Polish Ghazni PRT members surprise locals

Photo By Master Sgt. Sarah Webb | On the eve of Eid al-Adha, a significant celebration on the Muslim calendar, Polish Brig. Gen. Janusz Bronowicz, Task Force White Eagle commander, along with the Polish Task Force Staff delegation, presented an unusual gift to the director of Ghazni's Department of Hajj and Religious Affairs. The gift, a bull calf, was funded by the Polish soldiers as a surprise for the local religious authorities and council members. (Courtesy Photo by Polish Public Information Office)  

GHAZNI, AFGHANISTAN

11.26.2009

Story by Master Sgt. Sarah Webb 

Combined Joint Task Force - 82 PAO

GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan - On the eve of Eid al-Adha, a significant celebration on the Muslim calendar, Polish Brig. Gen. Janusz Bronowicz, Task Force White Eagle commander, along with the Polish Task Force Staff delegation, presented an unusual gift to the director of Ghazni's Department of Hajj and Religious Affairs.

The gift, a bull calf, was funded by the Polish soldiers as a surprise for the local religious authorities and council members.

"This was the first time we have received this type of gift from coalition forces," said Sadiq Fedaie, director of Religious Affairs. "I want to express sincere thanks for the wishes and the gifts."

This year Eid al-Adha was celebrated from Nov. 27 — 30. During that time, the people of Ghazni could hear sentiments of good cheer for the occasion being broadcast from both civilian media outlets as well on the Polish broadcast radios. The messages were recorded in the dialects of Dari and Pashtu by Maciej Lang, the Polish ambassador for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Brig. Gen. Bronowicz.

Eid al-Adha is a holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his adult son as an act of obedience to God. He obeyed, and took Ishmael to Mount Moriah. Just as he was about to sacrifice his son, an angel stopped him and gave him a ram to sacrifice in his son's place. These events are remembered and celebrated at Eid al-Adha. At Eid al-Adha, many Muslims make a special effort to pray and listen to a sermon at a mosque. They also wear new clothes, visit family and friends and may symbolically sacrifice an animal in an act known as qurbani. This represents the animal that Ibrahim sacrificed in the place of his son. In the period around Eid al-Adha, many Muslims travel to Mecca and the surrounding area in Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage.

• Date Taken: 11.26.2009
• Date Posted: 12.07.2009 18:30
• Story ID: 42424
• Location: GHAZNI, AF