JEDDAH: Sacrificial animals supplied by the Sacrificial Meat Utilization Project are cheaper than identical animals available in local markets.
“The price of a coupon for a sacrificial goat under the project this year is SR430, which is cheaper than similar animals in the local markets. They are bought in bulk and by tender,” Islamic Development Bank President Ahmad Muhammad Ali said.
Ali said the coupons could be bought from counters in Makkah, Madinah, the holy sites, and various entry points to the Kingdom. It could be also bought online on the project’s website from anywhere in the world. He said a total of 12 million animals were distributed over the past 27 years in addition to the meat of 5 million animals distributed to the poor people in Makkah and other areas in the Kingdom.
The excess meat after the local distribution has been sent to 24 countries, he said. The project employs 37,000 butchers and administrators, 700 veterinary doctors and 400 experts to guarantee that the cattle fulfill the Shariah specifications for sacrifice, he said.
Meanwhile, with the support of national organizations, Jeddah-based Al-Islam Group intends to distribute sacrificial meat among 500,000 poor people in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh during Eid Al-Adha, said Muhammad Abdul Mateen Osmani, the group’s head.
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. 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 said. Arrangements have been made for the distribution of sacrificial meat in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and UP. Osmani can be contacted on 0508604182.
— With input from P.K. Abdul Ghafour
