Hungry people in Swaziland
defied Christian leaders and attended a Muslim ceremony, because free meat was
being given away.
As part of the Islamic
Eid-ul-Adah ceremony Muslims slaughter meat and give one third of it away to
needy people.
When it was announced that
free meat would be available, Christian leaders condemned the move and ordered
their flocks to stay away.
President of the League of Churches Bishop Simon Hlatjwako was reported
by the Times
of Swaziland saying true Christians would not participate in the event
and would not eat the free meat offered by Muslims.
‘True Christians should not dare set foot at
the Muslim slaughtering ceremony,’ he reportedly said. He added, ‘Personally,
I would not even bother myself; I do not care about their meat and ceremonies.
Muslims worship their own god and as Christians, we do not go along with their
god.’
The newspaper also reported Bishop
Steven Masilela, President of the Conference of Churches, saying as they were
the body of Christ, they were not allowed to eat everything.
But the Christian leaders went unheeded. The Swazi
Observer reported on Tuesday (13 September 2016) that more than 500
people queued for the meat at Ezulwini.
The newspaper said they were driven by hunger. At least 300 1kg parcels
of meat were distributed after about 15 cattle were slaughtered. About 200 people
returned home empty-handed.
The Observer found many people
who were critical of the Christian leaders. One who did not want to be named
said, ‘What better deal do Christian leaders have to offer
to alleviate hunger if they do not want Muslims to help the needy?’
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