JEDDAH: Al-Islam Group, a Jeddah-based community development group, intends to distribute sacrificial meat among 500,000 poor people in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh during Eid Al-Adha with the support of national organizations, said Muhammad Abdul Mateen Osmani, the group's director.
The group, which is engaged in a variety of dawa activities, recently launched a website (www.qurbaniforall.com) in order to mobilize worldwide support for its humanitarian project. "For the poor in our countries eating meat is a luxury," Osmani said.
Speaking to Arab News, he said many people in different countries had agreed to support the project. "One man told me that he wanted to distribute the meat of 50 sacrificial animals in India," he added.
He said Al-Islam Group had been conducting this community service for the last decade, adding that it had won the applause of not only contributors but also beneficiaries.
"We have been previously focusing on India but from this year onward, we would like to expand our services to Pakistan and Bangladesh with the help of national Islamic community groups," Osmani said.
Udhiyah or Qurbani is an Islamic practice in which the affluent share their good fortune with the less fortunate. On the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, by sacrificing animals, wealthy Muslims all over the world perform this Islamic duty in commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim's (peace be upon him) readiness to sacrifice his son Ismail (may God be pleased with him).
"The aim of this sacrificial meat project is to assist as many Muslims as possible to perform this noble act by offering the Qurbani in order to distribute meat among poor Muslims on the day of Eid Al-Adha," he said.
Osmani said a well-structured distribution plan had been set up for economically backward and slum areas in the three countries." Arrangements have been made for the distribution of sacrificial meat in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. For further details, Osmani can be contacted on 0508604182.
