17 For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The
just shall live by faith.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because
that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto
them.
20 For the
invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because
that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful;
but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore
God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour
their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who
changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature
more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 1:17-25)
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1 : 18-19)
American Muslim Men, Children Beat Themselves Bloody for Muhammad’s Grandson
ATLANTA – Video footage has surfaced online of Muslim men in Lilburn, Georgia—along with children and teens—beating themselves bloody as part of an Islamic ritual that seeks to commemorate the death of the grandson of Mohammad.
As previously reported, last week, Muslims around the world observed the Day of Ashura, which marks the death of Husyn ibn Ali approximately 1,300 years ago. He was the son of Fatimah, Mohammad’s daughter, and was beheaded during the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.
To remember his death, many Shi’a Muslims observe the Day of Ashura each year, generally in October or November. In countries such as Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Pakistan, the observance is considered a national holiday, which to some also is a time when Muslims seek to shed blood as a means to obtain forgiveness for sins.
Some expressed horror when photos and video surfaced last week of Muslim men slicing the forehead of their infant children with knives as part of the annual ritual. But the blood-letting practice has apparently been around for years.
“We’ve been doing this since we were kids. I started when I was three,” Mahmoud Jaber, 43, told the Associated Press in 2007. “It doesn’t hurt because the cry of pain goes away with the faith.”
Muslims in Kabul, Afghanistan and Mumbai, India were also captured on video last week as they gathered for a public Muharram ceremony, during which scores of observers whipped their backs with chains until they bled. The controversial practice has been discouraged in some Eastern countries, where Muslims are advised to rather donate blood rather than engage in self-flagellation activities.
But while the practice is considered to be largely observed by Middle-Eastern nations, video has now surfaced of Muslims in Atlanta, Georgia also beating themselves bloody with flails, knives, and Zanzeers, which consist of five knives attached by a chain to a stick. According to reports, the event was held outside of a mosque in Lilburn, Georgia, and children were encouraged to participate.
At least two videos appear on YouTube, capturing the event as shirtless men chant Islamic sayings, slap their chests and vigorously whip their backs until they bleed. One video shows several young boys participating in the gathering, whipping their back just like their elders. Other children can be seen looking on as spectators, while the men and women that encircle those flogging themselves hold their hands to their heart. The ritual continues for at least fifteen minutes—that is, until the video clip ends.
Writer Onan Coca, who learned of the observance within America’s own borders, expressed his concern about the matter in a recent article.
“[T]his is a Department of Justice and American Civil Liberties Union sanctioned mosque,” he wrote. “The imam encouraged them to bring the whole family. The children were encouraged to participate and even handed the standard flail.”
“What about the children who are forced to view and encouraged to participate in this violence?” Coca continued. “If this were happening in the home of an Atlanta resident, the department of child services would take the child from that home as quick as they could. If a family in Atlanta were encouraging their child to beat themselves or cut themselves… the state would not allow it!”
“Yet, because Islam has strangely become some kind of protected cult in our society, we allow these children to be abused right in front of us— in view of the public and even our legal authorities,” he said. “It’s abhorrent.”
Warning: Graphic
http://www.youtube.com/embed/nvk4VT35qgQ
Nepal's killing fields: FIVE THOUSAND buffalo lie slaughtered at the beginning of Hindu ceremony which sees up to 300,000 animals killed to bring worshippers good luck
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
- Hundreds of thousands of animals set to be slaughtered during two-day religious festival in Nepal
- The Hindu festival is held every five years in honour of Gadhimai, the goddess of power
- Festivities kicked off on Friday morning with the mass-slaughter of 5,000-6,000 buffalo in a field
- The last time the festival was held, in 2009, more than 250,000 animals were killed, according to PETA
More
than 250,000 animals are being lined up for slaughter as Nepal embarks
on a two-day religious festival where buffalo, birds and goats are
sacrificed to appease a Hindu goddess.
Millions
of Hindus flock to the ceremony, which is held every five years at the
temple of Gadhimai, the goddess of power, in Bariyarpur, Nepal, near the
Indian border.
The
last time the festival was held, in 2009, more than 250,000 animals
were killed, according to animal rights organisation PETA, who is
campaigning to put a stop to the practice.
Scroll down for video
Offer to the gods: Thousands of
buffalo lie dead in a field after being sacrificed for a religious
holiday in near the Indian border in Nepal
A butcher walks with a bloodied blade
as he looks for an animal to kill during a mass slaughter to celebrate
the start of the Gadhimai festival
Religious killing: A butcher gets
ready to kill a buffalo during a mass slaughter of the animals for the
Gadhimai festival inside a walled enclosure in the village of Bariyapur,
near the temple of Gadhimai, the goddess of power
Field of meat:
The festival is held for two days and is kicked off with a
mass-slaughter of buffalo, after which hundreds of thousands of animals
are sacrificed to the goddess
A severely injured water buffalo
awaits its slaughter as a devotee prepares to cut off the animal's head
in front of watching crowds
The
festival is 'kicked off' with the ritual slaughter of five thousand
buffalo in a field near the temple, after which two days of ritual
animal slaughter takes place.
Animal
rights activists such as PETA are campaigning to halt the mass
animal-slaughter, but despite their efforts, the organisers of the
festival has promised that this year will be the biggest yet.
About
2.5 million devotees have turned out for the festival, according to
local government official Yogendra Prasad Dulal, who said it was
'impossible to estimate' the total number of animals sacrificed so far.
