Key Islamic Body Urges Muslims Not To Sacrifice Cows On Bakrid

The Assam unit of Jamiat Ulema has appealed to Muslims not to sacrifice cows on the occasion of Id-uz-Zuha or 'Bakrid' festival, so that the religious feelings of the Hindus are not hurt.

The statement: The organisation's state unit chief Badruddin Ajmal said, "Sanatan dharma of Hindu religion reveres the cow as their mother and worships them. We should not hurt their religious feelings."

• He said the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband had issued a public appeal in 2008 not to sacrifice the cow as part of qurbani (sacrifice) on the occasion and it was pointed out that there is no mention or compulsion that a cow has to be sacrificed.

• "I am reiterating the same appeal again and urging my fellow believers to sacrifice an alternative animal and not the cow so that the religious sentiment of the majority population in the country is not hurt," the Dhubri MP said.

• During Id-uz-Zuha, animals such as camels, goats, cows, buffalo, and sheep can be sacrificed, Ajmal said.

Government orders: The central government has issued instructions to all the states not to allow anyone to sacrifice animals in public.

The centre said that animals, for long, have been stuffed into vehicles. The order, therefore, also says that strict action will be taken against the people involved in such cases.

The recent communal flare-ups seem to have prompted the government and members of the Islamic body to issue such orders and requests respectively, since the law-and-order machinery may find it difficult to deal with any large-scale rioting due to hurt sensibilities.