As in many of our religious holidays like "Fasika"/Easter and new year celebration, wedding and
others, Ethiopians Muslims and Christians buy sheep to slaughter for a feast.
Our family has to follow our father and do this ritual and this experience from child hood until now never lost and still remember asking my father as if today, why do we slaughter sheep?.
The answer was straight and simple.My father answered to us "when God asked Abraham/Ibrahim to sacrifice his son he never hesitated to do it. God saved Abraham's
son and gave him a sheep to sacrifice ".
Here in the Western world we still follow that ritual. A decade ago for my wedding my father and father-in-law have to go to New Jersey to buy sheep.
Here is the funny thing. The Muslim merchant has to make his prayer "Besemelahe" and my father and father-in-law jumped with him saying "Besmaeabe Wewelde" and hold his hand and slaughter the sheep.
All of us laughed on the incident but one thing is true, we all believe in one God in our own way and I wish my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters a happy Eid al- Adha.
Tedla Asfaw
