Id-ul-Zuha (Bakr-Id) Celebrated to commemorate those who lost their life in 26/11 Mumbai Terror attack

Id-ul-Zuha or Bakrid is one of the major Muslim festivals celebrated all over the world. It is celebrated in honour of Prophet Ibrahim, who willingly agreed to sacrifice his son for God. Thousands of Muslims offer their prayers for peace and prosperity on this auspicious day. Exchange of greetings and gifts is also a common feature of this festival, besides the sacrifice of goats.

This year, although Bakrid has been celebrated all across India, the celebrations have been kept much low profile. This gesture has not been shown by a handful of Indian Muslims, but every single Muslim in India, who strongly condemns the recent 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. Addressing the attacks as unholy and completely non-Islamic, Indian Muslims joined their hands to fight against terror. They chose the auspicious occasion of Id-ul-Zuha to express their condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this barbaric attack.

Different news channels also captured images of people wearing black bands to show their protest against those handful of lunatics who kill innocent people in the name of Islam. They were also processions arranged by the Muslim community at many places to show their protest against terrorism and also to demand justice for the martyrs.

Special prayers were also organized in the mosques for peace. Some even went to the extent of waging a war against Pakistan. Although, this day marked the sacrifice of goats (an integral part of this festival) by Muslims all across India, preparation of special delicacies, exchange of gifts and a festive mood- all were missing from the scene. Like every other Indian, they too showed their support to the government to fight terrorism. Such a gesture by Indian Muslims show the greatness of our country.

This is the land where people from different religions live in peace and harmony. This is a big slap on the face of our enemies, sitting in different parts of the world, who think they can create unrest and tension in the name of religion. Likewise, this incident should also be taken as a learning experience by those who have formed a hatred towards the Muslim community. They should realize that by hating the people of their own country (on the basis of religion), they are destroying the foundation of our nation. Till date, all Hindu-Muslim riots were politically motivated, killing innocent people. Let us say 'No' to such irrational incidents. This is the moment of crisis, and we all need to stay united for the sake of our nation. We all are Indians and love our country equally, irrespective of our religion.