The Muslims of the Russian South celebrate Kurban Bayram

Today the Muslims of the Southern regions of Russia and their brothers in faith are celebrating Kurban Bayram, the day of sacrificial offering and one of the main Muslim holidays. In some regions of the Russian South local residents reported rising prices on animals’ flesh for offering on the eve of the holiday.

The celebration started after the believers made common morning Id-namaz in the mosques. After that the Muslims must visit their relatives’ graves and then start the mandatory ceremony of sacrificial offering for themselves and on behalf of members of their families. On October, 25, six thousand sheep were distributed among poor families in Grozny to perform the ceremony of sacrificial offering, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent reports.

“Each Muslim must perform the ceremony of sacrificial offering within the three days of Kurban Bayram. With the first splashes of blood of the sacrificial animal all the past sins of a person performing Kurban are forgiven. The believers perform the ceremony not only for themselves but also on behalf of members of their families”, a representative of the clergy of Chechnya explained.

“For already 17 years 50 sheep are brought to the stanitsa of Assinovskaya, Chechen Republic, on the eve of Kurban Bayram upon the order of Head of the Republic. The animals are distributed among the families of childless old folk and families having many children who for some reason or other lost their breadwinner”, Nazarbek Terkhoev, Head of the Administration of this rural settlement, said.

“The ceremony of offering is usually performed by the eldest man in the family. For this purpose the mullah or his assistants comes to the families consisting only of old folks, women and children”, Head of the settlement of Assinovskaya says.

Kurban Bayram lasts three days during which the believers not only perform offering and other ceremonies but also forgive faults to one another, visit their relatives’ graves and appeal to the Omnipotent praying for forgiveness.

“150 people in the jameh mosque of Maikop get two kilogram meat each, among them Syrian Circassians who returned to their native lands, disabled persons, single mothers and poor people”, the secretary of the mosque informed.

“To me Kurban is more a day off than a holiday, resident of Maikop Svetlana Chich said. – I congratulate my relatives on the phone. I do not go to the mosque or perform offering but I know that rich residents of the auls organize distribution of meat to the poor together”.