Qurbani Indoctrinates Sacrifice, Mercifully Of Animals, And No Longer Of Humans As In Pre-Islamic Times

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 30 June 2023 "Goats have these uncannily human eyes. This one had brown eyes and I felt a shiver of guilt down my spine as I picked up the knife. I gulped and looked at the others. Everyone was smiling, as if encouraging me towards my first act of murder. My uncle even patted me on the back and asked me to hurry. "For the last time, I looked at the goat and then turning away and ignoring its calls for help, I used the knife to slit its neck. Everyone was beaming at me and I felt as if I had finally fulfilled the requirement to be part of that group. "The butcher took over from here and finished the job. I couldn't dare to look back after that, but somehow, among the back slaps and congratulations from my cousins and relatives, I managed a glance and I saw the eyes of the animal. "I didn't eat the whole day." (Read a Muslim's heart-wrenching experience when he himself participated in this gory and disgusting ritual as a young lad.) Millions and billions of animals are being slaughtered across the Muslim world as I'm typing it out. All in the name of religion and also in the name of a "merciful" Allah who first provoked Abraham to sacrifice his son Ismail and then sent an animal (Dumba) to be sacrificed in place of the child. It was Allah's way to test the devotion of Abraham and his son! Does Allah have no other work other than to indulge in relentless self-praise and servile devotion from his followers? Mind you, these are human attributes. Why should the 'Almighty' long for constant praise and devotion when you and the followers of all bogus faiths aver that the god created all creatures? If god is so hungry for perpetual praise and obeisance, it (no he or she) would have created all humans with an innate habit of praying to it (god) 24X7. Coming back to sacrifice, anthropologists like Ray Hirst and Collin Fearnley are of the opinion that sacrifice - earlier it was human sacrifice in Hinduism and its many cults as well as in the Central American and African cults - in all religions, cults and quasi-religions symbolised blood indoctrination, an integral part of initiation into a religious cult. Blood would be used for the consecration. American historian Will Durant wrote in his book, ' The History of Religion ' that in ancient times, no religious act would be complete without the sprinkling of blood. Blood, esp. human blood was a permanent religious fixture. With the passage of time, human blood was replaced with animal blood but the blood-oriented custom continued. By the way, human sacrifice was prevalent in Hinduism till around 1780 C.E. Its Tantra (occultist) sect still indulges in sanguinary practices like using the blood of a menstruating lass. Yuck! There's one Hindu 'goddess' Kali (actually a tribal deity). To propitiate her, devotees sacrifice animals, earlier humans would be sacrificed to placate her. Blood was considered as a potent offering to the deities in all faiths. From religio-anthropological perspective, blood was used by the primitive societies for removing the fear of death. Professor Hamilton Gibb, the great Englishman who taught Arabic and Middle Eastern languages at Oxford, quoted pre-Islamic poet Baneez who described how the sight of beheading (animals as well as humans) would be used to harden people and remove the fear from their hearts and minds. That practice, with a semblance of refinement, percolated down to Islam with the added myth of Abraham and his son. In fact, it's a pre-Islamic practice of sacrificing humans when there were tribes. Islam did use this Qurbani to harden its followers and perpetuate savagery. Centuries have elapsed but we've not changed. A number of brain-dead, seemingly 'educated' Muslims still sacrifice poor animals on this day. Here in Maharashtra, I'm happy for the poor animals as many of them would get a 24-hr reprieve as Eid-al-Azha coincides with Ekadashi (one more stupidity, this time, by the Hindus). So, many Muslim organizations have decided to slaughter the animal a day after Eid-al-Azha. Thanks for the small mercies! When this bloody stupidity will end remains to be seen. Jisne Iss Daur Ke Insaan Kiye Hon Paida/ Wahi Mera Bhi Khuda Ho Mujhe Manzoor Nahin (Who created such humans should also be my god! Sorry, I cannot accept it). Seeing collective human ignorance, I often think of Abdul Hameed Adam's Urdu couplet. Anyway, Happy Eid to all with a humble request: Spare the poor animals, please. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. 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