Muslims in Bosnia are celebrating on Sunday Eid al-Adha, or the "Festival of Sacrifice," with early morning prayers in mosques, coffee and sweets with family and friends and by sacrificing a lamb and sharing it with others.

Eid al-Adha, in Bosnia called Kurban Bayram, is the second of two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year, with Eid al-Fitr being the other.

It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God's command. Before Abraham could sacrifice his son, God provided a lamb to sacrifice instead.

Muslims commemorate this intervention by sacrificing an animal and dividing it into three parts – one to keep for home, one to give to relatives and the third to the poor.

Men attended the early morning prayer throughout Bosnia with the khutbah held at Sarajevo’s biggest mosque being broadcasted live on TV. Muslims who stay home listen to the traditional speech delivered by Islamic leaders in Bosnia, who usually address a contemporary social problem.

“Today, when again some want to revive and impose racist theories and ideologies and when differences of beliefs are sought to be used for hostilities and accusations, it is extremely important for people of faith to raise their voices and warn of the detrimental consequences of such endeavors,” said the head of Bosnia’s Islamic Community, Husein Kavazovic.

“Differences in directions, cultures and races are similar to the phenomenon of different species in nature” he argued, adding that “all of this reflects the omnipotence of God, which should incite respect and reverence for Him in human souls.”

“None shall feel a love for God until a love for people spills out of them,” he said.

Kavazovic also discussed daily human disasters and tragedies, the killings and persecution of people in Palestine, Yemen, Kashmir, Syria, Afghanistan, China and Myanmar.

“We ordinary people cannot stop it. The perpetrators of these terrible crimes are the abusers, who attack the will of the people and their freedom,” he said.

“Therefore, I ask of you: do not turn your head away from the poor, the travelers and the refugees, so that Allah will not someday deny us His mercy and help us when we need it most,” he said, gently addressing the problem of migrants from the east, flooding Bosnia’s cities while trying to find ways to move west to the European Union.

“Our role models cannot be those who call for violence against people and justify it and those who raise walls of barbed wire among people,” he stressed.

Kavazovic called on the believers to focus on and fight against “the great plagues” of Bosnia’s society: “hatred, insecurity, corruption, violation of rights and laws, gambling addiction (…).”

“Let us forgive each other, as it strengthens the bonds between people and nations and frees us from the heavy burdens of the past. Let us build peace, let us raise our families together in harmony and friendship,” Kavazovic said.