Blog Reloaded: Halal Meat in the UK
BUMP! – This is a post from April 2005 about the issue of halal meat in the UK. The comments section has some good discussion points and I thought that I would bump this for further discussion
Halal Meat in the UK
Last week I was discussing the the whole issue of halal meat with a few friends. We came to the conclusion that “real” halal meat is increasingly hard to come by, having said that we did recognise that we all should have husn al-zann with the meat that we are supplied with, since if a Muslim tells you something is halal you accept it unless you know for a fact that it isn’t. There were many factors that we discussed that lead us to this conclusion. Firstly our insatiatiable demamd for meat; there is no way that this demand can be met without cutting a few corners at the slaughterhouse. I know that chicken slaughter is very hi-speed and there is a very high throughput of live chickens and those conducting the slaughter just don’t have the time to say “bismillah Allahu akbar” on every chicken when the automatic knives make the cut. With regards to slaughter of larger animals, there is a widespread use of stunning and electric shock as is well discussed and documented and so I am not going to go into the ins and outs of that.
The other factor that we discussed is how many people actually know how to do “dhabiha”, Any Tom, Dick or Harry can get a Slaughterman’s license and anyone can say “Bismillah Allahu Akbar” and run a knife across the throat of an animal, but how many know exactly where to make the cut or the other ahkam that need to be fulfilled? I think as the years go by there will be less and less people with this skill and certainly this is a concern. There is absolutely no training available for the people doing “dhabiha” and even if there were it would have to be on live animals and this is not possible; anyone for Deen Intensive on the Fiqh of Islamic Slaughter?
My father runs a halal meat and grocery shop and has done so for nearly 40 years. When I was younger, our business was one the very few businesses of this kind that used to supply meat and chickens slaughtered by ourselves. From an early age I used to accompany my father to the slaughterhouse and observe the slaughter of sheep and lambs. From what I remember, my father observed all the ahkam of slaughter and never cut corners. This was reflected in the quality of the meat that we used to supply to our customers and people used to come from far and wide to buy meat from our shop and the reputation grew, even our non-Muslim customers preferred the meat that we supplied to the local butcher even though it was cheaper. Unfortunately for the last 7 or 8 years we have been supplying meat from a wholesaler of halal meat as all the local slaughterhouses shutdown one by one due to Government regulations and EU regulations it became uneconomical for small slaughterhouses to operate. For a time we did use a local farmer who was a friend of the family to supply us with sheep and the use of his farm slaughterhouse but due to the BSE and other health scares it became too risky for him.
My father once told me that there was a man who used to supply “halal” meat quite cheaply in Luton and this man used to use the same slaughterhouse that my father used to use. This man used to slaughter 6 or 7 animals for his own use and then let non-Muslim slaughtermen to finish off the rest of his order! My father was outraged and offered to slaughter his animals for free but he never took up the offer. This was going back 15 or 20 years, I don’t think this guy is supplying “halal” meat anymore. There are some unscrupulous halal meat suppliers who don’t realise that this is an amanah – a sacred trust – that has to be safeguarded.
I think if Muslims reverted back to the Sunnah practice of eating very little meat this would certainly go some way in helping as well as improving the health of the community by lessening the illnesses relating to eating too much red meat. I also think that consumer pressure should be applied in that we should demand the highest standards even if that means paying more for it. There is too much apathy on our part, whilst husn al-zann is praiseworthy it shouldn’t make us complacent in demanding the halal and tayyib.
wa’as-salam
Mas’ud
www.masud.co.uk
39 thoughts on “Blog Reloaded: Halal Meat in the UK”
Salaam ‘Alaikum
Now that I’ve been researching and preparing to write a “Food Guide for New Muslims,” this is something my husband and I have been thinking and talking about this week. Just yesterday I was thinking the same thing you are saying, sidi. Subhan’Allah. — Umm Zaid
I’ve pretty much stopped eating meat (except for Fish) out here in Bangalore, India. The only time I do so is when I go back to my native town. There, I can actually see the slaughtering take place and verify that it’s been done properly. Other than that, I’ve found it safer to stick to vegetarian and fish products.
