Why Morocco will abstain from sacrificing sheep this Eid al-Adha

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King Mohammed VI has urged Moroccans not to slaughter sheep for the upcoming Eid al-Adha festivities. The reason – the soaring prices of livestock and the scarcity of sheep read more
Sheep are offered for sale for the upcoming Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha in a market on the outskirts of Rabat, Morocco. File image/AP
In Morocco, Eid al-Adha will be like no other. The celebrations will go on but without the ritual of animal sacrifice. It's a directive from King Mohammed VI.
Through a letter the king, who is Morocco's supreme religious, announced in February that families should 'abstain' from slaughtering sheep this year and that the monarch would perform the Eid sacrifice on behalf of the people.
Why will Moroccans not sacrifice sheep this Eid?
Morocco is breaking away from the centuries-old practice because of soaring livestock prices and a scarcity of sheep. According to the king's letter, performing animal sacrifice on Eid would cause 'real harm to many of our people, particularly those with limited income'.
'Our commitment to enabling you to fulfil this religious right under the best conditions is accompanied by the duty to consider the climatic and economic challenges facing our country, which have led to a significant decline in livestock numbers,' King Mohammed VI said.
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Such a big announcement has not been made in the country for decades. The late King Hassan cancelled the Eid sacrifice three times during his rule for similar reasons or in the aftermath of the 1963 Sand War with neighbouring Algeria, reports Middle East Eye.
How dire is the situation in Morocco?
Morocco is seeing a dip in the herds of sheep because of a six-year drought, which has caused livestock numbers to plummet. The calamity has only intensified inflation.
The cost of a sheep in Morocco frequently surpasses the average monthly household income; the minimum wage is approximately 3,000 Moroccan dirhams (Rs 28,000). A recent survey conducted by the NGO Moroccan Center for Citizenship indicated that 55 per cent of respondent families encountered financial difficulties in acquiring sheep and utensils needed to cook such a meal.
The rise in prices is driven by the increasingly sparse pastures; there is less room for grazing, and this increases the cost of feed for herders and farmers. Morocco's livestock numbers have shrunk by more than a third compared to the figure counted in the last census in 2016, according to the agriculture ministry.
For livestock sellers, the economic toll has also proved heavy. At the Khemisset market, 24-year-old Marouane Haizoun was waiting to sell two cows. He said he had left his sheep on the family farm as it would have been difficult to sell any this year. 'Prices would have been exorbitant,' he told AFP.
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Some families 'would have to take out loans' to buy sheep, admitted Mona Hajjami, 28, who was buying vegetables at the market.
Sheep come running when Labri El Ghazouani pours alfalfa and straw into their troughs twice a day. File image/AP
Yet not everyone is pleased to give up the practice. Fatima Kharraz said that she can't seem to find the usual sense of celebration, as Eid approaches. 'We don't feel the usual excitement… It's as if the holiday doesn't exist.'
While others come out in support of the king's call, they agree that the festivities are dull. 'I support the decision,' said Hajjami. Still, she added, 'It's normal to feel a void without an atmosphere of grilled meat.'
However, experts believe the cancellation of sacrifice will help the country. 'We know today that the purchasing power of many citizens has severely declined. Therefore, cancelling Eid al-Adha could spare these individuals from spending financial resources,' Mohammed Jadri, a Moroccan economist and director of the Observatory of Government Action, a private monitoring organisation was quoted as saying by Middle East Eye.
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According to him, it would 'ease the burden on those who suffered last year, where livestock reached record levels exceeding $500 to $600 per head.'
Why are sheep and goats sacrificed on Eid al-Adha?
Eid al-Adha, which will be celebrated on June 7 is an annual 'feast of sacrifice', during which the faithful slaughter livestock to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim's devotion.
According to the Quran, Ibrahim or Abraham, prepared to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God, who intervened and replaced the child with a sheep.
This is a major holiday for millions of Muslims worldwide, from Morocco to Indonesia, with traditions so embedded that families often borrow money or take out loans in order to buy sheep.
With inputs from agencies