http://folio.me.uk/2011/11/reflections-on-qurbani/ in pursuit of the garden Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:54:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://folio.me.uk/2011/11/reflections-on-qurbani/comment-page-1/#comment-3047 Someera Sat, 26 Nov 2011 07:30:57 +0000 http://folio.me.uk/?p=2306#comment-3047 Assalamu alaikum. just to say that i think your last two posts were brilliant and very much resonated with me. i hope you and your family are well and you are feeling strong and positive. Assalamu alaikum. just to say that i think your last two posts were brilliant and very much resonated with me. i hope you and your family are well and you are feeling strong and positive.

]]> http://folio.me.uk/2011/11/reflections-on-qurbani/comment-page-1/#comment-3034 Abdul-Haq Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:23:25 +0000 http://folio.me.uk/?p=2306#comment-3034 We went to witness a qurbani in the middle of Manama in an urban farm, completely unassuming and impossible to spot from the roadside. The overwhelming impression I had was one of sombre ceremony. The man who conducted the slaughter could not have been more solemn and dedicated this task. They spent a minute making sure the animal was calm, fed it some water and then the slaughter was over in the twinkling of an eye, as prayers were said. We then discussed with them to whom the meat should be distributed. I remember thinking that watching this process and, let there be no doubt, witnessing some trauma - but much less than the uk abattoir where the animals die on a processing line - one could not help but feel the undeniable blessing that meat is. If we can only remember that when we eat, the ceremony achieves some purpose. We went to witness a qurbani in the middle of Manama in an urban farm, completely unassuming and impossible to spot from the roadside. The overwhelming impression I had was one of sombre ceremony. The man who conducted the slaughter could not have been more solemn and dedicated this task. They spent a minute making sure the animal was calm, fed it some water and then the slaughter was over in the twinkling of an eye, as prayers were said. We then discussed with them to whom the meat should be distributed. I remember thinking that watching this process and, let there be no doubt, witnessing some trauma – but much less than the uk abattoir where the animals die on a processing line – one could not help but feel the undeniable blessing that meat is. If we can only remember that when we eat, the ceremony achieves some purpose.

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