What is the Rationale behind spending billions on Sacrificing animals while Refugees Continue to suffer? 

Visit any South Asian country during the three days of Eid ul Adha and you will see animal blood flowing like water in many streets, you will see animal bones and intestine rotting and you will find people going around asking for hides to be donated to religious institutions. These hides, later, are sold to leather manufacturers. This is how the sacrifice of Prophet Abraham and his son Prophet Ishmael is celebrated by Muslims annually. 

Every year over a billion-dollar are spent by the Muslim community to buy goats, lambs, cows, and buffaloes to live what they have been told is their religious obligation to God.  Even though the Quran is very clear in describing the real purpose of animal sacrifice.

[But bear in mind:] never does their flesh reach God, and neither their blood: it is only your God-consciousness that reaches Him. It is to this end that We have made them subservient to your needs so that you might glorify God for all the guidance with which He has graced you with. And give thou this glad tiding unto the doers of good: - 22:37

The practice has been going on forever under circumstances that appear to be horrifying for Muslim Ummah. A large number of Muslims live as refugees, many live below the poverty level and still many more lack basic amenities to live an existence that can be called decent.

Yet, we as a community are so much obsessed with following the traditions that we rarely ask the rationale of such a practice in changing circumstances. The Quran specifically reminds the believers that, whenever they are reminded of their Sustainer’s messages, do not throw themselves upon them [as if] deaf and blind; (25:73)

We have a serious situation at hand. Millions of Muslims have been rendered refugees by political circumstances beyond the control of anyone People are dying and those alive suffers from hunger and thirst with no place to spend a restful night or day. 

What should be the priority of a faith-based community? To help these people out of the situation or to spend billions on sacrificing animals to live a tradition. Is religion so insensitive to the changed situation that it cannot allow people to divert their resources from living a ritual to helping the needy? By distributing the sacrificial meat to the refugees one can take care of their proteins for a day or two as they would not have access to the fridge to refrigerate the food for long. After a day and two, they would still be living in a miserable condition. What about diverting the money to some concrete actions that would ensure proper housing, long term rehabilitation and building infrastructures that would ensure some stability and dignity to such people

Would God be angry for this humanitarian gesture? After all, God himself asks people to be considerate to their fellow human being. So why are we so obsessed with this ritual that we would allow tragedies to unfold without being considerate to the circumstances.

Perhaps, this year and until the situation does not change, we should appeal to the people to send their sacrificial money to organizations that are doing work among refugees and displaced people. Our relief organizations should ask people to donate to a rehabilitation fund rather than sponsoring the sacrifice of animals that would not change the ground reality. Our religious leaders should take a bold step in convincing their followers to divert their resources to serve people.

This is not changing the rulings, but to live up its relevance and spirit. After all it is the taqwa that reaches Allah and the Taqwa can assume different forms,