Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Islam Leaps Into the 21st Century

It's a good thing the Aztecs didn't have the Internet. Where is PeTA?

KARACHI, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Religious organisations in Pakistan are using the Internet to help Muslims in Western countries buy and sacrifice animals for an annual festival. Eid al-Adha marks the end of the Haj pilgrimage each year to Mecca and is known as the feast of sacrifice. Muslims who can afford it buy and slaughter animals and distribute the meat among the poor and relatives. Muslims in Western countries unable to perform the ritual can now buy an animal over the Internet, and even watch it being slaughtered, before its meat is given away... In Pakistan, thousands of cows, goats, sheep and camels are sacrificed to celebrate Eid al-Adha, which this years falls in the first week of January. Traditionally, sacrificial animal markets are set up in big cities and towns where traders bring animals in from villages. Buying a sacrificial animal over the Internet is also becoming popular in Pakistan, said Farukh Sheikh of the Sahara trust for life. "It is a matter of convenience. People nowadays don't have time to go to the markets and haggle over prices," Sheikh said.
Or Not.
DATELINE:LUCKNOW, India, Dec 19, 2006 (AFP) - Muslim clerics in northern India have joined a government campaign to fight polio after a spurt of cases in the region, religious leaders said Tuesday. Uttar Pradesh state has recorded 489 cases this year, up from just 66 last year. Nearly 70 percent of the cases have been recorded among Muslims, according to official figures. Health officials say efforts to eradicate the disease have hit a roadblock over Muslim fears that polio vaccines can cause impotency... Banners and posters in many villages ask Muslims not to allow health workers to enter their homes to give polio vaccines. "Large-scale participation of Muslim clerics is a boost to our eradication drive," said V.S. Nigam, a senior health official.

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