'It
has been a grand day,' Mangal Chaudhary, head priest at a the Gadhimai
temple said. 'The buffalo sacrifice has ended, but we will continue the
rituals with goats and other animals for one more day,'
On
the first day, worshippers slaughtered more than 6,000 buffaloes, which
were coralled into holding pens in the fields, along with at least
100,000 goats and other animals, Chaudhary said.
The festivities will continue on Saturday when at least another 100,000 animals will die in the name of goddess Gadhimai.
About 2.5 million devotees have turned out for the festival, according to local government official Yogendra Prasad Dulal
Millions of Hindus flock to the
ceremony, which is held every five years at the temple of Gadhimai, the
goddess of power, in Bariyarpur, Nepal
A devotee holds his traditional kukri knife before the beginning of the animal sacrifices
Bringing the buffalo to slaughter: A calf draws its last breath as a butcher lifts his blade over its head
Good start: On the first day,
worshippers slaughtered more than 6,000 buffaloes, which were coralled
into holding pens in the fields,
Although cows are considered sacred by Hindu's, the thousands of animals seen slaughtered in these pictures are buffalo
One of the many butchers holds his
blade, which has been blessed in a ceremony the night before, as he gets
ready to kill another buffalo
The ritual began at dawn with a
ceremonial 'pancha bali' orthe sacrifice of five animals, comprising a
rat, a goat, arooster, a pig and a pigeon, before moving on to buffalo
Meat all around: The last time the festival was held, in 2009, more than 250,000 animals were killed, according to PETA
Worshippers believe the animal sacrifice, meant to appease Gadhimai, the Hindu goddess of power, brings them luck and prosperity
Chop, chop: A butcher wields his kukri, a traditional Nepalese knife, over a buffalo calf right before severing its head
Local government representatives say
they cannot ban Hindu's form the slaughter during the festival because
it would 'hurt their sentiments'
Devotees began slaughtering thousands
of animals and birds in a ritual sacrifice on Friday, ignoring calls by
animal rights activists to halt what they described as the world's
largest such exercise
More than 80 per cent of Nepal's 27 million people are
Hindus, but unlike most of their counterparts in neighbouring
India, they frequently sacrifice animals to appease deities
during festivals.
Authorities deployed hundreds of police personnel to make
sure there were no clashes between activists and the devotees.
'It is a ritual connected with people's faith,' said
Yogendra Dulal, an assistant administrator of the Bara district,
where the temple is located. 'We can't hurt their sentiments and
ban the practice.'
Worshippers
believe the animal sacrifice, meant to appease Gadhimai, the Hindu
goddess of power, brings them luck and prosperity.
The ritual began at dawn with a ceremonial 'pancha bali' or
the sacrifice of five animals, comprising a rat, a goat, a
rooster, a pig and a pigeon.
Although cows are considered sacred by Hindu's, the thousands of animals seen slaughtered in these pictures are buffalo.
Every five years, pilgrims flock to
the temple of the goddess Gadhimai in the small Nepalese border town of
Bariyarpur to behead vast quantities of livestock over two days
Blessing of the weapons: Butchers
raise their swords while performing rituals on Thursday night, before
the sacrificial ceremony today
Worshippers have spent days sleeping
out in the open and offering prayers to the goddess at a temple decked
with flowers in preparation
Important holiday: About 2.5 million devotees have turned out for the festival, according to a local government official
The celebrations includes the slaughtering of hundreds of thousands of animals, mostly buffalo and goats
So it begins: Cattle are prepared ahead of the mass slaughter near the Gadhimai temple on Friday morning
About 6,000 buffaloes were held in an open-air pen prior to
being beheaded by butchers using swords and large curved knives. Thousands of goats and chickens will also be sacrificed
before the festival ends on Saturday, temple officials said.
The heads of the sacrificed animals will be buried in a huge
pit while the animal hides and skin will be sold to traders who
have contracted to buy them.
'It is not proper to kill animals in the name of religion,'
Uttam Kafle, of rights group Animal Nepal, told Reuters by
telephone from the site.
'We are trying to convince the people that they can worship
at the shrine peacefully and without being cruel to animals.'
India's Supreme Court recently asked the government to stop
the illegal movement of animals into Nepal for the ceremony.
A Hindu villager leads a bufallo as he heads to the village of Bariyapur to attend celebrations of the Gadhimai festival
People have arrived from both sides of the Indian border to join in the celebrations in honour of the goddess Gadhimai
Early start: Hindu devotees watch
butchers brandish khukris (traditional Nepalese knives) from a tree, in
an effort to get a better view of the first sacrifices on Friday morning
More than two million Hindu devotees are set to take part in the festival, which is held at the temple every five years
Cleanse: Hindu devotees take bath to purify themselves in the pond of Gadhimai Temple to please goddess Gadhimai
A group of devotees hold their traditional kukri knifes before the beginning of the animal sacrifices
A devotee offers a pigeon to the Goddess during the celebration of the Gadhimai festival today
A black goat is carried to be sacrificed - one of thousands of animals slaughtered during the blood-soaked festival
A member of the police force attempts
to control the vast crowd. The festival has prompted numerous protests
by animal rights activists and Nepalese Hindus from Hill region
A Hindu man carries a
blade during the festivities. Campaigners have attempted to frustrate
the event or at least greatly reduce the number of animals killed
