Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha

Millions of Muslims across the globe – including in countries like Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt, Kenya and Yemen – are celebrating Eid al-Adha, one of the biggest holidays of the Islamic calendar.

Known as the “Feast of Sacrifice”, the revered observance coincides with the final rites of the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia.

It is a joyous occasion, for which food is a hallmark. Much of Asia, including Indonesia, India and Pakistan, will observe the holiday on Sunday.

But as Russia’s war in Ukraine sends food prices soaring and causes widespread hardship across the Middle East, many say they cannot afford the livestock for the ritual sacrifice.

Desperation over the cost of living has undercut the typically booming holiday trade in goats, cows and sheep.

Provided by PA Media Muslims pray outside a mosque as they celebrate Eid al-Adha, which Muslims in Russia call Kurban-Bairam, in St Petersburg (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)

“Everyone wants to sacrifice an animal in the name of Allah, but they are not able to do so because they’re poor,” said Mohammad Nadir from a cattle market in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan.

Eid al-Adha commemorates the Koran’s tale of Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice Ismail as an act of obedience to God. Before he could carry out the sacrifice, God provided a ram as an offering. In the Christian and Jewish telling, Abraham is ordered to kill another son, Isaac.

Many Muslims celebrate the four-day feast by ritually slaughtering livestock and distributing the meat among family, friends and the poor.

At al-Shati refugee camp in west Gaza City on Saturday, excited children lined up for the innards and trotters – a cherished offering for those otherwise unable to afford meat.

In cash-strapped Afghanistan, there is usually a shopping rush for prime animals ahead of the holiday. But this year, surging global inflation and economic devastation after the Taliban takeover have put a purchase of great religious importance beyond the reach of many.

“Last year on this day I sold 40 to 50 cattle,” said Mohammad Qassim, an Afghan cattle vendor. “This year, I have only managed to sell two.”

Provided by PA Media Muslim pilgrims walk to cast stones at a pillar in the symbolic stoning of the devil in Mina, near the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia (Amr Nabil/AP)

Wheat and meat prices have multiplied and hunger has spread as Russia’s war on Ukraine disrupts agriculture and constrains energy supply.

The sky-high costs of animal feed and fertiliser have forced livestock salesmen to hike prices.

From Tripoli in war-torn Libya, families are looking forward to the holiday after the past two years of the pandemic and more than a decade of violent chaos.

But the price tags – up to £1,750 per sheep – had buyers pacing around the dusty market, apprehensive about the major purchase.

“Honestly, the prices are crazy,” said Sabri al-Hadi, seeming exasperated.

At a livestock market in the blockaded Gaza Strip, there were hardly any buyers. Vendors said the price of sheep feed has jumped four-fold in recent weeks.

“Our life is full of loss,” lamented Abu Mustafa, a sheep salesman in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, which has long suffered from widespread unemployment and poverty.

Provided by PA Media Palestinians celebrate on the first day of Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City (Mahmoud Illean/AP)

On the streets of Ramallah, in the West Bank, Palestinian families were cutting back on other components of the feast – typically a bounty of dishes.

“On days like these, there was demand for fruits, sweets and for nuts as well, but as you can see… no-one is standing to buy now,” complained fruit vendor Baligh Hamdi.

But lavish feast or not, there were community prayers – a welcome sight in much of the world after years of coronavirus-related restrictions.

The faithful crowded into mosques across the Middle East and North Africa on Saturday.

From Kenya to Russia to Egypt, throngs of worshippers prayed shoulder to shoulder, feet to feet.

“I feel very happy that all these people came to pray,” said Sahar Mohamed in Cairo, smiling widely. “There is love and acceptance between people.”

In Saudi Arabia, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims rose at dawn to trek to Mina, a wide valley ringed by barren mountains where Prophet Muhammad stopped on his route some 1,400 years ago.

One million Muslims from around the world flocked this week to the holy city of Mecca, the largest pilgrimage since the pandemic upended the event.

At the Jamarat Complex, pilgrims carried out the symbolic stoning of the devil, recalling Ibrahim’s victory over temptation. It is among the set of rituals associated with the Prophet Muhammad and the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail performed every year for these five intense days.