good posting, but i’ve always been confused about this issue when muslims talk about halal meat. i think the blogger touches on this issue a bit, when he writes about his father’s halal meat store, but i was curious if anybody had any more information. the saying of the bismillah and understanding the proper way to cut meat is obviously very important when it comes to halal meat, but why don’t muslims ever talk about how the animals are treated in the slaughter house? are there any halal-haram implications about caging chickens in tiny and unclean spaces for their entire lifetimes (which is pretty much how it’s done every where, even in muslim countries)? or feeding animals with hormone-laden feed? or any of the other sadistic measures taken by most slaughter-houses to raise animals for our dinners? have the muslim jurists overlooked this issue; or, in other words, are muslims like everybody else on these matters: organic or free range meat is fine for the idealists in our community, but practicality demands that we should not worry ourselves too much about the inhumane practices employed at virtually every slaughter house?
Perhaps community members should support a local Muslim in setting up an organic farm operation. The benefit to the community would be unmeasureable.
‘Husn al-zann’ maybe in an ideal islamic shariah governed place, but not presently.’95% of the Halal meat consumed in the U.K. is not Halal! As suggested recently by one of the top authorities in this area, Mr Yunes Teinaz (Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner and Health and Management Adviser to the Director General of the Central Mosque), at a meeting at Central Mosque, Regents Park.
Scandalous, shocking, outrageous and absolutely unbelievable, but TRUE!
The following is a list of all the ‘Halal’ that is available from your friendly neighbourhood butcher:-
1. CHICKENS FATTENED UP BY INJECTED PORK PROTEINS.
2. MAGGOT INFESTED ROTTING CARCASSES, EVEN REJECTED BY THE PET FOOD TRADE.
3. LIVESTOCK SLAUGHTERED BY BISMILLAH INSCRIBED MECHANICAL BLADES.
4. STUNNED MEAT AND POULTRY.
The first three on the list above, represent a small proportion of the meat available and it is to some extent being addressed and resolved, but the forth listed, STUNNED meat and poultry maybe legally enforced upon us, if a government advisory body, the FAWC get their way (much to the delight of the many unscrupulous butchers) and more importantly if we continue to be complacent and careless about Halal and Haram.
The Islamic Cultural Centre, Regents Park are advising Muslim traders and consumers that ‘The Islamic Shariah requires that animals are slaughtered without any form of prior stunning and that the animal must be fully conscious at the time of slaughtering’. They will also recommend consumers to purchase meat from reputable butchers and be allowed to trace meat to a reputable abattoir.
WE NEED A UNITED FRONT AGAINST STUNNING OR ELSE WE WILL LOSE NOT ONLY THE HALAL, TAYYAB AND OUR IBAADAT, BUT OUR VOICE AND OUR RIGHTS.’
More info is available on the following sites:-
halalmc.org
unstunnedhalal.com
myhalalshop.com
Khalid (abuuwaisi@yahoo.co.uk)
I presently in the midst of completing an Halal Food Guide and would appreciate any advice. JZK
The ‘INHUMANE’ treatment of animals suggested in one of the posts is a very serious problem. Muslims should be very concerned. The economics and commercial interests of the Meat and Poultry industry has made a mockery of animal welfare. Its only concern is increased production and increased profits, which inevitably results in increased cruelty, pain and trauma for the animal. It appears that humanity has made much progress in protecting the rights of the animal. Apart from the inhumanity of stunning, there is a whole catalogue of animal rights abuses and violations which are encouraged and endorsed by the very ones claiming to be protecting the rights of the animals, like the castration of lambs by DEFRA, battery cage farming, dehorning of cattle, debeaking of chickens, routine culling of surplus newborn animals, etc. by the FAWC and RSPCA. So-called independent organizations like the FAWC, RSPCA and DEFRA have members directly involved or working with the slaughtering industry under the guise of overlooking and monitoring the welfare of animals, but being on the payroll of the slaughter houses. Cowardice and corruption can obscure reality, but they can never change it. There is a complex web of deceit and corruption involving Industrialists, research/development groups and welfare/animal rights groups. Industrialists and research/development groups propose new and improved so-called ?humane? stunning technologies to welfare/animal rights groups which in turn lobby and pressurize governments to accept. It seems that many of the new technologies introduced in our times, are introduced, not because they are of great benefit to mankind, but simply because it is of great commercial benefit to those involved in the industry. Hence, every ten or fifteen years we have new stunning technologies introduced for the monetary benefits of everyone in the web, except the animals.
