May 10 set as Moslem's Sacrifice Day<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government announced yesterday that Moslems
\nin Indonesia will celebrate the Day of Sacrifice on Wednesday,
\nMay 10, as will co-religionists in the Holy Land in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
The celebration will be on the same date because of a change,
\nannounced yesterday by the Saudi Arabian government, in the time
\nfixed for the observance of a haj pilgrimage rite.<\/p>\n
Initially, the rite of stopping in the Arafah Plain was to be
\nheld on Monday, May 8, which would have meant that the Moslems
\nwho are now on the haj pilgrimage would have made their offering
\nof livestock on May 9.<\/p>\n
However, certain astronomical calculations and observations
\nconducted on Monday resulted in the decision that the Islamic
\nmonth of Dzulqaidah would last for 30 days, so that the sacrifice
\nday, which falls on the tenth day of the Islamic month of
\nDzulhijjah, will coincide with May 10.<\/p>\n
This change means that the rite of wukuf in the plain will
\nhave to be performed on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
On the Day of Sacrifice, Moslems all over the world sacrifice
\nlivestock in a rite imitating the Prophet Abraham's preparations
\nto sacrifice his son Ismail.<\/p>\n
The Antara news agency reported that most of the Indonesian
\npilgrims now in the Holy Land, together with the trip's
\norganizers, had expected the wukuf to be performed on Monday, and
\nhad prepared for all related activities accordingly.<\/p>\n
With the announcement, the trip organizers have now been
\nforced to make some new arrangements, the agency reported.<\/p>\n
An official of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Soufjan
\nDaud, said the date change would not cause too much trouble for
\nthe official trip organizers.<\/p>\n
The only people who will be affected by the change are
\npilgrims who have already had to postpone some activities because
\nof illness. \"The rest of the activities will go ahead as
\nplanned,\" Daud said.<\/p>\n
The problem of differing dates for Islamic holy days is long
\nstanding, and has often been a source of conflict between
\nMoslems. In Indonesia, many Moslem communities have, at one time
\nor another, had to celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday on a
\ndifferent day from other communities.<\/p>\n
Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher took up his post
\nin 1993 vowing that he would launch rigorous campaign to ensure
\nthat Moslems here celebrated, on the same days, both the onset of
\nthe Ramadhan fasting month and the Idul Fitri celebration.<\/p>\n
This year he was successful because all of the major Moslem
\norganizations agreed to have Idul Fitri at the same time.<\/p>\n
Antara reported yesterday that another change in the
\npilgrimage rites concerned the annual cleaning of the Holy Shrine
\nof Kaaba in Mecca and the replacement of the kiswah, the shrine's
\ncovering.<\/p>\n
The first rite is usually carried out on the first day of
\nDzulhijjah, which coincides with May 1, but this year it was
\nperformed on Dzulqaidah 30, which fell on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The replacement of the shrine's covering will be carried out
\non Tuesday, May 9, when the pilgrims are in the Arafah Plain.<\/p>\n
On Monday, local time, the team of Indonesian pilgrimage
\norganizers held a mass prayer in the camps, another rite usually
\nperformed a week prior to the stopping in the plain.<\/p>\n
Led by senior ulemas Husen Affandi and Hamid Alawy Alqof, the
\npilgrims recited Koranic verses and prayed for the safety of all
\npilgrims.<\/p>\n
By Monday, a total of 54 Indonesian pilgrims have died from
\nvarious causes, including five through traffic accidents, during
\nthis year's pilgrimage. (swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/may-10-set-as-moslems-sacrifice-day-1447893297",
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