Reza understands the symbolism of the story, and had a sad experience as a child in relation to this. His cousin was distraught because a pet goat he had fed and taken care of for years, had to end up being slaughtered on Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice). Reza also had a traumatizing experience when a goat was in the process of being slaughtered, but managed to escape with half of its neck cut off, it’s head dangling, being chased by his butcher.

Ugh! Sounds pretty gruesome and horrific! Imagine if it were a human being running around with his neck partially severed?

This story is one of over a hundred in an anthology by Lies Marcoes, a prominent Muslim feminist, called Merebut Tafsir (Reclaiming Interpretation). An interpretation of what? Of the dominant narrative which tends to be dictated by those in power: patriarchs. Actually what she is doing is ijtihad - independent reasoning encouraged strongly in Islam especially Islamic jurisprudence. Muslim feminists are known for it as you can imagine so-called “holy texts” have been formulated for the benefit of a patriarchal power system.

Truth be told, Idul Adha is my least favorite Muslim holiday. I totally agree with the spirit of sacrifice embodied in the day (see “The Spirit of Sacrifice”, editorial, The Jakarta Post, July 19), especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

But what I dislike about it is the slaughter involved. Before the pandemic, when I went on my morning walk around Idul Adha, I would see goats tethered to a tree or fence. I got close to one of them, it tried to approach me, obviously seeking my help to release it. I was so tempted to do that, not just one, but all of them. I cried internally as I walked away from the goat. A few days later when I passed that spot again, I knew that the goat with the sad eyes was most likely lying in its grave: human stomachs.

For a long time I thought, why can’t the sacrifice be seen as something symbolic? God was also being symbolic when He told Abraham to sacrifice his son. Why can’t we also see the sacrificial goat, sheep, cow or camel as being symbolic and replace it with cash or sembako (nine essential goods, e.g. rice, sugar, cooking oil, etc.) which is badly needed in these pandemic times.

A friend of mine, Yanti Nisro, did just that. When I found out, eagerly I contributed some money to buy more sembako packages – and many of her friends did too. She said she was inspired by the Nahdlatul Ulama Central Board of Executives (PBNU) who made an appeal to their followers who have the economic ability, to donate funds to help people affected by COVID-19. The same appeal was made by the Muhammadiyah Central Board of Executives (PP Muhammadiyah). NU and Muhammadiyah are respectively the largest and second-largest Muslim organizations in Indonesia.

In the end, as Kyai Husein Muhammad, a feminist ulema and colleague of Lies Marcoes said, anything that can help the welfare of poor people is good.

Some argue that giving meat on Idul Adha to poor people helps their nutritional intake. Once a year? Hello! Nutrition is a 365 day affair!

Perhaps one of the good things about being poor is not being able to afford to buy meat. But of course, good nutrition is more than just dropping meat from the menu. A plant based diet is strongly recommended “to lower cholesterol, prevent and even reverse heart disease, lower risk of cancer, slow the progression of certain types of cancers, lower risk of diabetes, improve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and improve or cure inflammatory arthritis and increase energy and function, improve sleep”. As Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.

Around the same time that Lies’ book was launched, another book called Generasi Terakhir (The Last Generation) was also launched. Written by Fachruddin M. Mangunjaya, who has long been involved in Islam and the environment, the book is about how Muslim activism tries to prevent climate change and environmental destruction.

The book is pretty academic, with chapters one to six on the epistemology of Islamic science and sustainable development; the ethics and morals of lifestyle; ecology and climate in the perspective of Islamic science; climate crisis in the Muslim world; actions to overcome climate change; morality, climate crisis and COVID-19, and an epilogue: “The choice is in our hands”.

The book also includes three attachments, one of which is the Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change.

Two questions arose in my mind: first, what is the trickledown effect of this book, and second, what is the contribution of a plant-based diet to our individual health as well as that of the planet according to Islam?

In 2018, an article was published in the UK daily Independent, called “Veganism Is ‘Single Biggest Way’ to Reduce Our Environmental Impact, Study Finds”. Pak Fachruddin, as impressive as your book is, did you miss that class?

Vegetarianism and veganism, once limited to hippies and spiritual sects, has become mainstream. In 2010, Bill Clinton became vegan for his heart disease (he actually calls himself a “cheagan” – cheating vegan, not the only cheating he’s engaged in!).

The list of celebrities who are vegan has become pretty long: Pamela Anderson, Liam and Chris Hemsworth, Ariana Grande, Paul McCartney and his daughter Stella, Benedict Cumberbatch, Natalie Portman and many, many others. Before you dismiss it as being a Hollywood trend, how about vegan Padang food (see “Padang vegan restaurants: 'Blasphemy' or a better option?” The Jakarta Post, July 2, 2021).

Rendang, the famous dry meat curry, a central feature of Padang food was crowned CNN’s World’s 50 Best Foods in 2012. Imagine vegan rendang? For me, that’s beyond exciting! And if Jakarta publishes a vegan restaurant guide, it means it’s more than a passing trend.

This Idul Adha, the government banned mass prayers (see “Govt bans mass prayers, public celebrations for Idul Adha”, The Jakarta Post, July 19). The pandemic has shown how things previously considered unthinkable becomes possible and how it can be made mandatory if it’s for the benefit of the majority of people.

I – and many others – have from the start seen the pandemic as an opportunity to press the reset button, certainly for the global environment, which after all is our common home. So let’s follow the Muslim feminists to reclaim our interpretation of Idul Adha, and a Muslim sustainable lifestyle that also contributes to the healing of the planet!

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The writer is the author of Julia’s Jihad.