Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Feast of the Sacrifice

This week is Kurban Bayram, The Feast of the Sacrifice. It's one of the biggest Muslim holidays. When you see photos on the news showing millions of pilgrims crowding into Mecca, that means Feast of the Sacrifice is in full swing.

The holiday commemorates Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son Isaac.

I grew up in the Christian world, so I've been hearing that Old Testament story all my life. And yet here I am now in Istanbul, and on their biggest holiday they're celebrating the same damn story.

We're all celebrating the same stuff, honoring the same stories, and basically even reading the same books.

95% of what defines us human beings is the same. 5% is different, and too often we humans choose to focus on that 5%.

What a waste. What a ridiculous self-deception.

No comments: