A wave of online reactions has been triggered by a recent sermon delivered by Pastor Odekunle Epaphras, a well-known Nigerian cleric, after a controversial video of his message to his congregation surfaced on social media.
In the viral footage, Pastor Odekunle was seen addressing his church, during which he made a bold assertion that Eid al-Adha—commonly referred to as Ileya in Nigeria—does not belong to Muslims, but rather to Christians. His statement has since generated intense debate online, with many viewing the remarks as provocative and religiously insensitive.
During the sermon, Pastor Odekunle claimed that Christians, not Muslims, are the ones originally meant to carry out the animal sacrifice associated with the festival, referencing the Biblical account of Abraham and Isaac to support his position. A passage from the Bible was cited, where God had instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of faith. According to the scripture, Abraham obeyed the divine command and took Isaac to Mount Moriah, but just as he was about to carry out the sacrifice, he was stopped by God, who provided a ram as a substitute.
This story, as interpreted by Pastor Odekunle, was presented as the foundational narrative of the festival—therefore, in his view, making it a Christian observance rather than an Islamic one.
He further spoke about the birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah at an old age, and mentioned that Ishmael was later born to Abraham as well. The pastor concluded his message by asserting that Christians are entitled to partake in “Sallah meat”, referring to the sacrificial meat traditionally shared during the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha.
See some reactions below;
feminos_affairs : I am a proud Muslim and so I will say this. As Muslims we honor Abraham, Ismail, Isaac (Isiak) and all other prophets. We do not differentiate and choose which of the prophets we will honor and say we won’t honor another prophet. No one is also stopping you from celebrating Eid if you believe in it. It is a free world.
officialyetundebakare : I’m a Muslim/Christian and I understand vividly ✌️ na why I dey wonder why some Christians no like ileya meat 😂😂 una dey miss ooo.
kngadms : Una no give this man sallah meat on Friday, Una think say he no go bring am up on Sunday ? Clear 😂.
quepeller : Shows you how complete Islam is. Islam and Christianity are more alike, Islam is just the completion of Christianity, the gospel was there Islam came to make Gods message clearer. Go to original messages of the bible you will see Muslims live more like Jesus than Christians do. Difference, Muslims follow Jesus teachings as a prophet, Christians worship Jesus as God.
fattyphotographe : Alhamdulilah for being a Muslim and I pray that my family never have the reason to depart from Islam 🙏🙏🙏.
cmomoofficial: Some Christians go say them no Dey chop ileya meat. Meat wey I don Dey chop since when I small. I love Islam die. Insha allah, I go go Mecca one day.
sliq_interiors : What religion was Abraham practicing? He wasn’t a Christian neither a Muslim. There is just one God.
Watch the full video below (swipe to view more)