Provided by PA Media People pray in a mosque celebrating Eid al-Adha in Shali, the Chechen Republic, Russia (Musa Sadulayev/AP)

The pilgrims threw pebbles at three large pillars that mark the places where the devil tried to interrupt Ibrahim’s sacrifice.

It is the most dangerous point in the hajj, with masses streaming back and forth. In 2015, thousands of pilgrims were crushed to death by surging crowds.

In the years since, authorities have improved access with wider streets, electronic gates and a high-speed rail link.

All Muslims who are physically and financially able to complete the spiritual journey are supposed to do so at least once in a lifetime. Saudi Arabia has maintained limits to curb the spread of the virus this year, with a Covid vaccine mandate and attendance less than half of pre-pandemic quotas.

Still, the scenes were a significant step closer to normal. The famous crowds thronged the holy sites, abandoning masks and safety measures.

At the end of the pilgrimage, one of the key pillars of Islam, men are expected to shave their heads and women to snip a lock of hair in a sign of renewal.

They will return to Mecca to circle the cube-shaped Kaaba, which represents the metaphorical house of God, in farewell before heading home and continuing to celebrate the remainder of Eid al-Adha with family.

“We are feeling very proud,” said Indian pilgrim Izhar Anjoom, who was stoning the devil in Mina. “We are enjoying (ourselves) so much because today is Eid.” 

• By Amr Nabil and Isabel Debre, Associated Press

50 feared dead as gunmen attack Catholic church in Nigeria

More than 50 people are feared dead after gunmen opened fire on worshippers at a Catholic church in Nigeria.

Other The church's priest was abducted in the attack. Pic: Rahaman A Yusuf/AP

The attackers targeted the St Francis Catholic Church in the town of Owo in the southwestern state of Ondo just as worshippers gathered on Pentecost Sunday, state politician Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole said.

Other Pic: Rahaman A Yusuf/AP

Authorities did not immediately release an official death toll, but Mr Oluwole said many children were among the dead.

© Other Pic: Rahaman A Yusuf/AP

Adelegbe Timileyin, who represents the Owo area in Nigeria’s lower legislative chamber, said at least 50 people had been killed, though others put the figure higher.

Mr Timileyin added that the church's priest was also abducted.

Videos appearing to be from the scene of the attack showed worshippers lying in pools of blood while people around them wailed.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

'Our hearts are heavy'

The state's governor Rotimi Akeredolu said he was shocked by the attack, adding: "Our peace and tranquillity have been attacked by the enemies of the people".

In a statement, Nigeria's president Muhammadu Buhari said: "Only fiends from the nether region could have conceived and carried out such dastardly act."

The president was elected after vowing to end Nigeria's prolonged security crisis.

Pope Francis prays for victims

The Vatican said Pope Francis was "praying for the victims and the country painfully affected at a time of celebration".

While much of Nigeria has struggled with security issues, Ondo is widely known as one of Nigeria's most peaceful states.

The town of Owo is around 214 miles (345km) east of the country's capital, Lagos.

Attacks on religious minorities in India occurred throughout last year, religious freedom report finds

Attacks on religious minorities in India, including killings and assaults, occurred throughout last year, a US report on religious freedom around the globe has found.

Reuters A petition was filed by a group of Hindus looking to pray inside the Gyanvapi

mosque compound which they claim was built atop the ruins of a medieval-era temple

Some officials in the officially secular Asian nation have ignored or even supported rising attacks on people and places of worship, a US official said on Thursday.

The report said the attacks included cow vigilantism - attacks on non-Hindus for allegedly slaughtering cows or trading in beef.

Most Hindus, who account for around 80% of India's 1.35 billion people,

consider cows sacred and many states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party have enacted laws or toughened old ones against slaughtering cows.

Meanwhile Muslims make up around 13% of India's population.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the rights of religious minorities around the world were under threat.

"For example, in India, the world's largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths, we've seen rising attacks on people and places of worship," Mr Blinken said.

Rashad Hussain, who leads the US State Department's efforts to monitor religious freedom around the world, said some

Indian officials were "ignoring or even supporting rising attacks on people and places of worship".