Khalid
Oh, what a coincidence, i have been thinkng through this issue alot lately and am tthinking about becoming a vegetaarian since it is so hard to eat “halal”. But..but..chkcen burgers and biryani and..nihari and mmm…
btw, there is a organic farm that has been set up in OXford by a Mslim couple mashAllah, called Willowbrook I think, but i dont think theyve started any meat distribution yet, but you can get eggs and things.
I think this is the website for Willow Brook Farm.
http://www.willow-brook-farm.co.uk/
Assalaamualaykum,
This is indeed the case in North America. As brother Khalid said, chickens and cattle are stunned. The goats and lambs are hung upside down. And all the hormones that are inject into the animals. The problem is that we don’t speak out against it. We accept the meat the way the provide us.
I don’t buy or eat meat from the local halal meat shop because I know what how the animal is slaughtered and who’s delivering it. Infact, I don’t even eat meat at my relatives house. I only eat meat that I slaughter with my own hands or slaughtered in front of me according to the shariah. This is still possible to do. Eating halal is no longer our priority. We say as long as the guy says it’s halal then it’s on his shoulders. Brothers, if someone gives you pioson and says it’s a healthy juice, even if you don’t know it’s pioson you will stil be poisoned. Similarly, if you eat non-tayyib contaminated haram meat without knowing you would be contaminated. You limbs will not assist you in good deeds, ibaadat and etc.
Muslim have compromised too much in their halal standards. Now they have halal certification organizations that will sanction anything.
An interesting article that I came across: http://www.themajlis.net/Article125.html
May Allah give us the strenght and ability to eat halal and tayyib.
Wa’alaykum Assalaam
The problem of halal meat is serious here in America. Unfortunately, there are so many opinions of convenience regarding this issue. I personally believe that Muslims should not tolerate stunning of any kind. It is forbidden in the Shariah. Given the fact that this practice is so common, the underlying issue is whether or not the stunned animal is alive at the time of slaughter. In my observations, this is usually impossible to determine. I discuss this further at http://www.yaseenhalal.com in our free newsletter.
Asalamoalaikum.
I gave up eating meat 15 years ago when I moved away from home to go to University- mainly because I couldn’t find a decent halal butcher. I subsequently saw a huge improvement in my health- stomach problems, skin problems and headaches all but disappeared. Since then, I have eaten meat only very briefly, on trips to Pakistan, where I noticed a huge improvement in the taste and texture of the meat compared with the meat I ate in England as a child. Moreover, I suffered no ill effects. I witnessed Pakistani chickens being made halal and was confident that the red meat I ate was free from haram products. I would not be so confident to claim that any of the meat I ate in England was halal. I recommend that anyone who chooses to eat ‘halal’ meat in England considers their supplier very carefully and makes sure that the food they give to their children is fully halal- or else consider the possibility of providing a well-balanced, fish-based / ‘vegetarian’ diet, as I am doing with my own children- and as many of my friends are doing.
