CAIRO - Grand Mufti of Egypt Sheikh Ali Gomma Saturday issued a fatwa (a religious edict) ordering Egyptian Muslims, who celebrate Eid el-Adha on Tuesday by slaughtering a ram, goat, or sheep, to follow hygienic procedures and refrain from leaving their waste or blood in the street.
The fatwa orders Muslims to perform hygienic and safe slaughter during the Eid period, to avoid the spreading of diseases caused by animal waste and blood, he said.
Gomma's fatwa has also called on the Muslims to help the poor celebrate and enjoy the feast of sacrifice, which marks Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to God, by distributing the meat to the poor in accordance with Islamic Sharia (law).
One-third of the sacrificial animal's meat is eaten by the immediate family and relatives, one-third is given away to friends and one-third is donated to the poor, he said.
Sheikh Gomma urged family members to perform the slaughtering of the sacrificial animal after Eid's early morning prayers and refrain from giving a portion of its meat, tripe, or wool coat to the butcher.
"A butcher should get his wage in money and not meat, which should be donated to the poor," he said.
