Muslims celebrate meaning of sacrifice

Islamic patriarch celebrated by members of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey.

By: Sharlee Joy DiMenichi
   Saffet Catovic of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey stood before a crowd of about 500 Muslims on Tuesday at a service for Eid-Ul-Adha, a holiday honoring Ibrahim, a patriarch of Islam.
   Mr. Catovic, a lay leader at the society, sought to remind the congregants assembled at the Ramada Inn in North Brunswick that they should remember that Eid-Ul-Adha is a holiday suffused by the spirit of sacrifice.
   The society, located on Route 1 in South Brunswick, held services at the hotel because the crowd would have created a large traffic problem for township police.
   During Eid-Ul-Adha, Muslims commemorate the Koran’s story of the prophet Ibrahim who was willing to offer his son to please Allah. At the last moment, Allah provided a sheep as a substitute for the young man.
   The holiday is the highlight of the Hajj, when many Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mekkah (commonly called Mecca) to visit the Kabah, the mosque all Muslims face during prayer.
   Worshippers observe the day by praying in unison and listening to messages by imams and lay leaders. After services, Muslims traditionally slaughter an animal and divide the meat evenly among family, neighbors and those who cannot afford to buy food.
   "People remember this day within the Muslim community as a day of sacrificing animals but many miss the message of the sacrifice," Mr. Catovic said.
   Many ISCJ members pay to have an animal killed, according to Islamic dietary laws, at a slaughterhouse and have the butcher distribute the meat to those in need, said Magdy Hagag, a member of the society.
   "It’s really difficult to sacrifice your own animal and give it to your neighbor in a country like here," Mr. Hagag said.
   Mr. Catovic, who addressed those gathered at the fourth service, encouraged congregants to not only slaughter an animal but to offer Allah a pure heart free of malice and jealousy.
   Mr. Catovic drew a parallel between Ibrahim, who was troubled by the slavery, poverty and disenfranchisement of the majority of people around him and modern young Muslims, who are disturbed by the premarital sex and use of intoxicants with which they are surrounded.
   "They are trying to be moral people in an increasingly immoral world and we are not the only faith community that is having these problems," Mr. Catovic said.
   Mr. Catovic encouraged those gathered to imitate Ibrahim by holding on to their moral integrity in troubled times.
   Members of the congregation said they, too, regarded the holiday as a time for moral renewal.
   "You sort of have another year to focus on the good and keeping to your prayer and just being a good Muslim and raising your children as such," said Josephine Touri of Jamesburg.