I think we are beeng muslims very nerrowminded dont take me wrong. Things are keep changing so our requirments are changing aswell. After very thoughtfull concideration and debate I have got the FATWA from Mufti Taqi Usmani(a wellknown name in todayes Islamic world currently working with gov of Pakistan as advisor of islamic view on modern cercumstances) according to him Stunning (to make disable the animal not to kill is copletely permiseable(a copy of FATWA can be mail on demand).I personely think that we have to concentrate more on our daily routeen life, masure that are we doing every thing halal if not rectefy that and leave sharia problems toMUFTIS who know the islam better that us.
Did anyone watch the prog “Slaughterhouse” on BBC2 last week?
salams the last comment re ,mufti taqi’s fatwa, he does not say stunning is permissible but leaves it to taqwa, if there is a choice then u should eat unstuuned, he does not say stunned is permissible, secondly people should visit slaughter houses themselves to fully understand the stunning peocess.
dial halal unstunned halal meat and poultry. 404 lea bridge road e10 855 866 16. inshaallal trustworthy brothers who started unstunned chicken because of the stuuning issues, not butchers by trade inshaaallah there intention only to provide the ummah halal unstunned
Why do people object to stunning (ie head-only, not captive bolt) and yet will accept factory methods of slaughter? You can’t just bring an animal in, hoist it by its hind legs onto an assembly line and then slit its throat. The community ought to decide how much meat it should be eating and perhaps less/no meat that is from animals (raised organically – we could really boost organic farming) slaughtered with stunning would be necessary. BTW 90% of New Zealand lamb that is exported to the Mid-East is from factories practising halal-slaughter, but with head-only stunning.
milons wat do u think about stunning
Anonymous (is your name shortened to Anon? I’ve seen it everywhere)
I think that if you are going to have factory slaughter then I fail to see how head-only stunning contravenes shariah. Firstly, it has been declared acceptable by some authorities and secondly I have not been convinced by the arguments against it. If its use means that the killing is done more “excellently” in the particular circumstances then why not use it? It seems that this whole is very much an Indo-Pak thing. Of course, the Muslim community could do something radical like eating less meat and insisting that the animals are organically farmed, thus helping that sector of the farming industry to grow. This scenario may cause problems, because you would have to duck a lot in order to avoid the flying pigs!
Assalamalaikum, I am in the process of supplying halal organic meat in the UK and to export abroad. At the moment I am negotiating with the supplier in respect of terms. I would be grateful if those muslims interested could either email me on klusener777@hotmail.com or reply to this post as I need to ascertain whether there really is such a demand for halal organic meat. I have had recent negativr feedback so I need to know whether muslims would pay a little extra to have halal organic meat. Jazak’Allah khair and I look forward to hearing from you.
Assalamaalaikum, I am in the process of insha’Allah providing halal organic meat in the UK. At the moment I am negotiating terms with the suppliers. Will people who are interested please contact me on klusener777@hotmail.com so that I can get a feel for the demand for halal organic meat.
Abu Hassan
Jazak’Allah khair.
Hello,
I am not a Muslim but have an interest in this matter as I work in a chicken factory. It is Halal classified. i.e. a chap, well actually two chaps, one on each shift, have to be in attendance to pray over the chicken as they are killed otherwise the chicken cannot be sold as Halal. However, there is also a sound system with the prayer repeated over and over again so that the prayer man doesn’t actually have to pray unless the CD player breaks down. So in effect he is there on standby.
Now, as according to British regulations, the chickens are electrically stunned just before they enter the killer machine. This would appear not to be Halal killing as there are many abattoirs that do not stun before killing (even in this country). I am at a loss to know how these factories get away with it.
