Sweden imposes strict penalties on animal slaughter (AFP)

By Yahiya Abu Zakariya, IOL Correspondent

STOCKHOLM, January 30 (IslamOnline.net) – Some 500,000 Swedish Muslims will celebrate Eid Al-Adha, to be marked on Sunday, February 1, with prayers and new clothes, but animal sacrifice will not be an easy job.

The Swedish law bans the slaughter of the animals in general, an act of worship where Muslims revive the tradition of Prophet Ibrahim.

The practice reminds Muslims of the great act of sacrifice Prophet Ibrahim and his son Isma`eel were willing to make for the sake of Allah.

The ban leaves some Muslims with no other option but to travel for villages where they buy and sacrifice sheep.

Most European countries allow the slaughtering of animals, which helps Muslims carry out the rituals of Eid with no nuts to crack.

The French government announced Thursday, January 29, it would make available makeshift slaughterhouses for Muslims to sacrifice more than 110,000 animals.

The measures was meant to avoid epidemic outbreaks and chaos caused by the random butchering outside the houses.

Swedish Muslims do not only have to worry about sacrificing animals, but also about distributing the meat.

A Muslim who makes a sacrifice should give at least third of the meat to the needy and poor, who almost do not exist in this rich high-standard country.

The Swedish government pays a monthly allowance to unemployed citizens until they get a job.

With these difficulties in mind, some of the Swedish Muslims who hail from other countries send money to relatives in their homeland to make the sacrifice on their behalf.

Others send aid to the poor and needy in occupied Palestine and other parts of the Arab and Islamic worlds.

Unison

Braving cold weather sliding below zero, Muslim mothers went shopping for new clothes, a tradition characterizing the festive atmosphere of the Eid.

Children wear the new clothes and join their parents in performing the Eid prayers.

At this time of the year, the central mosque in Stockholm and mosques across the country are usually teeming with worshippers.

Spirituality run high at these gatherings, as Muslims repeat supplications in clear unified voices and sublime hearts.

Muslims of origins as far apart as Egypt, Tunisia, Somalia, Palestinian territories and Pakistan, all mingle together in a unique manifestation of unity and faith.

No wonder new converts doubled in recent years in Sweden and other European countries asserted Mahmoud Khalifa, a member of the Islamic association supervising the mosque.

Khalifa, of a Tunisian origin, recalled that a Swede accepted Islam just after reading a book on the religion while a French came to the mosque to embrace the faith.

A growing number of youth in the country are showing interest in knowing more about Islam, he said.

Humanitarian Treatment

Despite the slaughter ban, Muslims enjoy a distinctive humanitarian treatment in the country and are automatically entitled to the Swedish citizenship after five years’ stay.

The Swedish television usually broadcast parts of Eid prayers from the central mosque with information on the value of feast for Muslims.

It also airs scenes from the annual hajj, where more than two million faithful flock to Makkah, Saudi Arabia, for the spiritual journey.

More than 2000 Swedish Muslims packed their bags heading for Saudi Arabia to perform the hajj journey last week, with no problems rising for the year.

The television had covered the travel of more than 2000 Swedish Muslim to the hajj from Arland Airport.

Hajj begins on the eighth day of Dhul-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic year and will reach it climax this year on Saturday, January 31, when the pilgrims ascend the Mount of Arafat.