Hardship strains celebration of Islam’s Eid around world
MINA, Saudi Arabia — Millions of Muslims across the globe — including in countries such as Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt, Kenya and Yemen — were celebrating Eid al-Adha on Saturday, one of the biggest holidays of the Islamic calendar.
Known as the “Feast of Sacrifice,” the revered observance coincides with the final rites of the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia. It’s a joyous occasion, of which food is a hallmark. Much of Asia, including Indonesia, India and Pakistan, will observe the holiday on Sunday.
But as Russia’s war in Ukraine sends food prices soaring and causes widespread hardship across the Middle East, many say they can’t afford the livestock for the ritual sacrifice involved. Desperation over the cost of living has undercut the typically booming holiday trade in goats, cows and sheep.
“Everyone wants to sacrifice an animal in the name of Allah, but they are not able to do so because they’re poor,” said Mohammad Nadir from a cattle market in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan, where a few men haggled over bleating sheep.
Eid al-Adha commemorates the Quranic tale of Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice Ismail as an act of obedience to God. Before he could carry out the sacrifice, God provided a ram as an offering. In the Christian and Jewish telling, Abraham is ordered to kill another son, Isaac.
Many Muslims celebrate the four-day feast by ritually slaughtering livestock and distributing the meat among family, friends and the poor. At al-Shati refugee camp in west Gaza City on Saturday, excited children lined up for the innards
and trotters — a cherished offering for those otherwise unable to afford meat.
In cash-strapped Afghanistan, there is usually a shopping rush for prime animals ahead of the holiday. But this year, galloping global inflation and economic devastation after the Taliban takeover have put the purchase of great religious importance beyond the reach of many.
“Last year on this day I sold 40 to 50 cattle,” said Mohammad Qassim, an Afghan cattle vendor. “This year, I have only managed to sell two.”
Wheat and meat prices have multiplied and hunger has spread as Russia’s war on Ukraine disrupts agriculture and constrains energy supply. The sky-high costs of animal feed and fertilizer have forced livestock salesmen to hike prices.
In Tripoli in war-torn Libya, families are looking forward to the holiday after the past two years of the pandemic and more than a decade of violent chaos. But the price tags — up to $2,100 per sheep — had buyers pacing around the dusty market near the palm-studded highway, apprehensive about the major purchase.
“Honestly, the prices are
crazy,” said Sabri al-Hadi, seeming exasperated.
At a livestock market in the blockaded Gaza Strip, there were hardly any buyers. Vendors said the price of sheep feed has jumped fourfold in recent weeks.
“Our life is full of loss,” lamented Abu Mustafa, a sheep salesman in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, which long has suffered from widespread joblessness and poverty.
On the streets of Ramallah, in the West Bank, Palestinian families were cutting back on other components of the feast — typically a bounty of dishes ranging from offal to bread known as kaak and maamoul holiday cookies.
“On days like these, there was demand for fruits, sweets and for nuts as well, but as you can see ... no one is standing to buy now,” complained fruit vendor Baligh Hamdi.
But lavish feast or no, there were community prayers. From Kenya to Russia to Egypt, throngs of worshippers were able to pray shoulder to shoulder, feet to feet — a welcome sight in much of the world after years of coronavirusrelated restrictions.