Sky News has contacted India's foreign ministry for comment. It has previously contested any external commentary on internal affairs - especially from the US.

It comes after a local court last month began hearing a petition filed by a group of Hindus that seeks access to pray inside the Gyanvapi mosque compound.

The petition argued the mosque was built atop the ruins of a medieval-era temple that was razed by a Mughal emperor and the petitioners say the complex still houses Hindu idols and motifs, a claim contested by the mosque's authorities.

Earlier this year, a ban on wearing hijabs in classrooms in the state of Karnataka - which had sparked protests by Muslim students and parents as well as counter-protests by Hindu students - was upheld in court. 

Pope Francis sparks resignation rumours

Reuters Pope Francis resignation rumours - Reuters

Pope Francis has fuelled speculation he is set to retire after announcing he will attend a ceremony founded by one of the few Pontiffs who stepped down from the role during their reign. 

Rumours of a papal resignation in Italian and Catholic media have been bolstered by the Vatican’s announcement on Saturday that the Pope will visit the city of L’Aquila in August for a feast initiated by Pope Celestine V. 

Traditionally popes are expected to hold their post until death, but there have been some exceptions to the rule, including Celestine V and more recently Benedict XVI.

The Vatican and the rest of Italy are usually on holiday in August to mid-September, with all but essential businesses closed, prompting the timing of the pastoral visit to raise eyebrows in Rome. 

“With today’s news that (at)Pontifex will go to L’Aquila in the very middle of the August consistory, it all got even more intriguing,” tweeted Vatican commentator Robert Mickens, linking to an essay he had published in La Croix International about the future of the pontificate.

The basilica in L’Aquila hosts the tomb of Celestine V, a hermit pope who resigned after five months in 1294, overwhelmed by the job. In 2009, Benedict visited L’Aquila, which had been devastated by a recent earthquake and prayed at Celestine’s tomb, leaving his pallium stole on it.

Vatican watchers on high alert

For weeks now the Pope’s increased mobility problems caused by a strained ligament and his use of a wheelchair have prompted Vatican watchers to wonder if he might follow in the footsteps of Benedict XVI, who resigned after just seven years.

© Provided by The Telegraph Pope Francis in a wheelchair following knee treatment - AFP

Last month Italian daily newspaper Il Foglio reported that Francis had said he would rather retire than undergo knee surgery. 

The announcement last week of a consistory to create 21 new cardinals has further convinced some commentators of the Pope’s intention to retire. Sixteen of the cardinals are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave to elect Francis’s successor. Once they are added to the ranks, the pontiff will have stacked the College of Cardinals with 83 of the 132 voting-age cardinals.

While there is no guarantee how the cardinals might vote, the chances that they will tap a successor who shares the incumbent Pope’s pastoral priorities become ever greater.

Francis was elected Pope in 2013 on a mandate to reform the Roman Curia. Now that the nine-year project has been rolled out and at least partially implemented, Francis’s main task as Pope has in some ways been accomplished.

In September 2021, upon being invited by the Bishop of Ragusa to attend the seventy-fifth anniversary of the foundation of the Diocese in 2025, the Holy Father reportedly smiled and told the bishop that John XXVI would be making the visit, not him. This in turn fuelled new rumours of an imminent retirement.

Health issues add to retirement rumours

Last year, after undergoing colon surgery, rumours began circulating that he would,

soon leave the Vatican owing to his worsening health. 

“I’m not playing this game,” he told a Spanish radio station at the time. “I don’t watch television. During the day I’m given a report on the day’s events –

but I found out much later, a few days later, that there were rumours of my resignation. Every time a Pope is sick there is a wind, hurricane, of conclave.”

Despite speculation surrounding his tenure, the Pontiff has a series of major engagements in his calendar. 

In addition to upcoming trips this year to Congo, South Sudan, Canada and Kazakhstan, in 2023 he has scheduled a major meeting of the world’s bishops to debate the increasing decentralisation of the Catholic Church, as well as the continued implementation of his reforms. 

Reference: The Telegraph: Sofia Barbarani