Eid al-Adha Set for July 20 in France, Muslims Urged to Exercise Caution Amid COVID-19

In a press release, the CFCM announced that the Eid al-Adha (1442-2021) festival is scheduled for Tuesday, July 20, 2021. Recalling that this feast commemorates the work and sacrifice of the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim) and his son Ishmael touched by divine mercy following a manifest trial, it indicated that the fasting of the days preceding Eid and especially the day of Arafat the day before Eid, July 19, 2021, gives Muslims the opportunity to measure the suffering and distress of those who daily suffer the ravages of poverty.

"As most rites, the sacrificial act consisting of the slaughter of a sheep (one per family) or a bovine (one for seven families), which is a recommendation or even an obligation for certain schools, is not an end in itself: ’Neither their flesh nor their blood has any importance for God. Only your piety counts for Him. So He has put these animals at your service, so that you may glorify Him for having guided you on the right path. Prophet! Announce to those who do good’ (Quran - 22-37)," the CFCM points out, specifying that tradition provides for one third of the animal sacrificed on the occasion of the feast to be given to the poor, one third served to friends and relatives and the last third for family consumption.

"The sacrificial act must be carried out by authorized sacrificers, in permanent or temporary slaughterhouses approved by the State, in compliance with regulations relating to food safety, health, animal welfare and environmental protection: the slaughter of animals outside slaughterhouses is prohibited and constitutes an offense," insists the Muslim organization chaired by Mohammed Moussaoui.

"Given the limited capacity of the approved slaughter facilities, the CFCM reminds that the sacrificial act can take place over the three days of Eid al-Adha. Similarly, delegation of sacrifice is unanimously authorized. The delegation may be given to a natural person or to a recognized humanitarian NGO for this service," the council also indicates.

Since the Eid al-Adha feast is a moment of sharing and solidarity marked by many gatherings in mosques and families, the CFCM calls on Muslims to be extremely vigilant in these times of Covid-19.