Muslim scholars appeal against cow slaughter

Hyderabad: Amid a debate on cow slaughter ahead of Bakrid, a group of Islamic scholars from southern India has appealed to Muslims to avoid sacrificing cows, in the community’s larger interest.

Maulana Anwar Ahmed, senior academic with the Jamia Nizamia, said the Sharia had given multiple options to Muslims in terms of animal sacrifice on the three days of Bakrid.

Muslims could slaughter sheep, camels, buffaloes, cows, bulls and bullocks.

He said there was nothing wrong if the Muslims “strategically” refrained from sacrificing cows for the festival. “Islam is a religion of flexibility. We are not bound to slaughter cows on Id. We have other options which we can use,” the maulana said.

Islamic scholar Syed Hussain Madani, who is heading the campaign to appeal to the Muslim community to refrain from sacrificing cows, said that well-known personalities like Majlis-e-Tameer-e-Millat president Mohammed Abdul Raheem Qureshi,  All India Muslim Personal Law Board assistant secretary Moulana Aneesur Rehman Azmi of Chennai and others like Maulana Mufti Nassem Ahmed Ashrafi, and Maulana Mufti Mahboob Shareef Nizami were backing the initiative. Mr Madani advised Muslims to show pragmatism in the prevailing situation and sacrifice the alternative animals permitted by the Sharia to ensure that peace is maintained.

He said, “Allah doesn’t burden more than one can bear. There is ample room to avoid this (sacrifice of cow) in the prevailing situation when there are legal restrictions and threat to communal disharmony over the issue.”