How Halal Is My Chicken?

In one of my previous posts I looked at the issue surrounding the controversy about halal meat in France. I got the urge to further search for such an issue at home. I typed ‘religion and food issues in the UK’ into a search engine and was surprised to see many online articles and YouTube video clips on the topic. What caught my eye was the title ‘Britain Goes Halal (…but nobody tells public)’.

The issues at home are slightly different than across the channel. Here the public is consuming halal meat without knowledge of it being so. The criticism at hand was not so much of the meat being halal, but it was directed at various supermarkets who sold meat without labelling it halal. What difference does it make? For Muslims it has to be prepared according to Islamic religious rituals. For others, it was more to do with whether the animal was stunned or non-stunned prior to killing, as discovered in this video.

According to this video, there is not much of a difference between halal or non-halal meat, as animals are stunned prior to killing, only 10-12% of the halal meat in the UK is non-Stunned. Having discovered that, we end with the question of whether stunning the animal prior to killing renders it lawful or not in Islam.

 

If I remember it correctly, some years ago there was a similar issue about stunned and non-stunned animals prior to slaughter. This problem caused many individuals to give up eating meat especially poultry. My own father never consumed poultry after this issue. Being a fan of fried chicken I didn't want to give up, but the question for me was ‘How Halal was my Chicken’? Having watched the above video I found myself asking the same question again. Here on one hand we have the issue of Britain going Halal but on the other hand we have some Muslims (like me) still struggling to find Halal poultry or Halal reliable takeaways. I mean when going to places, I have to check in advance for the availability of 'HMC'  restaurants or takeouts, otherwise our going out ends up on a pure veggie meal  or a pack lunch from home. The reason I choose 'HMC' labelled  takeouts is that previously I was told I’ll be on the safe side if I only consumed ‘HMC Halal’ labelled poultry. Is this correct? Well according to many websites this is the best solution to the problem. But what about the other 'Halal', labels? Are they not 100% halal also? This table shows the difference between these labels;

Looking at these differences, it is clear which one is more reliable. Doesn't this make you think then what is all the fuss about 'Britain going Halal', when there is an issue with so the called 'halal' being halal?

Is Halal the same as Kosher?

 

In my previous post I looked at issues of ‘Halal Meat’ in France. During my search I found that Muslims were not the only faith group that were subjected to criticism because of their Halal Diet but Jews’ Kosher Diet was also amidst the criticism. There must be some similarities between the two. In the past I have been told that in cases where Halal meat is unavailable, Muslims can consume Kosher meat. I never fully understood the relationship between these two types of meat so I intend to use this post to search for the relationship between Kosher and Halal. 

According to many online websites Halal is the term used for what is permissible in Islam. In the terms of meat the word Halal is used for the meat from permitted animals that are slaughtered in a specific way according to Islamic rituals. Not all animals are considered Halal. According to one website, example of some animals and drinks that are forbidden in Islam are;

• Pork and pork by products

• Animals that were dead prior to slaughtering

• Animals not slaughtered properly according to Islamic rituals

• Blood and blood by products

• Alcohol

• Carnivorous animals

• Birds of prey

• Land animals without external ears

Kosher on the other hand is the term used for what is permissible and fit to eat in Judaism. In terms of meat the word kosher is also used for the meat of permitted animals slaughtered in a specific way according to Jewish rituals (animals need to be slaughtered in the name of God with a sharp knife and the blood has to drain out). When it comes to meat, in both religions similar practices are followed. But to say that yes all Halal and Kosher is the same, wouldn’t be correct. There are some differences between the two, the main ones are;

• Islam prohibits all intoxicants including alcohols, liquors and wines, whereas Judaism regards alcohol and wines as Kosher. Therefore Kosher foods may contain alcohol. If they do,they are not permissible in Islam.             
• Gelatine is considered Kosher by many Jews regardless of its source  of origin. For Muslims, if gelatine is prepared from animals that are not slaughtered according to Islamic ritual, it is considered unlawful to eat.
•  In Judaism strict separation of dairy and meat products is required even when the food is Kosher, but Islam does not require strict separation of diary and meat products.

There may be other differences between Halal and Kosher that make the Kosher questionable for Muslims to consume, however in cases of unavailability many Muslim Scholars permit Kosher as long as it is prepared according to the orthodox Jewish teachings. Would it be the same the other way round? In this video similar question is posed by a Jewish man. 

Could Kosher and Halal be considered two different branches of the same tree? 

Halal Food and Politics-Controversy across the channel

While searching for the link between religion and food, I was amazed to find many articles on halal meat issues in France. Looking at my dinner plate, I thought how on earth did it end in France? I love my food (I consume a strict halal diet), there is no doubt about it. But having it discussed by politicians across the channel and becoming world headlines was something I never dreamt of. 