Now, I have an article written (2002) by a P. Mustafa, Signs Magazine, Glasgow who says – Quote –
“Contrary to popular belief there is no recommended method of slaughter in the Koran, which mentions only four types of food as forbidden (haram) (1) Animals that die of themselves (makes a lot of sense). (2) Blood. (3) Meat of pigs and (4) animals sacrificed in any name other than God’s. However even these foods are permitted in times of need as long as there is no deliberate or malicious intent. In all circumstances Moslems are directed to eat from all that is lawful and good. All foods, other than those forbidden, are Halal, and the individual has to decide what he should eat. A Halal food cannot be made more Halal by performing an additional ritual. The Arab News said – Moslems nowadays impose more stringent restrictions than God wants them to. They prohibit all meat slaughtered by Christians on grounds that God’s name is not mentioned at the time of their slaughter or that the method of slaughter involves stunning. This attitude is not correct because God has permitted us to eat those foods without questioning them on the method they follow in killing their animals. He only wants us to mention God’s name at the time we eat. Moslems may feel sensitive about this, but they can consume meat from a non-moslem butcher without fear of contravening God’s Law.” Unquote.
I find the comment “God only wants us to mention his name when we eat” very telling. Off course both practicing Christians and I assume Moslems do this in the form of a prayer at mealtime ” Thank you God for what we are about to recieve”
The point is, I don’t understand why there is such obvious confusion amongst Muslims about Halal killing. How is it possible for a whole world-wide religion of millions of people who have all read the Koran to get it so wrong. It either says it in the Koran or it doesn’t. I would be very interested in any comments on this very interesting subject.
Thank you
Colin
PS Could someone please give me a reason why Pig is a forbidden food other than it says so ?
Who cares how you slaughter the animal..you still murder it for your own greed..if there is a god then he will be digusted by the way we treat his animals.animals don’t exist for us..they exist for themselves..to bring religion into it is sick..the egotist mind of a human to think we can do what me want to animals sickens me..what’s happening with nature should be a wake-up call to people but it’s not..the universe is telling us we aren’t not in charge..like bird flu..we have bought it all on ourselves
salaams
Br Masooud initial comment is intresting but discerning,in respect of the husne zaan then we are better off refraining and endeavour to attain the higher level of spiritual advancement – Taqwa. many individuals whom profess there faith are not observant of there obligations tO ALLah and Allah servants, when we clearly oppose any one in connection to Khamar or Alcohol then why are we satisfied with that which if at least is Makrooh Detestable often we accept husne zaan, but no caterer or butcher in there honesty will display there products as 100% Makrooh they would rather consume it and sugeest we accept there level of conviction in faith and practice. what i am clearly supporting is re enganging the debate of the levels of meat and poultry we should be consuming, alas the muslim community is readily looking for avenues to overcome the supply of stunned and non stunned halal meat and poultry. i further advocate the case as some have suggested in looking at the problem of the source and the begining of the animal, i purposly purchase organic foods but again our minds and pockets have illutrated our ways of living, often giving up that which is morally and socially right and attainable, i spoke to a Br Ebrahim formely Stuart a convert for 5 years who is in charge of halal mutton and lamb at welh country foods who supply STUNNED lamb meat to asda and Mcturks of one derby largest wholesaler of halal donner etc since the 70’s, and across the globe, he belives that the practise of stunning should be applauded and that ritual practice though nessecary is not humane always humane (May Allah GUIde his heart and mind, ameen). on the other hand the halal monitoring committe is growing in support but lacks the vision and the resources to tackle the issue, i have informed them personally and continue to support there efforts but i recognise we need to engage and help brothers and sisters who attempt to help up us in reaching halal and tayyab meat and poultry. the Halal food authority should refrain from represnting the muslim community as they have saturated and have been irreversibly rpresting the fore for halal certification and in many opinons represnt a real danger for muslims working for better halal standards.
