The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) salutes Guyana’s Islamic community on the occasion of one of their more inspiration festivals of their faith.Eid-ul-Adha stands out for a variety of reasons. The lessons of sacrifice and service emanating from Ibrahim’s obedience to God’s command to sacrifice his son are as powerful today as they were unprecedented in Mecca thousands of years ago. The Eid-ul-Adha story is also strikingly similar to the Christian version in the Holy Bible. The message of obedience to the divine wall and the need for sacrifices before achievement is, therefore, still universal.
FITUG urges Muslims and all Guyana to explore briefly the powerful origins of Eid-ul-Adha. It will be discovered that the Supreme Creator finds ways to test the sincerity of faith of so-called believers. And it will be realised that selflessness can eventually bear fruit even for an obedient adherent to righteous beliefs and guidance.
Sacrifice for progress is needed in the Guyana of today. FITUG sees the need for give-and-take and compromise in national life and undertaken even if one party feels that it will “lose” something somehow. Sacrifice is often a forerunner and ingredient for success – at both personal and community/national levels. May this Eid-ul-Adha festival 2015 inspire Muslims to influence all Guyanese to higher causes of service and obedience in the national interest.