A majority of the Sri Lankan Muslims has urged the Wakfs Board to reconsider the ban on the slaughter of Qurbani animals inside the mosques in Sri Lanka during the forthcoming Haj festival.
Early this week, the Wakfs Board of Sri Lanka said it would not permit the slaughter of Qurbani animals within any Mosque Premises throughout the island. Accordingly, A.B.M. Ashraff, Director of the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs announced in his Circular dated July 13 that the Trustees of all the mosques in the island should refrain from slaughtering Qurbani animals within the Mosque premises during the forthcoming Haj festival, which falls in Tuesday, July 21.
Dissenting from the ban, former Chairman of the Wakfs Board and incumbent Chairman of the National Haj Committee Ahkam Uwise said the authorities should immediately lift the ban since the Mosque is the best place to carry out slaughter of animals in accordance with the health guidelines.
“How can a person living in his apartment slaughter an animal inside his house?” Uwise asked, pointing out that the Mosque is the best place to dispose of animal waste in a hygienic manner.“The Wakfs Board should know the mosque is the central place of the Muslims in townships and villages.”