MAGUINDANAO, Philippines – Central Mindanao’s Muslim folk expect their clerics to focus their khutab (sermon) on the need for lasting peace and solidarity among local communities in today’s Eid’l Adha celebration.
The khutab is part of the outdoor congregational prayer during the Eid’l Adha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice.
The Eid’l Adha celebration is centered on the biblical story, also narrated in the Koran, on how Ibrahim (Abraham) nearly slaughtered his son to prove his faith to Allah.
By religious context, the kurban, or sacrifice highlighting the Eid’l Adha, signifies Ibrahim’s unquestionable belief in Allah.
The Eid’l Adha also marks the end of the annual obligatory hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Asian Muslims call the event “Hariraya Hajj.â€
The Eid’l Adha is capped with prayers and the faithful give poor neighbors the meat of animals butchered as kurban.
Public officials have called on Central Mindanao’s ethnic Muslim groups to offer prayers for lasting peace in troubled areas when they go out to perform the Eid’l Adha congregational worship rite.