Thursday was the first day of Eid AL Adha, a Muslim celebration that commemorates Abraham's willingness to obey God's command and sacrifice his son Ismael. Symbolically Muslims around the world slaughter a sheep, a practice that has some Muslims asking is that even necessary?
In her article "Should Muslims reconsider Animal Slaughter on Eid?" Anila Muhammad writes:
The Quran states that Abraham had a dream in which he believed God was instructing him to sacrifice his son. What should be obvious, yet is overlooked, is that at no point does the Quran state the dream was from God or that God demanded this sacrifice. This is an important distinction to make since the insistence for animal sacrifice is based upon the notion that Abraham's vision came from God and God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son. In fact, it should be noted that God interjects to stop Abraham from sacrificing his son.
This brings me to the point of sacrifice. Not that long ago, I remember seeing and hearing about many Libyans who made the ultimate sacrifice-that of giving their lives to the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. Their strife remains as vivid as ever, even while the country descents further and further into chaos. During this holiday the Libyan community-in Libya and abroad-should take a moment to remember Libya's martyrs, as well as those who gave up everything in support of what they believed to be a better way of life.
On September 23, after almost a year of tough negotiations, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Bernardino Leon presented the final text of the proposed Libya political framework to establish a new Government of National Accord in Libya. Now, as Libya's governments are considering the UN backed agreement to form a unity government, it seems they should remember to make sacrifices and come together, no matter how difficult the task, in support of Libya and her people. However, the House of Representatives based in the east already rejected the plan presented, largely on grounds that it will bring Islamists to power. Leon extend the deadline to October 20, saying the governments must reach an agreement by then. If they don't it is very likely that the General Command of Armed forces will declare a state of Emergency, which could essentially mean more violence.
Meanwhile, on the days leading up to Eid, the Libyan people were worrying about how to pay for the sheep they think they must sacrifice in the name of Islam. I can't make up my mind to which is the greater crisis: Libyans and their unwillingness to come together, or Libyans and their absurd adherence to culture and not religion. In his interview with BBC HARDTALK, Aref El Nayed, Libya's ambassador to the UE talks about how Libya and the Middle East is wondering what Islam is and "where do we go from here?" He also points out the need to negotiate with "thugs" or those we don't want to negotiate with in times of extreme importance. He goes on to say, "we realize that fighting terrorism is an integral part of this UN led peace talks and agreement. If we can all commit to fighting terrorism we have found something that can unify us. We can never win if we are fragmented and fighting with one another."
Leon gave the governments until after the Eid holiday to decide on the final text and agree to name the leaders of the new government. Now with one government already rejecting the proposal it remains unclear as to what, if anything at all will happen in Libya. Let us remember that Abraham dreamt God asked him to kill his son. In that sense, his sacrifice was more about his willingness to let go of something he loved dearly than to actually act on killing. Will those in power in Libya learn to let go of their own staunch perspectives in light of the greater good for the country, or will they kill what could very well be the last opportunity to move Libya forward?