The Muslim community of Burkina Faso celebrated, this Wednesday, June 28, 2023, the Tabaski festival, also called the Eid-El-Kebir festival. In Bobo-Dioulasso, a great prayer followed by the sacrifice of the sheep in the Wara-Wara square marked this celebration. It is the imam of the great mosque of Dioulassoba, Siaka Sanou, who led this morning prayer.
Very early in the morning of this Wednesday, June 28, 2023, the Muslim faithful, mostly dressed in white and others dressed in their best clothes, converged on Place Wara-Wara for the great prayer. Invocations, blessings, sermons, are the highlights that marked this great prayer of the celebration of Tabaski led by the imam of the great mosque of Dioulassoba, Siaka Sanou. After performing the two rakats of the prayer, he proceeded to read his sermon in which he called on the faithful to fear God.
He also called for peace and social cohesion between the sons of the country, but above all recalled the importance of the sacrifice of the prophet Abraham. In his sermon, the imam also invited the Muslim faithful to remain in the faith and to pray a lot for peace and security for the people of Burkina Faso. Also, a prayer was said for the faithful and to implore Allah so that he descends his grace on Burkina Faso. The Imam then kicked off the ritual of sacrificing the sheep, a move that was followed in the city of Sya by the immolation of sheep in almost every Muslim family. Among the faithful at Place Wara-Wara, the vice-president of the Hauts-Bassins regional special delegation, Mahamadou Barry, the High Commissioner of Houet province and president of the municipal special delegation, Adama Bidiga, the president of the regional consular delegation, Al Hassan Siénou.
According to El hadj Ibrahim Dembélé, a member of the Muslim community, this prayer was an opportunity for the faithful to pray for peace and security in Burkina Faso. “Tabaski, which is more than a simple religious event, is an opportunity to meet with family and loved ones. It is also synonymous with sharing and generosity towards the poor and needy,” suggested Mr. Koné a faithful come from Farakan.
Moreover, the latter invited all Burkinabè to cultivate unity and social cohesion in order to preserve the peace and stability so necessary for economic and social progress in our country. And the vice-president of the Hauts-Bassins regional special delegation, Mahamadou Barry, to express his gratitude to God. “We prayed for peace in Burkina and we will continue to pray always for peace in our region, in our country”, he indicated. He invited the Burkinabè to unite to get the country out of the current crisis. The Catholic community was once again present at Wara-Wara Square to support its Muslim brothers.
Representing Bishop Paul Ouédraogo and the Catholic community, Father Bakary Jean Prosper Sanou said he came to commune with the Muslim faithful on this occasion. “Today we celebrate the sacrifice of the son of Abraham, our ancestor in the faith. We came to commune with our Muslim brothers, to wish them a happy birthday and to express the wish that the Lord grant peace to our country; may he grant our country the grace of unity, cohesion and security. May the Lord grant good rainfall to our country and consolidate our bonds of brotherhood and solidarity,” he wished.
Ousmane TRAORE
