IDB to offer cows instead of camel for sacrifice during Hajj

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) today said that it will offer cows to pilgrims for sacrifice at the end of the Hajj due to the ban imposed by Saudi Arabia on consumption of camel meat owing to the danger posed by the deadly MERS disease.
President of the Bank Ahmad Mohammad Ali said IDB has an agreement with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center to provide the Hajj pilgrims the opportunity to donate a sacrificial meal.
"At the end of the pilgrimage, pilgrims can buy a cow to donate it to others after it is slaughtered. The IDB and the center will cooperate to deliver the meals to over 23 Islamic countries with a focus on Yemen," Ali said.

The IDB president said the Ministry of Health has banned the slaughter and trade of camels as they are carriers of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) disease, which has infected 1,225 people and caused the death of over 500 people in the kingdom since June 2012 when it was first reported.
He said the number of cows supplied for sacrifice during Hajj was high this year, which led to the decision of replacing the camel with the cow for sacrifice.
"The number of cows is very high this year which is the reason why we chose to replace the sacrificial meal of camels with cows. There are many Islamic schools which equate camels to cows in this case, so it is a very acceptable decision," Ali said.

Over two million pilgrims from across the world including 1.37 lakh from India will sacrifice an animal as part of the five-day Hajj pilgrimage which will begin tomorrow.