Pakistanis take livestock to 'cow wash' ahead of Eid

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - The days leading up to the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha are busy for Uzair Dawood, the owner of a motorcycle wash in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi - not for fixing vehicles, but washing cattle.

Eid al-Adha falls on Saturday in the South Asian nation, and like Muslims across the world, Pakistanis purchase cattle to sacrifice on the occasion as a religious obligation.

"It is very busy day just a day before Eid and we don't have time for a bike wash," Dawood told Reuters as he busied himself lathering a cow with soap before using the pressure hose to clean the animal.

Sacrificial animals are treated with deference by Pakistanis, who often decorate the cattle they have purchased with colourful garlands.

"We bring these animals here because we want them neat and clean because it is an animal for sacrifice and we are happy to see it happy," one customer, Osama Haider Ali, told Reuters.

Dawood's shop is located in a densely populated district of Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, and is one of many vehicle service stations with customers queuing up with animals.

"Servicing" cattle is not as easy as motorcycles, says Dawood who charges 200 to 300 Pakistani rupees ($1.20 to $1.80) per wash, for which he uses shampoo, soap, brush and a hose.

"A vehicles remains in its place ... but washing an animal is risky. It can hit you, it can kick you. It can break the rope".

Eid al-Adha is observed by Muslims to commemorate their belief that prophet Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God, before God replaced his son with a ram to be sacrificed instead.

Muslims who can afford it sacrifice cattle. But it can also be a camel, goat, sheep or ram, depending on the region.

The coronavirus has cast a shadow over this Eid, with fears of another spike in infections prompting authorities to warn people to minimise movement, avoid cattle markets and refrain from public gatherings to witness the slaughter of sacrificial animals.

Eid al-Fitr, marked in May, was followed by a spike in COVID-19 infections with new daily cases hitting up to 7,000 in June.

Daily infections have fallen to around 1,100 in Pakistan over the last few days of July.

Reference: Reuters:1 day ago: 31st July 2020

When is Hajj and what is the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca about?

Every year millions of Muslims make the pilgrimage to the Kaaba, or the 'House of God', in the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Over the course of five days, rites of Hajj are performed, in what is considered one of the five pillars of Islam.

Every Muslim is expected to make the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.

But when is Hajj this year and how will coronavirus impact the religious gathering? Here's what you need to know...

When is Hajj 2020?

This year, Hajj begins on Tuesday, July 28, and will end on Sunday, August 2.

Why is it important in Islam?

The event also coincides with Eid al-Adha, which marks Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael on divine orders.

Over a five-day period, various rituals take place, with pilgrims donning special religious garments and performing a counter-clockwise procession around the Kaaba, a cube-shaped building draped in black silk.

In the eastern corner of the Kaaba lies a black stone, which Muslims believe to be the one that angel Gabriel gave to Abraham.

Pilgrims then touch or kiss the stone as part of the ceremony.

How will this year's Hajj be different?

As has been the case with many events and religious festivals, Hajj will be scaled back this year to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Saudi Arabia's Hajj Ministry said it will only allow 1,000 people already residing in the kingdom to participate in this year's pilgrimage.

Saudi Arabia prepares for scaled-back Hajj amid Covid-19 pandemic

That said, it has been reported that as many 10,000 people could take part.

Guidelines also state that pilgrims must be between the ages of 20-50, and they must be in good health.

Pilgrims from further afield and from different countries will not be permitted to take part in the annual Hajj this year.

Reference: Evening Standard: Emma Clarke 1 day ago

Church of England investigating claim Archbishop of Canterbury failed to act on abuse allegations

The church launched an independent review last year into claims the late John Smyth QC had stripped young men naked and beat them violently at the summer holiday camps.

One of those claiming to have been abused has now written to the Church of England, claiming Mr Welby – who worked as a dormitory officer at the camps – had failed to refer the allegations to social services and the police.

Accusing the archbishop of “inaction”, the unnamed man told Channel 4 News: “I find it very difficult to understand why he still has permission to officiate and can still minister.”

A Church of England spokesperson said: “Since a formal complaint has now been received by the National Safeguarding Team, it is reviewing information and will obviously respond on this to the person who brought the complaint and take any further action if needed.”

Archbishop of Canterbury apologises for links to 'child abuser'

The statement added: “These issues will all be considered by the Makin Review which the Church commissioned last year into the Smyth case and is expected to publish into 2021.”

The church launched the Makin Review after alleged victims first came forward in the media in 2017 to accuse Smyth of carrying out sadomasochistic attacks at summer camps run by the Iwerne Trust – an evangelical Church of England organisation.

At the time Mr Welby issued an “unreserved and unequivocal” apology on behalf of the Anglican church and revealed he had worked at the holiday camps.

The archbishop said he became friends with Smyth in the late 1970s, when Mr Welby was a dormitory officer and Smyth was one of the main leaders at the Iwerne holiday camps. Lambeth Palace said they had since exchanged “the occasional card”.

In April 2020, the Titus Trust, which took over the running of the camps from the disbanded Iwerne Trust, said it had agreed a settlement with three men who had suffered what the Trust described as “appalling abuse” by Smyth – who died in 2018.

The unnamed man who has raised the formal complaint against Mr Welby said: “The Makin Review into John Smyth won’t be out until next year, which will be nine years after I came forward.”

He added: “I find it depressing and staggering that the Church of England can take so long to find out the truth about what actually happened.”

Reference: Independent: Adam Forrest 1 day ago: 28th July 2020

David Miscavige's dad says wife of Scientology leader will 'never be free'

The wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige will never be free from the church’s grasp, her father-in-law said in an interview airing Sunday.

TOM CRUISE REPORTEDLY HAD GIRLFRIENDS AUDITIONED BY THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY

Ron Miscavige, David’s dad, added to “60 Minutes Australia” that no one may ever know the whereabouts of his daughter-in-law, Shelly, who allegedly hasn’t been seen in public for years.

“Shelly, she’ll never be free,” Ron Miscavige, who left the church in 2012, told the TV show, according to 9News.

“These are pretty bad people, but they don’t have a conscience and that lets them do it.”

Leah Remini claims Tom Cruise doled out punishment to fellow Scientologists. People believe that Shelly — once dubbed the “Queen of Scientology” — was banished in 2005 by her husband, who took the church’s reigns in 1986 following the death of founder L. Ron Hubbard.

LEAH REMINI CLAIMS TOM CRUISE PERSONALLY PUNISHED OTHER SCIENTOLOGISTS

Actress Leah Remini, who left the church in 2013, has long been fighting to find out what happened to her friend Shelly. Remini reportedly questioned guests at Tom Cruise’s 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes about Shelly’s whereabouts and filed a missing person’s report with the Los Angeles Police Department in 2013.

LEAH REMINI CLAIMS SHE STILL GETS THREATS FROM THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY

Detectives closed the case after saying they’d met with Shelly in person, reports said.

Reference: By Tamar Lapin | New York Post