qurbani bali and religion

[Guest guest]

People For animals guwahati,Assam at the initiative of their chairperson

sangeeta Goswami organised a seminar on the relevancy of animal sacrifice and

religion ,does this have anything to do with god and his creations. Several

persons spoke on the occasion ,IGP ,S.P. Kar tried to throw light on the issue

that in reality sacrifice of animals in the name of religion was totally

illogical, and as we today try to place every thing on logic and science how

can we really accept the fact that animals are sacrificed for the betterment of

humans etc. Internationally acclaimed sportsperson,Kailash Sarma,an ardent

beleiver in this sacrifice ,who some years back was found to protest the

approach of Goswami and spoke in front of the media people against her and in

support of animal sacrifice, today boldly spoke against the henious act by

extending full support promised to put an end to this illogical practice.

Sangeeta ,herself requested all to come forward and protest animal

sacrifices, practiced by both the religions and she was happy to get the

support of so many people.A signature campaign was organised where 25 PERCENT

muslims signed against the practice.

 

 

Never miss a thing. Make your homepage.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Madam,

 

Thank you so much for posting this message. Please

pardon me for not being able to attend your recent vigil at Latasil, I was

precoccupied at Arya College at that point of time. However, I enjoyed

meeting you and truly appreciate your efforts to stop animal sacrifice.

Please find attached a commentary on Islam's tenets on animals by Islamic

scholars Martin Forward and Mohamed Alam. Whilst I admire the honesty of the

writers, I am uncomfortable with the implication that provides permission

for animal sacrifice in this article.

 

Speaking of religious edicts on animals, I want to share with you a small

incident. The Dalai Lama, in an interview(there are reports that the

interviewer was the late atheist astronomer Carl Sagan although I cannot

confirm this)was asked what would happen to religious proclamations if they

were contradicted by the findings of modern science. The Dalai Lama replied

that in such a situation, religion would have to change accordingly. An

extraordinarily bold and honest statement from a religious leader of that

stature. One only hopes that many more religious leaders follow the Dalai

Lama's example.

 

I am gratified that you have spoken about logic and science in your

message. As far as traditional religious tenets are concerned, including

those on animal sacrifice, a lot of them are based on belief. And as far as

religion is concerned, belief starts where logic ends.

 

Best wishes and kind regards,

 

 

 

 

Martin Forward and Mohamed Alam

 

 

 

" Islam "

 

 

 

Martin Forward and Mohamed Alam explain the Muslim view of the animal-human

relationship. Animals are not to be treated as valueless by human beings,

but by God's permission human beings have power over the animals and are

entitled to use animals for human purposes. Forward and Alam explain the

restrictions under which animals may be eaten and the required ritual method

of slaughter

 

 

According to the Quran, 'there is not an animal on earth, nor a bird that

flies on its wings - but they are communities like you ...and they shall all

be gathered to their Lord in the end'(6 : 38). This means that they fulfil

the plan which God has allotted to them in his purpose. They are not to be

treated as valueless by human beings. It has not usually been taken by

commentators of the Quran or jurists to mean that animals share in the

bliss(or torment) of life after death. Human beings are distinguished from

animals by their capacity to make moral judgments. Only they, of all species

of life, can choose to obey or disobey God, and so earn paradise or hell.

Islam is not a sentimental religion. By God's permission, human beings

have power over the animals, as over all creation, and they can be used for

various purposes.

Islam forbids the keeping of some animals for domestic purposes. Most

Muslims do not have dogs as pets. Muhammed did not like dogs. However, he

did not mean that dogs could be mistreated. A prostitute who saw a thirsty

dog hanging around a well one day, gave it day water to drink. For this act

of kindness, the Prophet pardoned all her sins.

Other traditions of the Prophet forbid treating animals cruelly. They are

not to be caged, or beaten unnecessarily, or branded on the face, or allowed

to fight each other for human entertainment. They must not be mutilated

while they are alive, which forbids vivisection. Muslims are opposed to

battery farming, the slaughter of calves for veal, and all other forms of

animal-husbandry which are cruel to creatures which needlessly kill them.

These interdicts arise out of the Islamic emphasis that human beings have a

moral obligation towards animals.

A very important function of animals is to provide human beings with food.

Few Muslims are vegetarians. But certain animals are forbidden to Muslims,

and all creatures used for food need to be killed in a prescribed manner.

Islamic law declares certain things permissible(halal) for human beings,

and other things harmful(haram). This division covers all aspects of life,

including what Muslims can eat. Muslims regard all things as halal unless

God has commanded otherwise. There are four forbidden categories of food,

which are derived from the Quran(5 : 4):

1 meat of dead animals

2 blood

3 pigs' flesh

4 meat over which another name than God's has been invoked.

The meat of dead animals is taken to mean a beast or fowl which dies of

natural causes, without being slaughtered or hunted by humans. The quranic

verse offers five classifications of dead animals:

1 the strangled

2 those beaten to death

3 those fallen from a height

4 those gored by other animals

5 those partly eaten by wild animals

Scholars have elaborated a number of reasons for this prohibition. The

animal might have died of some disease. Muslims should intend to kill an

animal for food, offering it to God, and not thoughtlessly make use of a

deceased creature. By this ban, God makes food available to other animals

and birds.

Islamic law has exempted fish, whales and other sea-creatures from the

category of dead animals. The Quran says : 'The game of the sea is permitted

to you and so is its food.'(5 : 99). Traditions relate that the Prophet

allowed dead food that comes from the sea to be eaten. One story tells of a

group of Muslims sent by Muhammad to ambush his enemies. They became very

hungry, until the sea threw out a huge, dead whale. They ate its meat,

rubbed their bodies with its fat, and, when one of its ribs was fixed over

the ground, a rider passed beneath it(Bukhari, in Khan 1984, vol.7:293 f).

