Bajram/Eid

25/8/18

I have so far been in Bosnia-Herzegovina for eight days and it has been crazy. The new experiences, people, smells, tastes, language, and culture has been overwhelming.

I am living in the city center of Sarajevo, with only my host mom. She is divorced and has no children.

One specific thing that I had not experienced before was Bajram, or Eid. Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, is full of Muslim people (as well as Catholics, Orthodox, Jews, Roma, etc.) There is a whole spectrum of Muslims here in the city. The most religious wake up early on Bajram to go to the Mosque and pray. After, they slaughter a sheep in their backyard and butcher it to give to their friends, family, neighbors, and to anyone that goes without food.

There is the other side of the spectrum which is like my host family. My host mom is Muslim. We celebrated Eid by eating chicken and potatoes and spending time with her cousin. She thinks slaughtering a sheep would be too traumatic for me, and for her.

This Muslim tradition of slaughtering a sheep and giving it to people that go without food is ancient. It’s a representation of when Abraham was told by God to sacrifice Isaac and when God saw his dedication gave him, instead, a sheep to sacrifice (Genesis 22; Qur’an As-Saffat 37:100-113). Muslim people sacrifice sheep in remembrance of Abraham’s dedication to God.