Monday, September 28, 2015

Idul Adah

Well friends, it's been a while since I posted.  Not that I haven't doing anything exciting, or had any thoughts worth expressing.  But maybe that's why it's been so long.  Too much going on, that sitting down to type up a blog post isn't top priority.

But a few days ago I got to witness something new.  Since Indonesia is a Muslim country, Islamic holidays all become national holidays.  Last Thursday was one of the most important Muslim holidays. Idul Adah.

In Christianity and Judaism,  the story of Abraham's sacrifice is about his younger son, Isaac, born to Sara.  Abraham and Isaac went to make a sacrifice on Mt. Uriah, but brought no animal for the sacrifice, because God had asked Abraham to sacrifice his promised son.  This was a common practice among other religions at the time, but since Isaac was a son that included a promise for countless descendants, God's request would be confusing.  Nevertheless, Abraham showed his faith in God by being willing to do this act.  Abraham is listed in the Bible as a man filled with faith as shown by his actions here.

This holiday, Idul Adah is celebrating this even.  But the Muslims understand the story differently.  They believe that Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away to the desert (which the Bible also teaches us), where they wandered and thirsted.  Last year I bought a Muslim Children's book about the Hajj that taught me, as well as my class, about the rituals, many of which represent Abraham, Hagar, and Ishmael.  They believe that Abraham had a dream where he was sacrificing Ishmael, which he understood as God's (Allah's) call.  So he prepared for the sacrifice and laid Ishmael down to sacrifice him. But at that  moment, God called out to stop him from sacrificing his son, and instead provided an animal sacrifice.  God was pleased at Abraham's willingness to obey.

On Idul Adah, Muslims take part in sacrificing to remember what Abraham did.  They give one third to the poor, keep one third, and give one third to their friends.  They are called to use the sacrifice as a representation of putting their own desires to death so as to better be able to acquire the desire to do the good works that Allah asks them to do.  (Here's where I found quite a bit of my information: http://www.muslim.org/islam/sacrifice.htm)

I had never been around over Idul Adah until this year.  It always fell on a longer holiday when I would go travel, so I was excited to hopefully get a glimpse of this important holy event.  A friend and I hopped on a motor bike and went to a kampung nearby.  We drove down a little side street and arrived at a clearing with a few trees shading a large crowd of people.  Men were bent over the bulls, carefully gutting them.  Women sat to the side and chatted.  Children ran and laughed and played with the heads or other body parts laying around.  They were dividing up all the beef into different piles, It was quite an even to witness!  They were very friendly and welcoming, inviting us to take pictures and telling us about what they were doing.

I had been expecting a somber event.  But it was really a celebration!  The whole village together to sacrifice, eat, and enjoy.

Below are some pictures. I would say enjoy, but most people don't enjoy scenes like this.  But be informed, and learn, as I did, a little about this religion, just as strong in our world as my own.  It's so closely tied, shares many traditions and beliefs, yet is so far from knowing and experiencing the truth of God's love and grace found in Christ Jesus.





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