Jakarta, Indonesia — Muslims in Asia on Monday celebrated Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, with food and prayers for the people of Gaza suffering from the War between Israel and Hamas.
One of the most important Islamic holidays, the occasion commemorates Prophet Ibrahim’s test of faith through the sacrifice of cattle and animals and the distribution of meat to the poor. It is a joyous occasion in which food is a hallmark, where devout Muslims buy and slaughter animals and share two-thirds of the meat with the poor, and it is a revered observance that coincides with the final rites of the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Much of Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh, celebrated Eid al-Adha on Monday, while Muslims in other parts of the world, including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen celebrated the holiday on Sunday.
On Monday, worshipers stood shoulder to shoulder in communal prayers in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. The preachers in their sermons called on people to pray for the Muslims in Gaza and Rafah.
“Our prayers and thoughts are with our brothers and sisters who are now suffering in Palestine,” worshiper Adi Prasetya said after praying in a field in south Jakarta. “We now have many opportunities to channel our help through charities.”
“May Allah give strength to those devastated by war…may those who are divided live in peace again,” said another devotee, Berlina Yustiza.
Although Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country in the world, its traditions for celebrating Eid al-Adha have been influenced by other religions.
Residents of Yogyakarta, an ancient center of Javanese culture and seat of royal dynasties dating back centuries, believe that if they can capture the crops arranged in a cone-shaped pile called “gunungan” parading from the palace real to the Great Mosque of Kauman, it can bring you good luck. They rushed to grab various food offerings, made of fruits, vegetables, and traditional snacks.
One day before the sacrifice festival, the people of East Java’s Pasuruan city expressed their gratitude and respect for the sacrificed animals by dressing them as beautiful as a bride. The slaughtered cow is wrapped in a seven-fold garland, shroud, turban and prayer mat and paraded in a tradition called “manten sapi,” or bride cow, before being handed over to the slaughter committee.
Villagers in Demak, a town in Central Java province, celebrated the holiday with a cattle procession called “apitan” as a form of gratitude for the food and harvest. They carry food in bamboo containers to the town square where they eat together after praying. Locals believe that the procession will bring prosperity and that disaster would occur if it were abandoned.
Eid al-Adha commemorates the Quranic account of Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice Ismail as an act of obedience to God. Before the sacrifice could be made, God provided a ram as an offering. In the Christian and Jewish narrative, Abraham is ordered to kill another son, Isaac.
In Malaysia, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim joined thousands of worshipers, including foreign tourists, and offered morning prayers at a mosque near his office in Putrajaya, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, at a wholesale market in Selayang, on the outskirts of the capital, Muslim workers knelt on mats placed on a large piece of white cloth placed outside the market to perform their prayers.
In his message, Anwar said that the opportunity to go to the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the great gifts of God and should make us more ascetic and simple.
“I invite Muslims to live the message of simplicity preached in the Hajj, to always be humble and not be hypnotized by the attraction of temporary worldly riches,” Anwar said, “let us not deviate from this goal. The world should be a bridge to the eternal land.”
Muslims in India, where they represent 14% of the population, celebrated Eid al-Adha across the country on Monday.
In New Delhi, thousands of people offered prayers at the historic Jama Masjid, a 17th-century mosque. Families gathered early in the morning and many people shared hugs and wishes after prayers. Many traders with goats gathered on the streets leading to the mosque, where people negotiated with them for the best price.
Devotees in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation of more than 170 million people, celebrated the festival on Monday in open fields and mosques, where many prayed for a better world free of war.
More than 400,000 devotees, the largest congregation in the country, offered prayers at a field in Kishoreganj district in the morning.
In the capital, Dhaka, a prominent imam led a meeting on the grounds of the Supreme Court in which 35,000 men and women participated.
Millions of cattle were slaughtered across the country to celebrate the day.
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Associated Press writers Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Rishi Lekhi in New Delhi and Julhas Alam in Dhaka, Bangladesh, contributed to this report.
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