Christmas Versus Feast of the Sacrifice
Is There an Ethical Difference Between Hidden and Visible Animal Sacrifice?
My friend sent me an article from the Turkish Daily News about this annual Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice, celebrated around Christmas. Turkey is a country in which animal sacrifice is extremely popular, even though it's a secular-ruled democratic nation. But it seems that Turkey is eager to be accepted in the world as a so-called civilized country. It wants to take animal sacrifice to a new, postmodern level. So the government convened a conference on animal sacrifice to discuss what could be done to make it prettier. The irony of this conference is that animal sacrifice is by definition brutal, irrational and primitive, whether it's done by proxy behind closed doors, or in person out in the open.
Take Christmas (please!). Christmas is the most celebrated holiday in the world, in which people of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds or no religious affiliation at all go out and shop 'til they drop, gift each other-including their beloved pets-with useless items ad infinitum, stuff themselves with rich foods ad nauseum, and maybe even pay a brief visit to their local churches, synagogues, mosques or whatever. For a day or two every December, billions of people put violence on hold and think about others. Or do they?
Like Passover, Thanksgiving and Easter, Christmas is a quasi-religious feast of violent animal sacrifice. The only difference between a country like Turkey and a Western country is that instead of buying animals at a market and cutting their throats themselves, Christmas revelers drive to their local supermarkets and purchase their animals plastic-wrapped and pre-sacrificed at slaughterhouses to spare themselves the messiness of spurting blood and agonized death throes. Not much of a difference, is there? Then they get together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ (who wasn't even born in December) by gorging on the bloodless, headless animals while spouting warm, fuzzy phrases like "Peace on earth, good will to men." What about good will to animals? As I recall, animals were part of the Nativity scene. Doesn't it follow that they should be honored instead of devoured?
At the Turkish conference, one erudite speaker, Dr. Yasin Aktay, suggested that the government hide the sacrificial animals from the world by sending them to "professional religious slaughterhouses" (now there's an oxymoron) to be killed-adding, "Some fear that this will destroy the spirit of the practice, but I don't agree. We have to reproduce our religious values within the context of contemporary life." Amen and Praise Allah! Twenty-first century animal sacrifice as squeamish, civilized Westerners practice it just might be the wave of the future for Turkey, the Western wannabe. Hey, that's progress, folks! Merry Christmas!
Published by Barbara Joan Baxter
Barbara Joan is a freelance writer/editor/publisher/webhead and the proud guardian of ten dogs and cats. Books of poems and a memoir are in the works. View profile
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11 Comments
Post a CommentChristian, I'm not clear on what your point is, but I believe that tormenting and killing animals for any reason, no matter what religion you happen to be (Muslim, Christian, Hindu, etc.) or culture you happen to live in (East, West, wherever), is unethical. Period. I don't care how people interpret words in the Bible or Koran or any other book, it's simply wrong.
you are reading about a Muslim custom, in a muslim country.
Christ came to us as the Last Blood Sacrifice, the Gospels prove this with over 2000 manuscripts. He aslo gave us the scripture that we are now the tabernacle, and are to keep it pure for him to reside in.
The good news is that The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is currently investigating the abuses: http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=160156
Here's a comment from a friend of mine who lives in Turkey and observes this annual horror firsthand: That annual "sacrifice" is a horrible sight. Part of the parking lot of the supermarket is roped off. The sheep are brought in and lined up to have their throats cut. They are lined up for days. The smell of blood is everywhere, and they know what is happening -- or what is going to happen to them. And the people all treat it as a joyous affair, good wholesome entertainment for the kiddies. It has a carnival atmosphere. And of course everyone is utterly oblivious to the death and suffering they are inflicting. And this country wants to join the European Union!
Thanks, Alison. I'm glad somebody agrees with me on this issue! ;)
Great article and thanks for speaking out for the animals who have no voice or any recourse to save themselves. It's about time we all acted like civilized and compassionate beings. Keep writing.
Yeah, but you don't gotta eat meat! And how can animal murder be holy? Thanks for commenting, R.J.
Sorry, but for some reason I was never notified that I had comments on this article (typical AC goof-up). I'm not a fan of Christmas waste either, Tsu, but murdering animals under the guise of religion is unethical, plain and simple. You're very literal, aren't you? A holiday by any other name, including its "proper" Muslim one, is the same old cruelty, and whether it happens in June or December, and whether the Muslim calendar is the same or different from others, and whether the poor are given pieces of the bloody mess, are also irrelevant to my premise and not an effective argument against it. I have no gripe against religions in general, but I certainly have a problem about killing animals because of some kind of misguided idea that "God" wants it.
Oh my! Maybe it's the actual act of killing the beasts that the Turks find holy.
Hey, you gotta eat!
It's less wasteful than Christmas trees, wrapping paper, and toys that break in a week. Much of the meat is given to the poor, and the skins are tanned and used. BTW, the proper name is Eid al-Adha, and it is not celebrated "around Christmas time". It starts on the 10th day of the month of Dhul Hijja, which by coincidence, overlaps December at least this year. Islamic calendar is about 354 days, so their festivals are not any given season like ours.