Eid-Al-Ahda

Yearly, the Muslims only celebrate two religious holidays: at the end of Ramadan and on the 10th day of the last Islamic Month. Those days move each year since the Muslim calendar is based on the lunar months. Eid-Al-Ahda commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son, following an order from God, but instead Abraham sacrificed a ram. The Bible has the same retelling but Christians do not celebrate it. On this holy day of remembrance, the Muslims will celebrate by slaughtering a sheep, the halal way. That means the sheep will face toward Mecca and won’t be allowed to see the blade of the butcher’s knife. The meat is then divived in three equal parts, to be given to the family, to their relatives and friends and the last third to the poor. In Saudi Arabia, Eid also means that millions of pilgrims converge annually to Mecca to perform the Hajj, the pilgrimage to the Holy sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina. Trying to fly towards Jeddah on the Red Sea is virtually Mission Impossible as pilgrims are flocking in droves and all planes are fully booked… Over four millions will again perform Hajj this year, including some of our colleagues who are going on “family trips” to Mecca as the pilgrimage is a good experience to live together.  They purchased an all-inclusive package, with flights, transfers, hotels, all meals and even a guide - a guarantee that all their needs will be met timely and in an organized fashion. 
As a preventative measure, we went grocery shopping this morning…as last year, by the time the holiday was over, the stores were empty: no produce and dairy were available, since the stores had not been replenished during the entire holiday. We also withdrew cash from the ATM, as those will soon be emptied and won’t be refilled until Nov 20! The country basically shuts down on the last few days, as all Muslims are celebrating, families are gathering…

One measure that the Saudi government has taken is the passing of strict laws for sheep slaughtering, preventing people from doing it in their backyard or in the street, but instead having them use mobile slaughter houses. As for the four million pilgrims in Mecca, they are also slaughtering…but indirectly. The pilgrims pay for a sheep that is then slaughtered. They receive some meat while the rest in given to the poor, in the country and also shipped to other poorer Muslim countries. It is a highly organized enterprise that works like clockwork and gets better at it each year.

Only sad that we, Christians, are not allowed in Mecca, the holiest place of Islam…