I was pretty sure the matter was not just an issue of halal meat, there was more to it. As most of us know that halal food is not something new but has been in existence for more than 1400 years.  How could it be then, it was being treated as an alienated discussion. Curiously I started to look for various related articles and videos online. Most of them were discussing the same issue of how halal meat became a campaign issue in France. It was not long after that I found an article in the Washington Post, stating that the French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said, “I have already said that the clash of civilizations is not my cup of tea, I think halal meat problem is in reality a false problem”.

The Independent indicated that Mr Sarkozy (struggling in the opinion poll) copied the far right leader Marine  Le Pen in order to get votes, by posing the question, ‘Should non-Muslims unknowingly eat meat from animals killed according to Islamic law’? Of course, everyone has a right to know what they eat. But is this the real problem? The real problem at hand seems to be the ever unpopular economic crisis. In an attempt to steer the attention away from it, politicians turned public attention towards religious slaughtering.

A very well thought idea. But who does the finger point at for this ‘halal meat’ problem? Answer to this could be, a dinner plate consisting of a religious diet. For me this is seriously dangerous (fuelling the fire of hatred in society over religious food, while politicians get their seats).

The election might have been won with religious meat as a central campaign, but the unity of Jews and Muslims was an expected outcome over this (both follow similar animal slaughtering rituals). What do you think?

LET’S EAT!

Lights, stage, camera, food, action! This is the typical scene at an over the top, overblown traditional Asian wedding. If you have ever been to an Asian wedding, you will know that there are up to five different starters, three different main meals and a dazzling array of desserts to choose from. And it is not even a buffet! When it comes to preparing for a wedding, it is essential to have fine food in order to satisfy the guests, otherwise you will have disgruntled relatives and friends returning home with an endless tirade of moans and groans.

On the contrary, in Islam when we take a look back at the Prophet Muhammad’s era, the people did not eat as if they were filling their stomachs for up to four people. Neither did they lavishly overspend on meals for their weddings. As is mentioned in one of the hadith (saying of the Prophet),

On the authority of Al-Miqdaam ibn Maadiy-Karib who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: "No human ever filled a vessel worse than the stomach. Sufficient for any son of Adam are some morsels to keep his back straight. But if it must be, then one third for his food, one third for his drink and one third for his breath."     

Another hadith states, ‘We are a people who do not eat until we are hungry. And if we eat, we do not eat to full’. 

A person posted a comment on a forum under the title ‘Wastage of Food in Indian Weddings’. This got me thinking, rather than wasting money on an excessive amount of food, wouldn’t it be a much better idea if they could donate food or an equal amount of money to charity, so they could feed the poor? And at the same time still have lovely, delicious food at your wedding.

As Citizen Khan, the protagonist of the BBC Series stated a wedding should consist of ‘getting cucumber sandwiches, a cup of tea, Thank You for coming, Bye Bye’. Simple enough right? I would love to hear your comments and wedding experiences so feel free to comment below.

Food, food, glorious food…

Reading the quote “One should eat to live, not live to eat” (Benjamin Franklin) got me thinking how can one eat to live? Simple, just eat when you are hungry. Right? But do we? Rather it has become a norm to indulge our food. We eat and eat until our seams are bursting, but is that what religion teaches us? Throughout this blog I will be exploring different online resources and commenting on various issues regarding the role of food within religion.

Food plays an important part in any religion. To eat and what not to eat becomes the paving path for the followers of different beliefs. We hear of many religious terms associated with rituals, festivals and last but not least with food. For example when it comes to terms such as ‘HalaI’, we automatically assume food in Islam. Likewise with the term ‘Kosher’ we think of food in Judaism. The question is why is food so important in religion? Is it because;

·         Food is religion? Or

·         You are what you eat?  (meaning what you eat defines you and becomes an integral

                                         part of your identity)

As time has passed and society has evolved many things have changed. Similarly with food, the original meaning and purpose has been lost, clouding the difference between appetite and tradition. We don’t simply eat when we need nourishment for our bodies, but we find ourselves forever consuming morsels of indulgent comfort foods, without knowing when to stop. Like the famous proverb ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’, it is as though too many additions have spoilt the original purpose of food.

I must admit there is nothing wrong with eating nice/fine foods, however in moderation. Many may say ‘change is good’ or ‘change is a sign that we are moving forward’. Look at the changes of Food. First it was a long time consuming process of collecting firewood to fuel our food. But, in today’s day and age with a click of a button and Hey Presto! a steaming ready made meal is at our front door.

I agree that change is good, but is all change good? Where do we draw the line? To feast or not to feast ? that is the question.