham agreed to sacrifice his only son on God’s instruction but, before the prophet could execute the divine order, God sent a ram at the last minute to replace the child as the offering.
The festival also marks the end of the Hajj, the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, which every Muslim who is physically fit and can afford it, must do at least once in his or her life.
For this year’s festival, the Brussels-Capital Region will organize an abattoir authorized in compliance with the legislation governing animal well-being. Slaughter without stunning will be allowed there.
(Source: Belga)
