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Eid al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice is
the most important feast of the Muslim calendar. It concludes
the Pilgrimmage
to Mecca. Eid al-Adha lasts for three days and commemorates
Ibraham's (Abraham) willingness to obey God by sacrificing
his son. Muslims believe the son to be Ishmael rather than
Isaac as told in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. Ishmael
is considered the forefather of the Arabs. According to the
Holy Koran, Ibrahim
was about to sacrifice his son when a voice from heaven
stopped him and allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead.
The feast re-enacts Ibrahim's obedience
by sacrificing a cow or ram. The family eats about a third
of the meal and
donates the rest to the poor.
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