again i have attempted to have dialogue but they refrain withot reason to disscuss there open appauled practice of simple questionnaires in order to be certified halal (i pray Allah guides there heart and minds and seek forgiveness for there short comings), more recently i am raising the issue with my local councillor to assist in preventing caters butchers to display halal until they produce clear evidence of there suppliers and quantity and under goes training in halal practice and business according to shariah ( i am devising a training course in relation to the practise of Umar radhiallahu anhu that prevented traders trading until they new the legislation that Allah ordained for business, anyone wishing to help please contact me on a5u76@btopenworld.com)i continue to pray for the efforts of all. wasalaam
asalaam alikum, can any body let me know if they can get hold of halal organic meat near derbyshire ,id be extremely interested …new revert and health conscious ….please email alianzar2000@yahoo.co.uk
Asalamu alaikum
I have been advocating deeper thought as regards to what we as Muslims should be calling Halal when it comes to the rearing of animals for slaughter. It saddened me to find so few who are more concerned with the cost of meat and the ‘need’ to eat it every day rather than feeding their families good quality meat and chicken but less often. Reading this blog has made me feel less isolated, so thank you. Please let me know if you can, where I can get free range organic halal meat in Manchester,UK. To me Halal is more than a slit on the throat, surely we have to account for the quality of life of the animals also!
Jazak Allah Khair,
Saira
Hello,
It’s me the chicken factory man.
As expected, I had no reply to my questions. If Muslims cannot answer a simple question or two then what hope is there for others to understand their faith. It more and more appears to me that Muslims don’t know their own minds with regards to Halal meat either. They seem to be going around and around in a fog of miss-conception. I would like to be corrected on this one if anyone can.
Thank you
Colin
PS as for the vegetarian who replied after my post – you are entitled to your feelings and beliefs although I would suggest that you are on the wrong site maybe?
Asalamu alaikum to all,
I came across this page when searching for “organic halal meat” on Google. It is good to see people agreeing with my point of view.
A few points:
1 – I think 80-90% of the halal meat in the UK probably is not halal. I know this personally as I am in the process of starting an internet based organic halal meat company so have visited many abattoirs. A few of the many shocking stories I came across include a) the Muslim who brings lambs to an abattoir, lets the abattoir (all non-Muslims)slaughter and he sells to butchers as halal. This abattoir pumps out hundreds of these a week and you have more than likely eaten one. 2) the Muslim who takes lambs to the abattoir, reads a dua over them and again lets the abattoir deal with them. These are 2 of many examples I came across.
As a result of this I have stopped eating all meat unless I slaughter it or someone I trust has. Otherwise I dont trust it. On top of that having now slaughtered a few animals I want the person who does any animal I do to do it properly, i.e. with wudhu, salawat, etc. I truly believe this affects the meat. Taking an animal’s life is not pleasant and must be done with the correct intention and spiritual awareness.
2 – Stunning. The Muslim community seems to be a bit confused about stunning. In short, if the animal is stunned and dies and is then killed it is haram. Most abattoirs though use a very very low voltage which knocks the animal out for 30 secs. If left alone it jumps back up. I have asked my Sheikh about this and his decision was that the act of stunning is makruh but the actual meat does not become haram – it is 100% halal. You need to understand that 98% of UK abattoirs use this sort of stunning as it is the law. You can’t escape it. And those halal foof bodies that say “no stunning” are talking about stunnin that kills – read their texts carefully and you will see they so but in a subtle manner.
3 – I believe the main issue Muslims need to worry about is where the animal came from, what it ate, was it reared ethically and with compassion and was it slaughtered by a Muslim with the correct fiqh and intentions? No high street halal butcher can tell you all this – all they get is a white van roll up and give them carcasses.
For those that are serious about eating meat my first advice is eat less, much much less but spend more on quality meat you know if organic and Islamic. Both ways you win.
If anyone is serious about organic halal meat, let me know and I will send you details of my business as I dont really want this to be an ad for it!
Colin the Chicken man
In short, the answer to your question is that Muslims dont agree on everything. There are many differing legal opinions on a host of things. The Quran tends to give general guidelines not hard and fast rules – it is then up to scholars to interpret these guidelines. That is why there is a difference of opinion.
