RedSea4u

Some of you may or may not be aware that on 9th December Eid al Adha the Islamic Feast of Sacrifice is carried out where moslems are expected to slaughter a sheep and give meat to relatives, friends and the poor. Its not a very pleasant sight to see and happens around first week of December....so just be wary when walking around the local streets at this time of year.

Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, commemorates the prophet Abraham's willingness to obey Allah by sacrificing his son Ishmael. According to the Qu'ran, just before Abraham sacrificed his son, Allah replaced Ishmael with a ram, thus sparing his life. The festival is celebrated by sacrificing a lamb or other animal and distributing the meat to relatives, friends, and the poor. The sacrifice symbolizes obedience to Allah and its distribution to others is an expression of generosity, one of the five pillars of Islam.

I was shocked when I first witnessed this feast, I was living in Luxor at the time and went out to do my shopping and was horrified at the sights... bloody carcases hanging from balcony's, men in the street with blood on their galabeyas wielding bloody knives, it felt like I was in a horror movie, I quickly went back home and didn't go out again until it was all over. It's an image that will stay with me forever!

The first year my aunt and I lived here, we lived in a block of flats with the landlord on the first floor. As we were going out the one morning, the garage doors were open and we saw two sheep in there, of course we both went into the garage stroking and cuddling the sheep. The landlord came in we asked him if they were pets for the children and weren't they lovely, the landlord looked rather sheepish (pardon the pun!) he agreed they were for the children and yes they were lovely.

For the next 4 days we went in to see the sheep until the 5th day, we went to see them and they were gone, my aunt and I stood looking into the empty garage discussing where the sheep could have gone. Our landlord came out and started chatting so we asked him where the sheep had gone, he said he had sold them because there was not enough room for them. As my aunt was talking I looked at the floor and said to her watch the red paint on the floor it will be all over your flip flops, she looked at the floor as she started to move away, she looked up with tears in her eyes, caught my hand and pulled me away. She decided it was better to go back home and stay there for the day with the curtains closed.

She explained to me later what had happened, so every year I stay in with the curtains closed and the T.V. on loud. If I won the lottery I would buy all the sheep and cows and give them a happy life! My husband tries to tell me that when the animal has it's throat cut it is happy can you get your breath!:(

They say it's the most humane way of killing an animal but I wonder how sharp their knives are and if they manage to do it in one slice

I've had this conversation with my husband about the slaughtering to give to the poor, I'm refering to the custom when for instance we got a new car he bought a sheep to offer to the poor so that it would bring good fortune for the car! he didn't do the slaughter someone else did but the blood was smeared over the wheels (shock horror on my part) I argued that it's not very fortunate for the poor sheep, his answer was that they are animals reared for food so what's the difference if one is killed to bring luck and then given to the poor, it's going to be killed for food anyway....no answer to that!

Earlier this year a friend celebrated the completion of her new boat with a sheep sacrifice because all her crew said it was tradition.
When we got our new car she asked if we were going to kill a sheep and smear the blood over the car for good luck....well, you can guess my reply
I have noticed more sheep and lambs appearing outside homes this week.

Thanks for the heads up on the actual date. We will avoid the streets that day and the one after I think

Al Shaddad Bin Aous has quoted this tradition of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.) "God calls for mercy in everything, so be merciful when you kill and when you slaughter, sharpen your blade to relieve its pain".

Many allegations have been made that Islamic slaughter is not humane to animals. However, Professor Schultz and his colleague Dr. Hazim of the Hanover University, Germany, proved through an experiment, using an electroencephalograph (EEG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) that *Islamic slaughter is THE humane method of slaughter* and captive bolt stunning, practiced by the Western method, causes severe pain to the animal. The results surprised many.


Experimental Details:

1. Several electrodes were surgically implanted at various points of the skull of all animals, touching the surface of thebrain.

2. The animals were allowed to recover for several weeks.

3. Some animals were slaughtered by making a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife on the neck cutting the jugular veins and carotid Arteries of both sides; as also the trachea and esophagusHalal Method.

4. Some animals were stunned using a captive bolt pistol humane slaughter by the western method.

5. During the experiment, EEG and ECG were recorded on all animals to record the condition of the brain and heart during the course of slaughter and stunning.



Results and Discussion:

I - Halal Method

1. The first three seconds from the time of Islamic slaughter as recorded on the EEG did not show any change from the graph before slaughter, thus indicating that the animal did not feel any pain during or immediately after the incision.

2. For the following 3 seconds, the EEG recorded a condition of deep sleep - unconsciousness. This is due to a large quantity of blood gushing out from the body.

3. After the above mentioned 6 seconds, the EEG recorded zero level, showing no feeling of pain at all.

4. As the brain message (EEG) dropped to zero level, the heart was still pounding and the body convulsing vigorously (a reflex action of the spinal cord) driving maximum blood from the body: resulting in hygienic meat for the consumer.

II - Western method by C.B.P. Stunning

1. The animals were apparently unconscious soon after stunning.

2. EEG showed severe pain immediately after stunning.

3. The hearts of the animal stunned by C.B.P. stopped beating earlier as compared to those of the animals slaughtered according to the Halal method resulting in the retention of more blood inthe meat. This in turn is unhygienic for the consumer.

Personally I like blood in my meat, I love blackpudding, which is made mainly from animal blood - I'm a carnivore.

I don't particularly care how the animal dies, I care how it lived.

If the animal is treated humanely during its life then the last 3 seconds of it are sort of immaterial.

I have nothing against either the halal or western method of despatching animals, I'm a carnivore and have to accept the fact that my diet requires animals to die.

Its not just a muslim festival i know Copys who kill the sheep and smear the blood, ahve witnessed the ceremony twice in Luxor.
Its rather like the killing of the fatted calf on the return of the prodigal son i think, cause for celebration.

Oh bugger ive done it again , copys do not kill sheep, but Copt's do

Christine wrote:Oh bugger ive done it again , copys do not kill sheep, but Copt's do

Haven't you ever seen a copy running around Egypt killing sheep!!??? they're deadly!!

Very funny!!

Netyoda wrote:Personally I like blood in my meat, I love blackpudding, which is made mainly from animal blood - I'm a carnivore.

I don't particularly care how the animal dies, I care how it lived.

If the animal is treated humanely during its life then the last 3 seconds of it are sort of immaterial.

I have nothing against either the halal or western method of despatching animals, I'm a carnivore and have to accept the fact that my diet requires animals to die.

It's hardly 3 seconds Lee, its longer than that.

Hi, CB!
Just for the record - as a healthcare professional - I would like to offer a couple of points:

first, the cut hurts! When have you ever cut yourself seriously and it did not hurt? The incision cannot avoid cutting nerves,

second, it is physiologically impossible to induce unconsciousness in 3 seconds, by virtually any means, certainly those discussed here.

I think, under the guise of pseudo-intellectualism, the article tried to rationalize a procedure which is in all cases painful.

I would say the consumer of meat cannot criticize the butcher. As for the Western procedure, it has undergone scrutiny by many organizations, public and private, and has been determined to be the most effective, rendering unconsciousness as quickly as practically possible.

Best,
Scott

Small pigs are stunned, then up onto the line by a chain on one back leg. One man cuts their throats, they bleed a bit, then are shoved along to the tank of boiling water and slide down into it. One day a pig wasnt cut properly and as it hit the water, leapt out of the tank and ran away over the allotments spurting blood. This does happen as I was there- and animals have to be bled or the meat is no good, like a wobbly jelly.