Happy Kurban Ait
Left to right Allah in English. Right to Left Allah in Arabic
Of course, Christians and Jews will recognize this story as it also appears in the Book of Genesis, except that the son to be sacrificed is Israel, and there is no substitute sacrifice given. God stays Abraham’s hand and praises him for his total obedience. Of course, the theme of God giving a sacrifice to represent the sins of the world is analogous to the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
So enjoy the public holiday and the day off of work or school. Forgive sins and share food. I also am sharing this cool Islamic graphic I found on Islamic Art by Morty. In English it reads Allah from left to right. In Arabic it also reads Allah, from right to left. I thought that was pretty neat!
Subscribe or Share
Culture
- Yurts Are High Fashion and Slum Fashion Too
2011-12-05 - Apples, Sure. But THC is from Kazakhstan too?
2011-10-05 - Naked Man Pot
2011-09-23
- Yurts Are High Fashion and Slum Fashion Too
Resources
- Oh, CNN
2012-07-21 - What Do You Know About Kazakhstan?
2012-07-19 - Books for Kazakh Students
2011-11-06
- Oh, CNN
Politics
- Image
2011-07-28 - Sub Rosa Endorsement
2011-07-26 - The Naked Truth
2011-06-12
- Image
News
- KZBlog is going down
2013-09-10 - Oh, CNN
2012-07-21 - Repentence
2012-07-15
- KZBlog is going down
Fun
- What Do You Know About Kazakhstan?
2012-07-19 - Yurts Are High Fashion and Slum Fashion Too
2011-12-05 - House Hunters Bishkek
2011-12-02
- What Do You Know About Kazakhstan?
Tourism
- Asian Games Torch
2011-01-12 - Wikitravel
2010-08-07 - ALZHIR, the Soviets and Democracy
2010-07-30
- Asian Games Torch
Life in KZ
- Photo Gallery: Almaty Subway
2011-12-07 - Healthcare and the Private Sector
2011-11-30 - Naked Man Pot
2011-09-23
- Photo Gallery: Almaty Subway
Ah, what an interesting story. I didn’t realize where the term scapegoat had come from.
And it’s nice to see a blog on Kazakhstan! The world has certainly changed from when I was young.
Thank you for this interesting post as I am living in Central Asia now and we have the day off from work due to this holiday. It is interesting read the importance of such a holiday for Muslims.
But as I was reading your comparison to the Christian faith, you were correct about the similarities of the stories but missed one factor. It was actually Isaac (from the Genesis recording, Genesis 22:1-19) who was offered and God did provide a ram to be offered in His place instead (just as Muslims believe in the story of Ishmael). That is one reason why Christians see the story as an analogy to the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. God provided for Abraham’s sacrifice, as He provided the final sacrifice for humanity many years later through His Son.
Blessings on your holiday!
…p.s. I was reading your page “about me and contacts” and saw that you are married to a Kazakh…so I’m sure you’re enjoying lots of delicious meat and food during this holiday:D All the best!
Yes, that’s a good point. Now Christians see the sacrifice as a symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice, hence Abraham’s sacrifice is less important to us.
By the way, since my wife is Kazakh and works in the government, she doesn’t have today off. Welcome to the true way people in Astana celebrate holidays!