Muslims in Kazakhstan to celebrate Qurban Ayt

Photo:Central Asia NewswireMuslims in Kazakhstan and around the world will celebrate the holy festival of Qurban Ayt (Eid al-Adha) on October 26, marking the end of the Hajj pilgrimage.

The Supreme Mufti of Kazakhstan Sheikh Absattar Hajji Derbisali wished all Kazakh citizens a happy holiday, reports universalnewswires.com.

“Qurban Ayt“is one of the greatest holidays of the Islamic world,” he said. “The holiday embodies care of relatives and compassion to the people in need.”

Believers around the region sacrificed lambs on the day of Eid al-Adha, which means “Festival of the Sacrifice,” marking Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael.

Eid al-Adha is one of the two most important festivals in the Islamic calendar. The other is Eid al-Fitr, “The Feast of Breaking the Fast,” which marks the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting.

Interests of religious and ethnic groups of multi-ethnic Kazakhstan are considered when developing laws and making important government decisions. The Lower House of Kazakh Parliament, the Majilis, has 9 members from the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan and MP Akhmet Muradov congratulated the Muslims of Kazakhstan on their behalf, reports caspionet.kz.

Akhmet Muradov, Kazakh MP: “Qurban Ayt (Eid al-Adha) became a non-working holiday in our country alongside Orthodox Christmas and this is the result of respect for religions. Our government made this decision respecting the feelings of the religious people. Qurban Ayt has always been celebrated in our country and during these days people from Kazakhstan and all over the world travel to Mecca to perform the Hajj and I pray to Almighty Allah that he accepts the prayer of the faithful. They pray for peace and harmony in our country.”

WKT