Many jurists have amplified this permission so that all marine creatures,

those which live in the sea and cannot survive outside it, are halal. It

does not matter whether they are taken from the water dead or living, whole

or in bits, whether they are caught by a Muslim or someone else.

The interdict on blood is interpreted to mean flowing blood, which was felt

by jurists to be repugnant and injurious to health. The law does not forbid

eating blood that remains in the animal after the flow has ceased.

Pork is outlawed on a number of grounds. It is dangerous to eat in hot

climates, where it quickly goes goes off. It is regarded to as an unclean

animal, eating filth and offal, and so its meat is repugnant to decent

people. Some scholars have claimed that it incites those who eat it to

shameful and lustful thoughts.

Finally, God's name must be invoked when the animal is slaughtered. The man

slits its throat says : bi-smillahi, allahu akbar, 'in the name of God, God

is most great.' It is not acceptable to invoke the name of an idol, as Arab

polytheists at the time of Muhammed did. Nor is it all right to say nothing.

Killing an animal for food is a devotional act. God gave humans control over

all the earth, subjecting animals to them, and allowing them to take an

animal's life for food. Pronouncing God's name while killing the creature is

a reminder of God's permission and ultimate control over all things.

Other than these four categories, all food can be eaten and enjoyed(2 : 172

; 6 : 119). Indeed, the emphasis in Islam is upon what can be eaten and

enjoyed, rather than on what is forbidden. Only a few things are forbidden.

There is no virtue in strict food laws.

Nowadays, the ritual killing of animals is condemned by many non-Muslim

individuals and groups. The bottom line for Muslims is that it is commanded

by God, and this order counts for more than the opinionsof others. Muslims

are not mawkish about such matters. Islam began on the fringes of the

desert, where staying alive was the pre-eminent concern of many people, and

meat was regarded by them as a necessity, not a luxury. Most Muslims today

live in relatively poor countries, where survival counts for more than

middle-class values, which can seem excessively indulgent. Islam gives human

beings power over, and responsibility for, animals, which should be treated

with kindness and consideration, but which, by God's permission, provide

food, clothing and transport.

 

Bibliography

 

Khalid, F with O'Brien, J(eds)(1992) Islam and Ecology, London Cassell

Khan, M M(ed)(1984) Sahah Al-Bukhari, vols 1-9, Delhi, Kitab Bhavan

Nasr, S H(1976) Islamic Science : an illustrated study, London, Thames and

Hudson

Robson, J R(1970 edn) Mishkat al-Masibih, vols 1-2, Lahore, Muhammed Ashraf

Siddiqi, A H(ed)(1977) Sahih Muslim, vols 1-4, Delhi, Kitab Bhavan

Yusuf Ali, A(1975 edn) The Holy Quran : Text, Translation and Commentary,

Leicester, Islamic Foundation

 

THE ANIMAL ETHICS READER

Edited by Susan J Armstrong and Richard G Botzler

Routledge

Taylor and Francis Group

New York and London

2003

 

 

On 12/21/07, sangeeta goswami <sangeeta_goswami2003 wrote:

>

> People For animals guwahati,Assam at the initiative of their chairperson

> sangeeta Goswami organised a seminar on the relevancy of animal sacrifice

> and religion ,does this have anything to do with god and his creations.

> Several persons spoke on the occasion ,IGP ,S.P. Kar tried to throw light

> on the issue that in reality sacrifice of animals in the name of religion

> was totally illogical, and as we today try to place every thing on logic and

> science how can we really accept the fact that animals are sacrificed for

> the betterment of humans etc. Internationally acclaimed sportsperson,Kailash

> Sarma,an ardent beleiver in this sacrifice ,who some years back was found to

> protest the approach of Goswami and spoke in front of the media people

> against her and in support of animal sacrifice, today boldly spoke against

> the henious act by extending full support promised to put an end to this

> illogical practice. Sangeeta ,herself requested all to come forward and

> protest animal

> sacrifices, practiced by both the religions and she was happy to get the

> support of so many people.A signature campaign was organised where 25

> PERCENT muslims signed against the practice.

>

>

> Never miss a thing. Make your homepage.

>

>

[Guest guest]

It was indeed a bold initiative in itself to organise such a seminar around the

Islamic festival associated with animal sacrifice. The other time people come

across any discussion on religious sacrifice of animal in Assam is only when any

VIP or VVIP arranges for offering 'bali' of a buffalo in Kamakshya Temple. The

initiative will definitely help trigger the public mind to think that sacrifice

of animal cannot be glorified by religion, be it any religion which is

apparently known for strict adherence to tenets or a liberal one.

 

 

sangeeta goswami <sangeeta_goswami2003 wrote: People For

animals guwahati,Assam at the initiative of their chairperson sangeeta Goswami

organised a seminar on the relevancy of animal sacrifice and religion ,does this

have anything to do with god and his creations. Several persons spoke on the

occasion ,IGP ,S.P. Kar tried to throw light on the issue that in reality

sacrifice of animals in the name of religion was totally illogical, and as we

today try to place every thing on logic and science how can we really accept the

fact that animals are sacrificed for the betterment of humans etc.

Internationally acclaimed sportsperson,Kailash Sarma,an ardent beleiver in this

sacrifice ,who some years back was found to protest the approach of Goswami and

spoke in front of the media people against her and in support of animal

sacrifice, today boldly spoke against the henious act by extending full support

promised to put an end to this illogical practice. Sangeeta

,herself requested all to come forward and protest animal

sacrifices, practiced by both the religions and she was happy to get the support

of so many people.A signature campaign was organised where 25 PERCENT muslims

signed against the practice.

 

 

Never miss a thing. Make your homepage.