MONITORING DESK
ISLAMABAD: The Muslim majority city council of Hamtramck, Michigan, voted 3-2 Tuesday night to allow the religious sacrifice of animals at people’s homes. The mayor Amer Ghalib tiebreaker’s vote made the final tally 4-2.
The city had prohibited animal sacrifice in December, but legal advice from the city attorney changed the council’s mind. Animal sacrifice is protected by a thirty-year-old Supreme Court precedent, which upheld the right of Santeria faith practitioners to commit animal sacrifice.
The brouhaha started in Hamtramck last summer, when changes to the animal ordinance in the city regarding the feeding of cats prompted a suggestion from a subcommittee that a live banning animal sacrifice be added.
Population incensed on law
Many members of the Muslim majority community, split between thirty percent Yemeni and 24 percent Asian, mainly from Bangladesh, were incensed on the law.
Animal sacrifice is central to Muslim feat holiday of Eid al Adha, wherein a sheep or other animal is sacrificed.
