Saudi papers are dominated by stories about the Haj. Most of them are fairly routine with nothing much new… lots of pilgrims, lots of security, the various stages of the Haj are being completed on schedule, etc.

A couple of pieces in Saudi Gazette caught my eye, though, because they report on aspects not widely covered, preparations for Eid Al-Adha, when Muslims are asked to perform animal sacrifice. The article notes that the meat from these sacrifices goes partially to the person performing the sacrifice (directly or indirectly), but the bulk of it is to go to the poor. In Saudi Arabia, most of the slaughter is conducted in government-operated slaughterhouses. One can attend the slaughter or simply pay to have it done. This is quite different from my experience in Turkey, in the 1960s, when each family slaughtered its own sheep on the sidewalk and the streets of Ankara would run red.

UPDATE: Arab News runs a piece [Disgusting roadside slaughter unchecked] that shows that do-it-yourself slaughter still takes place in Saudi Arabia. The writer is not happy with it.

The article notes that the Islamic Development Bank and charitable organizations like the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) are overseeing the distribution of meat and that it will go to 42 poorer Islamic nations, primarily in Africa and Asia.

Al-Muaisim decked up for slaughtering ritual
Abdullah Al-Hariri
HOLY SITES – Over 800,000 cows, camels and sheep will be sacrificed during the three days of Tashreeq in one of the Haj rituals at the slaughterhouses in Al-Muaisim.

Supervisors of the Islamic Development Bank’s Project for Utilization of Sacrificial Meat, said all facilities have been provided to enable pilgrims to perform this ritual of sacrifice with ease and in comfort.

Makkah municipality has allocated eight huge slaughterhouses in Al-Muaisim. They have been divided into two sections according to the type of sacrifice.

General Supervisor of the slaughterhouses, Safi Abdullah, said that Makkah municipality has introduced four new slaughterhouses to serve pilgrims in this year’s Haj. “There will be different slaughterhouses for camels, cows and sheep with a capacity of more than 200,000 heads in some slaughterhouses,” Safi said.
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Not everyone, however, is affixed on the slaughter:

Fish market open on eve of sacrifice feast

The Saudi-US Relations Information Service (SUSRIS) has a series of pieces on the Haj, including a day-by-day account of the rituals by Saudi journalist Faiza Saleh Ambah. These articles are more general and describe both the importance of Haj and its processes:

Hajj 2008