Muslims gather at a prayer service to celebrate Eid al Adha outside the Blue Mosque in Maharlika Village, Taguig City on June 28, 2023. (PNA)
Muslim communities across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines observed Eid al Adha on May 27, marking the festival with congregational prayers, ritual sacrifices and the distribution of meat to lower-income families and beneficiaries. The five countries celebrated on the same day after the Ministers of Religion of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore determined that the commemoration falls on May 27.
In Indonesia, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka led the Eid al Adha prayers at Istiqlal Mosque in the capital Jakarta alongside senior officials. President Prabowo Subianto, originally scheduled to attend Istiqlal, performed the prayers at the Indonesian Embassy residence in Paris, where he arrived two days prior for a state visit to France that had been on the calendar since last year. Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar confirmed that the Vice President and heads of state institutions would carry out the Eid al Adha programme at Istiqlal, which was sealed off from midnight under Presidential Security Forces protocols.
In Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah delivered a speech in conjunction with the celebration, describing Eid al Adha as “a great symbol of Islam” and pointing to the obedience of Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Ismail as a timeless lesson for Muslims. The Sultan urged those able to do so to perform the sacrifice, whether obligatory or voluntary, and offered prayers for Bruneian pilgrims performing wukuf at Arafah in Saudi Arabia.
In Malaysia, the date had been formally proclaimed earlier this month by Muhammad Affendi Jalaludin, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Conference of Rulers, on behalf of the Keeper of the Seal of the Rulers, with the consent of the King of Malaysia Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor. The King contributed 148 cattle for the sacrificial rites to be distributed to the people of Johor. A separate programme is set to distribute a further 32 sacrificial cattle to mosques, surau, villages and those in need in the area.
In Singapore, Pertapis Halfway House sacrificed 150 sheep in this year’s korban exercise, up from 120 last year, with the meat to be distributed by next-day delivery to around 500 beneficiary families, including lower-income households and residents under the non-profit’s care. Minister of State for Health and for Digital Development and Information Rahayu Mahzam, who attended the event, said the turnout reflected “the wholesomeness of the community and the meaning of this event.”
In the Philippines, Filipino Muslims gathered for dawn prayers in Quiapo, Manila and across the Muslim-majority southern regions of Mindanao, the Sulu archipelago and the Zamboanga peninsula, before offering goats or cows and sharing the meat with neighbours and guests. Traditional dishes reserved for major celebrations featured in family gatherings, which include the Maguindanaon and Iranun sinina, Maranao riyandang, Tausug tiyula itum and kulma, and the labour-intensive linigil and dudol. Community members have described the festival as both a religious observance and an assertion of the southern Bangsamoro identity within a predominantly Catholic country.
Eid al Adha commemorates the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Prophet Ismail in obedience to God, and is observed in Southeast Asia alongside the broader haj season, during which thousands of pilgrims from the region are currently completing their rites in Saudi Arabia.
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