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‘Time to give back’: Muslims participate in Idul Adha rituals despite pandemic
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In this file photo, workers package meat from sacrificed animals at the PD Dharma Jaya slaughterhouse in Cakung, Jakarta, on July 31, 2020. (Antara/Aprillio Akbar)
M
illions of Muslims in Indonesia celebrated Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice), which fell on Tuesday this year, under the government-imposed restrictions that dampened the day’s festivities. However, the curbs did not lessen the spirit of self-sacrifice that characterized the Islamic holy day.
For Diana Yusuf, 46, this year’s Idul Adha was the first that she observed without his father, who died on Monday as a result of coronary disease. This prompted her to take over her late father’s role as a committee member in charge of the qurban (animal sacrifice) ritual, which is synonymous with the Islamic holy day, in her neighborhood.
Amid her grief, Diana said it was important to participate in the ritual, noting that Idul Adha marked a time for her to give back to the less fortunate people in her community.
“There are still a lot of other people less fortunate than us. Some can eat meat every day whenever they want. But there are also people who can only eat it once a year,” Diana told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. “This is the time to give back.”
She admitted that having to organize her local qurban ritual amid the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak worried her as she feared for her and her family’s safety.
“We had to find a way to do the qurban ritual while still being safe, this was really difficult,” said Diana.
Unlike previous years, the government required that this year’s qurban ritual be conducted in slaughterhouses or, if the slaughterhouses were at full capacity, to be done outdoors. Attendances were also strictly limited by the committee in charge of managing the livestock and their donors.
