Headed Down South

USA | Monday, 24 November 2014 | Views [325] | View Smaller Image

The sacrificial animals are completely bled out, for the bacterial load to be reduced, and then taken for skinning and organ removal. Islamic law mandates that the sacrifice be swift, painless, and healthy for its eaters. Unfortunately, American slaughterhouse corporations are shifted more towards productivity. Mohsin Akhtar uses a battery-powered sawzall to separate the meat for distribution. The family who performed the sacrifice will keep 1/3, friends and relatives will be given 1/3, while the remaining third is given to the poor.

Aazim [6] grasps his older brother Asim’s [11] arm as they witness the sacrifice of a goat. A goat must be at least one year of age, a sheep six months, a cow two years, and a camel five years to be worthy of sacrifice. Animals who are blind, sick, with facial deformities, no teeth, or who cannot walk to their slaughtering place are not acceptable for sacrifice.

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Farah [Left] , Jammal [Center], & Wasim [Right] play “capture the animal” outside the American Canyon Farm in Vallejo, California, as sacrifices continue inside on October 15th, 2013. Farah wears a hijab, a headscarf, worn by Muslim women as a symbol of modesty.

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Headed Down South

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