CHICAGO, US, January 19 (IslamOnline.net) – Highlighting the human values of Islam and spreading the concept of feeding the needy regardless of their faith, local mosques associated with the Greater Chicago Food Depository decided to distribute thousands of pounds of `Eid udhiyah (sacrificial animal) meat to feed the hungry and needy mostly non-Muslims in the area.

For the first time, Chicago's estimated 400,000 Muslims are championing a collective effort to feed mostly non-Muslims through the depository, which usually has a shortage of protein-based donations, reported Chicago Sun-Times daily Wednesday, January 19.

“Local mosques have teamed up with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to distribute nearly 16,000 pounds of ground beef donated by Muslims as part of their religious requirement to feed the hungry for the Eid-ul-Adha holiday this week.”

According to the paper, Chicago strong Muslim community usually passes out meat for family, friends and other poor people of the Islamic faith.

“There are words in Qur’an that say if you see a person who denies God, he's a person who does not encourage people to feed the needy,” imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, who initiated the project, told the daily. “It's a duty of faith.”

Muslims celebrate `Eid Al-Adha (feast of the sacrifice) Thursday, January 20.

A financially-able Muslim sacrifices a single sheep or goat or shares six others in sacrificing a camel or a cow as an act of worship during the feast.

According to Islamic tenets, it is permissible to give a non-Muslim some of the Udhiyah meat in charity as long as he is not involved in killing the Muslims. If he is, then he should not be given anything.

`Eid Al-Adha, a major Muslim occasion, is celebrated every year as a way of remembering Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son at God's command.

According to the Noble Qur'an, Abraham was ordered by God to slaughter his son Isma`eel; as difficult as this was, the prophet abided nonetheless. Just as he was about to do so, God replaced the son with a sheep.

Collecting Meat

As of Tuesday, Chicago Muslims ordered 15,750 pounds of beef designated for the Greater Chicago Food Depository's 600 soup kitchens, shelters and pantries. Participating mosques will continue collecting donations until the end of the week, according to the daily.

“Many area Muslims, who are Asian, Middle Eastern, African immigrants, are accustomed to sending money to their native countries so the poverty-stricken there can enjoy the rare luxury of meat on Eid-ul-Adha.

“However, more American Muslims are looking for ways to incorporate their charitable obligations through social services available here.”

“We're not trying to discourage that [giving money overseas for meat], but at the same time, we need to realize there is hunger right here in our neighborhoods,” attorney Kamran Memon, who was instrumental in drumming up mosque participation for the charity drive, told the Chicago Sun-Times

The campaign is launched under the title, “Sacrifice This Eid For Our Neighbors”, and was modeled on a similar program in Toronto. Chicago Muslims pay $139 for a portion of a cow through the campaign, said the daily.

“The meat will be “zabiha,” which means the cow will be slaughtered and processed in accordance with Islamic law.

“The four-pound ground beef portions will be labeled ‘Donated by Chicago Muslims’ before they will be distributed by the Greater Chicago Food Depository early next month.”

The donation is significant because large quantities of “fresh quality meat” is a rarity for the depository, spokeswoman Donna Larkin told the paper.

“Because it's a perishable, high-priced item, we don't get donations for meat products on a regular basis” Larkin said.