About two and a half weeks ago I started teaching at a little school run by the NGO Godh in a gypsy camp 25kms away on Lahore’s outskirts. I felt this would be the best way to get a real perspective on education in Pakistan, as well as a chance to talk to the people who mattered.
Whilst teaching at Naya din school, time flew by. Every odd morning I spent riding out along the sandy banks of the Ravi river and in the afternoons taught at Godh’s school. So I was surprised when Eid-ul-Adha happened.

Eid Mubarak! There are two Eid (holidays) every year in the Muslim calender. Eid-ul-Fairt is celebrated after the fasting month of Ramszan when x million muslims are free to eat properly again after a month of only eating at night. Eid-ul-adha is held around the time of the annual Haj to Mecca. It’s a time for families and rejoicing as cows, goats, sheep and even camels are sacrificed to please God. Now before anyone jumps the gun, here’s why. The story goes that Prophet Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son for Allah to show his devotion. With tears in his eyes he closed them and on opening them, he found a lamb in the place where his son had first knelt. Such an act is regarded as barbaric in the West, but just for a moment think outside yourself and appreciate the thoughts of a peace loving people to whom this is tradition and belief. It signifies more than slaughtering.

We arrived at the Badshahi mosque at 7am on the first day of Eid. there was nobody around and it was really cold. After warming our hands around a cup of chai, we followed the thousands of people streaming into Pakistan’s largest Mosque.

The Badshahi mosque was built in 1674 by the last great Mogul emperor Aurungzeb. It’s reputed to hold 100,000 people and I have to admit it is possible. The place is huge with a yawning entrance gate that echoes as you pass under. the mosque has a large open area surrounded on each side by a 4m high wall with 30m minerets on each corner. the imposing Prayer hall is devoid of fittings save for a lecturn for the preacher to give sermon. By the time we took our place, approximately 5000 people where standing and the speakers crackled as prayers began. TV crews scurried hither and dither around the outside of the crowd as the sermon began. I have to admire the oneness of Islam which seems greater than most of the Christians I know. It was also a humbling experience being in the monumental presence of the Badshahi’s mosque along with so many people united together.

We travelled the narrow streets of the old city afterwards and it wasn’t long before we were invited into the open courtyard of a rich merchant’s house where they were sacrificing sheep. The wealthy owners had a camel tethered nearby which could clearly sense it’s impending fate. The price of sheep and goats has sky rocketed this year due to a high demand for too few goats. On average a goat costs 7-15,000 rupees whereas a horse may be around 25,000. Apparently, several charities have taken to sacrificing animals on behalf of the poor people.

In our house special butchers were dealing with the goats/sheep in traditional halal manner. Such butchers are in high demand over Eid and it’ll take three dyas for them to reach every house. After each animal was skinned and cut, the meat was separated into three separate portions (usually in plastic bags). One portion of the animal is kept for yourself, the second for your family and the last for the poor who drifted by form time to time to collect their portion. The sacrificing is a bit of a messy business as bladders, stomachs and intestines were dumped on the street for a later charity collection service. The gutters literally ran red with the blood of so much livestock and I was simply glad it had decided to rain today!