It is not a simple as saying the Arab News said so and so, therefore all Muslims disagree on things. Islam is not a heterogenous religion. You can ask 10 Muslims the same question and get 10 different answers.
As to why pigs – we are not allowed to eat any animal that is not a herbivore. Pigs can and do eat anything including piglets, so that is why we dont eat them and many other types of animals.
Asama laikum
Has anyone been able to sourge fre range halal chicken. I live in Glasgow and although I’ve not done much searching I know my local butchers doesn’t have it.
As salamu alaykum, brothers and sisters!
There is a new HALAL ORGANIC butchers for Muslims in the UK. You can order online and have your meat delivered by post. Lamb only at present.
Website:
http://www.organic-halal-meat.com/
Hello Colin the Chicken Factory Man,
Just thought I’d mention that pork is forbidden for Christians as well as Muslims and Jews. It was only when the Roman Emperors adopted Christianity as the state religion, that they changed this prohibition. The Seventh Day Adventists follow a purer form of Christianity, and abstain from pork.
The pig is known to be a highly intelligent animal. Some animals have a more primitive level of consciousness, and eat only grass; they are believed to have been created for us as food. Other animals are carnivores, hunters, higher in the animal hierarchy. Their flesh is forbidden to Muslims and Jews/Christians who follow the revelations in the Old Testament.
Hi it’s me, Colin the Chicken Man.
This is a very slow moving blog so I haven’t been back here for a while.
Pleased to see an answer to my question though.
I refer to a reply by tomitv :- As to why pigs – we are not allowed to eat any animal that is not a herbivore. Pigs can and do eat anything including piglets, so that is why we don’t eat them and many other types of animals.
It seems to me all very well, but the ramifications of this are very hard to contemplate. When you really think about it there are not a lot of animals that are true herbivores. ie. Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Birds of all sorts eat animal matter intentionally. Also ones that eat animal matter, in the form of a vast variety of bugs, unintentionally in the course of their grazing. ie Cows, sheep, goats (who will eat anything) horses etc.
Also:- thank you to the person who replied thus:-
Hello Colin the Chicken Factory Man,
Just thought I’d mention that pork is forbidden for Christians as well as Muslims and Jews. It was only when the Roman Emperors adopted Christianity as the state religion, that they changed this prohibition. The Seventh Day Adventists follow a purer form of Christianity, and abstain from pork. The pig is known to be a highly intelligent animal. Some animals have a more primitive level of consciousness, and eat only grass; they are believed to have been created for us as food. Other animals are carnivores, hunters, higher in the animal hierarchy. Their flesh is forbidden to Muslims and Jews/Christians who follow the revelations in the Old Testament.
Some very good points there. I suppose that it may have been so for good reasons at the time. I, like a lot of people are horrified at the thought of someone eating dogs. But, others are not, and I don’t understand that. I agree that pigs are quite intelligent as are dolphins, whales, horses but that doesn’t stop some in this world eating them. I suppose my problem is that I don’t see it as a religious thing and God gave us brains to make our own mind up, not have a religious representative make it up for me. I couldn’t eat dog, but that decision is arrived at on a humanitarian basis.
Also, it is encouraging to see some looking for organic food
A very slow but interesting conversation
Colin
Assalamo Alaikum, happy to find this useful site- I live in Kent in South East, and buy meat in London – CAN ANYONE TELL ME PLEASE WHERE CAN I BUY HONEST PLACE TO BUY HALAL CHICKEN AND LAMB MEAT, AND ALL THE BETTER IF IT IS ORGANIC TOO!!!
You can email: jawad5@hotmail,com
Jazak-Allah.
