A Detroit-area city voted Tuesday to allow residents to sacrifice animals at home for religious purposes.
The Hamtramck City Council, whose members are all Muslim, approved the practice, 3-2, on Tuesday.
Hamtramck, Michigan city council members.
(WJBK)
The matter was put to a vote in December, but city council members upheld the ban. The issue was reviewed this month after legal advice and objections from resident Muslims, the Detroit Free Press reported.
“If someone wants to do it, they have the right to do it,” said councilor Mohammed Hassan.
Muslims often sacrifice animals, especially goats or sheep, during Eid al-Adha or pay someone to do it for them. The meat is shared with family, friends and the poor.
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“It’s not something new or novel,” explained Dawud Walid, director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“This is when Muslims acknowledge that Abraham sacrificed a sheep instead of having to sacrifice his son,” Walid said, in an apparent reference to the Koran and Old Testament passage.
Hamtramck residents will need to notify the city, pay a fee, and make their property available for inspection.
Hamtramck has a population of 28,000. More than half of the residents are of Yemeni or Bangladeshi descent, the Free Press said.
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Hamtramck did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
