http://www.unis.org/class/anthro/Ethnicity.htm
Id al-Kabir
Many of these ideas about ethnicity are supported by data in the article by Anne-Marie Brisebarre, ‘The Sacrifice of Id al-Kabir; Islam in the French suburbs’ in Anthropology Today Vol. 9, No. 1, February 1993.
Id al-Kabir is celebrated two lunar months and ten days after Ramadan. Id al-Kabir requires the ritual slaughter of a male sheep by the father of the family cutting its throat while it is still alive. This is a family occasion, the children should make friends with the sheep (who is a surrogate member of the family). It should be done at home.
Many problems are associated with the performance of this ritual in the suburbs, not least of which is that in France it is illegal.
The first problem is how to obtain a live sheep and bringing it home. Non-Muslim French farmers have come to rely upon an increased demand for sheep in anticipation of Id al-Kabir, while the Muslims, who travel from Paris out to the farms to buy sheep each year for the ritual sacrifice, rely upon the farmers having sheep ready for them. (Institutionalised relationship between groups).
When the sheep’s throat is cut, the sheep bleeds to death. This produces an enormous amount of blood, a problem in a small apartment. The non-edible parts are substantial and have to be got rid of clandestinely. Nevertheless, large numbers of Muslims in Paris (1993) manage to kill live sheep in their apartments, cellars, garages etc. for Id al-Kabir.
The question for anthropologists is why they would persist in doing so, when killing a live sheep in your apartment is very difficult, and the attitude of the non-Muslim Parisians is hostile and condemnatory.
Thanks for the information. I thought that the sheep was probably slaughtered for food, but I did not realize the religious implications.