Du Mozart et du Beethov pour les sacrifiés !!!!!!!!!

[Animal 0]

Modern face of Feast of the Sacrifice
Saturday, December 15, 2007

If you are interested in ‘Islamic Reform,’ watch out for the new ways of ritual sacrifice in Turkey. Even Mozart and Beethoven have entered the scene to comfort the animals before their end. In the past, most practicing Muslims in Turkey used to slaughter the animals in their gardens. But urbanization has changed everything.

MUSTAFA AKYOL
ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News

As the Islamic Feast of the Sacrifice approaches, the companies that are offering a more practical and modern way for this old practice are increasing their advertisements.

All a devout Muslim needs to do in this "sacrifice via mandate" system is to transfer a sum of about YTL 200 to a company that runs a professional slaughterhouse. It is much easier than trying to slaughter sheep or cows, near streets, or even highways, of big cities like Istanbul.

The Hanafi school of Islam, which is predominant in Turkey, requires that all Muslim adults who have a certain amount of wealth sacrifice an animal in the four-day feast, and share its meat with neighbors and especially the poor. It is a tradition whose roots go back to the sacrifice of Abraham, the spiritual father of all Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

In the past, most practicing Muslims in Turkey used to perform this ritual in their gardens or in some vacant spot in the neighborhood. Yet problems arose with the onset of urbanization. It might be a normal thing to slaughter an animal in an Anatolian village, but it looks quite bizarre when done in the middle of a city like Istanbul. Hence since the early ‘90s, many people, including some religious scholars and intellectuals, started to criticize the "bloody scenes" that occur in Turkish cities every year. Secularists said this tarnished the "image of Turkey." Islamic modernists said it harmed the "image of Islam."

Thus, in recent years, municipalities have taken measures to prevent "illegal slaughtering," which refers to sacrifice practiced in areas other than the ones designated by the authorities. Today, there are several designated areas in Istanbul, to which people are supposed to drive their sheep – or perhaps cow and even camel – and butcher them in order to praise God.



Just pay YTL 200:

Yet a better solution seems to have been created by the companies that offer "sacrifice via mandate." Here, the only thing a believer needs to do is to transfer money to a bank and give his home address. On the first or second day of the feast, the company butchers the animal, packs the meat and sends most of it to charities. A few kilograms of meat are also sent back to the customer, who, according to Islamic tradition, needs to share it with family and neighbors.

There are several companies that offer this service. Deniz Feneri Derneği (Light House Association) and İnsani Yardım Vakfı (Humanitarian Aid Foundation) are nongovernmental organizations that work as charity organizations. Kızılay Derneği (Red Crescent Society), Türk Hava Kurumu (Turkish Aviation Institute), and Mehmetçik Vakfı (a foundation for injured conscripts) are official ones, and the last two support the Turkish military and its veterans.

Kimse Yok Mu Derneği, another NGO, is offering a global service. It promises not just to perform the slaughter, but also to cook the meat, pack it in vacuum-sealed bags and send it to far away places such as Africa. Last year, the same charity had sent some of the sacrifice meat to the victims of the tsunami in the Pacific.

Slaughtering to tunes by Mozart:

Another contender that has entered the market with a high bid is the Municipality of Bayrampaşa. Its new and stylish "Sacrifice Plaza," looks like one of Istanbul's many modern office complexes, but is indeed a place for "hygienic and scientific ritual slaughter.” Customers are offered a parking lot, a cafeteria, and a hassle-free ritual. The plaza's advertisements are proud to mention, “95 percent of the slaughtering and packing process is carried out by machines, which work on a monorail system.”

Another striking novelty is that the animals will be comforted with classic music before their tragic end. Dr. Bülent Nazlı, a veterinarian at the University of Istanbul, said that music has been found effective in countries like the United States and Holland in order to calm animals in slaughterhouses. “We will play Mozart and Beethoven,” said another veterinarian, Fatma Turunç, who is also the director of the Sacrifice Plaza. “It will make the animals more comfortable.”

Another service being provided by the Bayrampaşa Municipality is the call center named “Hello, My Sacrifice Ran Away.” Those who accidentally let their sheep or cow loose can call this 24/7 line by dialing 153 and ask for urgent help.

But the suggested solution of the municipality is to use the Sacrifice Plaza. Here no animal runs away and everything proceeds smoothly. Everything is done in the name of God, and with the blessings of technology.

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=91399