Salam,
We recently had a Halal Monitoring Committee seminar in Newcastle where all the issues mentioned here were discussed. You can listen to a recording of it here:
http://www.esnips.com/doc/e69d955b-4cef-497f-b6a6-6c5ff216ff99/HMC-Seminar,-Newcastle,-15-04-07
The HMC website is: http://www.halalmc.org
Dear Colin,
In answer to your questions;
In order for any meat to qualify for Halal slaughter, the prayer must be said by an individual, who is a practising muslim – a CD recording is not acceptable. Secondly, any poultry stunned prior to slaughter wiil not qualify as Halal. It is sad that certain slaughter houses get away calling thier meat Halal, when it has not really been adhered to the strict Halal qualifications.
I am not in agreement with the article written by P. Mustapha. The Quran only outlines sharia, whilst hadith (the teachings of the holy prophet) fleshes out sharia. For example, the Quran simply states that it is obligatory upon every muslim to pray. How, where, when so on and so forth is fleshed out by the prophet (Muhammed) SW. Similarly, the Quran outlines the meat that can be consumed. While the prophet’s hadith very clearly specifies what constitutes halal and halal slaughter.
With regard to Pig being unhalal, the reasons are as follows. Allah, whom we muslims beleive to be the creator of all beings, be it human or animal, has in his Quran mentioned that he has created the Pig as an unclean animal and as such unhealthy for consumption.
Further, for an animal to be valid for consumption, as you already know, it has to be slaughtered according to halal methods, which primarily constitutes slitting the throat of an animal, so as to bleed all the unclean blood. The Pig however does not have a neck. As you may know you cannot slaughter a pig by slitting it’s throat – meaning, you cannot bleed out all the unclean blood. These ar among several other reasons. I hope this helps answer your questions.
For Colin and all the rest of you, please visit the following link, which provides a good explanation on ‘why halal slaughter’ and scientific research in to Halal slaughter vs. stunning.
http://www.mustaqim.co.uk/halal.htm
Wassalam
Salam Alaikum,
I have some questions about the processes involved in certifying and registering Halaal meats, in particular poultry.
I am interested in a company in Australia which claims to be the first ‘fully registered halaal processor’ in my home city of Brisbane, ABD Poultry.
What is involved in the actual process of halaal certification and registration? Are the abattoir premises inspected by Muslim representatives to deem that the execution of the poultry complies with halaal standards, what exactly would these standards consist of (I am led to beleive that the slaughter of chickens is very fast paced and done by mechanical process so the idea of experienced Muslim workers being able to carry out the procedure necessary to ensure to correct execution of the animal is indeed concernable at least)
and if it is agreed that the premises complies with halaal standards, would it be mandatory to have audits of the production site to ensure quality control?
Thank you for your time in replying to my queries,
Mahsalama
why is stunning haram?
Dear Kamal,
Stunning is haram because the blood from the animal is not gushed out of its body and this is harmful and not fit for eating. The islamic way is to cut the throat and wind pipe but not the spinal cord so that the heart pumps out all the blood out of the body.
Remember that blood carries most of the diseases and if it remains in the body of the animal, it can harm humans.
thanks
ali
Salaam.
I think the whole non stunning issue raised by the halal monitoring committee, is,disingenuous. It’s almost like their unique selling point. And what we find is that it has,framed the debate on halal food. A huge furor over KFC, stunned unstunned. But the facts are there. No scholar,or,halal certify can claim stunning is,haram. Only if the stunning kills does the meat become carrion and haram. As one poster earlier said moat of the new Zealand lamb is stunned and it supplies,80% of mid east meat, and nearly all the hala butchers in the uk.
So let’s move,on to what really matters. Is the meat we are getting reared humanly and free from hormone injections.
We can trace most meat. products to the slaughter,house, but can we,trace where they get the meat from.
I personally have come to the,conclusion that we,should be eating organic meat of al khitab. And their are many scholarly opinions,that we are allowed to eat their meat in this day and age. And for me it makes perfect sense, as there is nothing different about Christians in the 7th century,and Christians today. And this should be the,area of debate, at,least whilst th so called halal industry is letting,us all down