Political situation in Morocco

Moroccan king urges residents not to

Moroccans should not sacrifice any sheep during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which falls in June. The call came from the country's King Mohammed VI on Wednesday.

It is an unexpected departure from tradition, writes AP. The explanations are record inflation, climate change and a seven-year drought.

- Carrying it out under these difficult circumstances will cause real harm to large parts of our people, especially those with limited incomes, the king said in a statement.

During Eid al-Adha, sheep are slaughtered to honor a story in the Koran, in which the prophet Ibrahim prepares to sacrifice his son out of love for God, whereupon God steps in and replaces the son with a sheep. The tradition is so deeply rooted in large parts of the Muslim world that many families take out loans to be able to afford to buy sheep.

Royal appeal hits sheep seller Larbi

For the first time in 29 years, the king of Morocco is urging residents not to buy and sacrifice sheep during the Eid al-Adha holiday in June. An unfortunate timing for 55-year-old Larbi El Ghazouani, who had expected to sell his 130 sheep.

But he is still taking it in stride.

“Even though I wasted money on feed and put in effort for these sheep, I respect the king’s decision and am happy about it,” he told the AP news agency.

The king’s justification is the difficult economic times. Sheep prices have increased significantly, just like the cost of living, and people are therefore being urged to hold on to their money.

But prices have also increased for Larbi El Ghazouani. Feeding and keeping the sheep alive for another year costs him about 1,500 dirhams, about 1,600 kronor. Now he is hoping for government support.