Celebrate All Life With a Vegan Eid
Eid al-Adha has begun. With an op-ed in Asian Image, Muslim animal rights activist Anna Solaiman explains how easy it is to show mercy and compassion during Eid by choosing vegan food.
She writes:
Compassion is a basic tenet of all major religions, so it’s no surprise that the Qur’an forbids cruelty to animals. Despite this, some Muslims choose to observe Eid-al-Adha, or the “Festival of Sacrifice” – and celebrate the mercy of Allah – by mercilessly killing animals whose lives are as dear to them as ours are to us. It’s a strange and harmful paradox, but it needn’t exist. The faithful can choose to reject animal sacrifices and instead show mercy and compassion during Eid simply by eating vegan – that is, by choosing foods derived from fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses, and nuts instead of animals. . . .
Adopting a vegan lifestyle is the easiest way for Muslims to live in accordance with the ethical, environmental, and health precepts of Islam, which is why I’ll be celebrating Eid with my loved ones at a table full of vegan dishes, such as vegetable samosas and pakoras, spinach potato cutlets, dairy free halwa, falafels and veg dum biryani. By choosing vegan foods during Eid and throughout the year, I’m practicing kindness to myself, the planet, and all living beings.
Read Anna’s full article here, and try her suggestions for yourself. Take PETA’s vegan pledge, and choose vegan dishes this Eid:
