Bayram: Muslims worldwide begin celebrating Eid al-Fitr under Covid-19 restrictions

The festival, one of the most important in the Muslim calendar marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, is traditionally celebrated with mosque prayers, family feasts and shopping for new clothes, gifts and sweet treats.

But this year, the celebration is overshadowed by the fast-spreading respiratory disease, with many countries tightening lockdown restrictions after a partial easing during Ramadan led to a sharp spike in infections.

Further dampening the festive spirit, multiple countries -- from Saudi Arabia to Egypt, Turkey and Syria -- have banned mass prayer gatherings, a festival highlight, to limit the spread of the disease.

Read more at
Muslims worldwide begin celebrating Eid al-Fitr under Covid-19 restrictions

Canada: Muslim meat donation helps soup kitchen

A New Brunswick soup kitchen will be able to serve hundreds of meals with fresh meat thanks to a donation from the local Muslim community following a religious celebration.

The Fredericton Community Kitchen received more than 350 pounds of ground beef and stew beef from the Pak-Canada Association of New Brunswick.

The meat was prepared in a special ceremony as part of a three-day celebration called the Festival of Sacrifice, which is based on the Old Testament story of Abraham.

For more: Muslim meat donation helps soup kitchen - New Brunswick - CBC News

Turkish Daily News: Kurban-Bayram: The Lamb Rite at the O.K. Corral - by Kristen Stevens

For the complete report from Turkish Daily News click on this link

Kurban-Bayram: The Lamb Rite at the O.K. Corral - by Kristen Stevens

Non-Turkish children might wonder how groaning animals behind their apartments or blood in the street relate to their own religious or cultural identity. More than one billion Muslims are taking part in the Feast of the Sacrifice that celebrates Abraham's devotion to God through the ritual slaughter of an animal. Muslims, like Christians and Jews, revere Abraham for answering God's call to sacrifice his son. The four-day holiday for Muslims began this past Thursday in countries all over the world. Families gather for the feast around their elders before visiting other family and friends. Muslims celebrate the feast by sacrificing a domestic animal — a sheep, goat, cow, buffalo or camel — as a symbol of Abraham's loyalty to Allah (God), and divide the meat among family members, friends and the needy. To show respect for the hand that brings the bread on this holiday, children kiss and touch the hands of their elders to their foreheads. In return they receive gifts of money or chocolates. The Feast of Sacrifice, or Kurban Bayram, focuses on Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son on Allah's command. In turn, Allah spared his son's life at the last moment by substituting a sheep instead. Christian tradition looks at the sacrifice of Abraham's son Isaac as a foretelling of the sacrifice of Jesus, while Islamic tradition speaks of the sacrifice of Abraham's firstborn Ishmael. The Koran does not name his son, although the full narrative points to Ishmael (Koran 37:99-113).

EU-DIGEST: HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND WISHES FOR A SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION IN 2008

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND WISHES FOR A SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION IN 2008

May 2008 bring a spiritual revolution to your life beyond your wildest dreams and the realization that you can believe in things you can't touch, like freedom, peace, friendship, love, eternity and God. Happy Holidays !