3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: May 25, 2026 04:04 AM IST
Issuing an appeal to ensure the peaceful observance of Eid-al-Adha this week, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s minority morcha on Sunday urged Muslims to avoid community animal sacrifices and especially that of large species, keeping religious harmony in mind.
BJP national minority morcha president Jamal Siddiqui said that as per Islam, ‘qurbani’ or sacrifice of animals on Bakrid is considered ‘wajib’ or required and not ‘fard’ or strictly mandatory. He further appealed to the community to protect cows during the festival.
“Bakrid is the festival of renunciation and sacrifice, it should be observed with mutual love and harmony. I urge all Muslim brethren not to sacrifice any prohibited animal, and to especially protect the cow which a large section of the people of the country and especially our Hindu brothers consider as a mother,” said Siddiqui, who hails from the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’s stronghold of Nagpur in Maharashtra.
“Our Hindu brothers’ religious feelings are attached to cows, and keeping that in mind, there should be no ‘qurbani’ of cows at all…some self-proclaimed custodians of the religion try to mislead the people by terming animal sacrifice as ‘farz’ (or ‘fard’). But as per Islam, ‘qurbani’ is deemed ‘wajib’, and that too only for those with the required means and (social) standing…not for the economically weak, drowned in debt, and already struggling to make daily ends meet,” he further added.
Alleging that “fearmongering” in the name of animal sacrifice was anti-Islam, he said that such attempts could trigger communal tension, disagreement and disputes.
Siddiqui called for ‘qurbani’ at an individual level and in accordance with one’s means and capacity. “Usually, a goat, sheep or dumba (Arabic goat) are sacrificed by one person. In community sacrifices, big animals such as a camel, ox or buffalo are sacrificed by seven people and considered a ‘qurbani’ with seven parts,” he said.
“Today, some people take advantage of this tradition and create pressure on poor Muslims for community sacrifices with the intention of generating funds, which is not right; it also triggers disputes,” he added.
Story continues below this ad
Appealing to the larger Muslim community, he also asked for prayers to be conducted at mosques, idgahs and locations designated by the local administration in two to three shifts, as the case may be, with an aim to ensure minimal inconvenience to the public.
“If it is essential to offer namaz in the open due to some reason, it should be done with the prior permission of the administration,” he added.
