Halal

Halal (حلال, ḥalāl, halaal) food is any food that is permissible according to Islamic law. It is estimated that 70% of Muslims worldwide follow Halal food standards^[1] and that the Global Halal Market is currently a US$580 billion industry^[2].

In the Arabic language, the word 'halal' refers to anything that is permissible under Islam.

"Halal" the word

The use of the term varies between Arabic-speaking communities and non-Arabic-speaking ones.

In Arabic-speaking countries, the term is used to describe anything permissible under Islamic law, in contrast to haraam, that which is forbidden. This includes human behavior, speech communication, clothing, conduct, manner and dietary laws.

In non-Arabic-speaking countries, the term is most commonly used in the narrower context of just Muslim dietary laws, especially where meat and poultry are concerned, though it can be used for the more general meaning, as well. This dichotomy of usage is similar to the Hebrew term kosher.

Halal

Islam has laws regarding which foods can and cannot be eaten and also on the propert method of slaughtering an animal for consumption, known as dhabiĥa.

Explicitly forbidden substances

A variety of substances are considered as harmful (haram) for humans to consume and, therefore, forbidden as per various Quranic verses:

• Pork meat (i.e. flesh of swine)^{[Qur'an 2:173]}
• Blood^{[Qur'an 2:173]}
• Animals slaughtered in the name of anyone but Allah (God). There are debates regarding the permissibility of meat slaughtered by Jews (i.e., kosher meat).^{[Qur'an 2:173]}
• Carrion^{[Qur'an 5:3]}
• "Fanged beasts of prey" as per the Sunnah, usually simplified to all carnivorous animals, with the exception of most fish and sea animals.
• The meat of donkeys.
• All insects except for the locust (no reference)
• alcohol and other intoxicants

There is some disagreement among Muslims regarding seafood, especially predatory sea creatures. IFANCA (Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America) states, regarding the opinion of Islamic scholars:^[3]

• All are in agreement that fish with scales are halal.
• Sunnis consider all fish to be halal, while some Shias consider only shrimp and fish with scales to be halal^[4].
• Within the Hanafi school of thought, the stronger position is that shellfish (shrimp, lobster, crab, clams, etc.) are prohibited. But in the other three schools (Malaki, Shafi, Hanbali) crab and lobster are permissible.

Dhabiha: Method of slaughter

Main article: Difference between Halal and Dhabiha

Dhabiha is the prescribed method of ritual slaughter of all animals excluding fish and most sea-life per Islamic law. This method of slaughtering animals consists of a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife on the neck, cutting the jugular veins and carotid arteries of both sides but leaving the spinal cord intact.

Kosher and Halal

Main article: Islamic and Jewish dietary laws compared

There is a great deal of similarity between the laws of Dhabiĥa halal and kashrut, and there are also various differences. Whether or not Muslims can use kashrut standards as a replacement for halal standards is an ongoing debate, and the answer depends largely on the individual being asked.^[5] However, none of the orthodox Jewish authorities permit halal meat.

A package of halal-certified (see green label on the package) frozen food (steamed cabbage buns) from Jiangsu province, China

Halal in non-Islamic countries

Halal certificate issued for dairy products by a German registered merchant

In Dearborn, Michigan, United States, home to one of the largest Muslim and Arab populations in the United States, a number of fast food chains like McDonald's introduced halal chicken nuggets. ^[6] In the UK, American-style fried chicken is becoming increasingly popular with the Muslim population, and hundreds of outlets serving Halal fried chicken such as Chicken Cottage have sprung up.

A 2005 law passed in a county in Ohio, United States made it illegal to sell, distribute, and/or produce food that has been mislabeled "halal," when it is determined that the food does not meet Islamic dietary standards. Similar laws protect kosher foods ^[7]. See Kashrut.

McDonald's is intending to offer Halal meals in the United States and some parts of the United Kingdom with two of its franchises currently on trial, offering this service. Six McDonald's Restaurants in Australia (two outlets in Melbourne and four in Sydney have Halal meals ), India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa are Halal certified. ^[8][citation needed, link error]

Pizza Hut, KFC, Wendys, Carls Jr, Burger King, A&W, Dunkin Donuts, Subway stores in Islamic countries also serve halal foods.

Dhabiĥa Halal

Dhabiĥa halal is relatively difficult to adhere to in a non-Muslim country:

• The abundance of pork and non-dhabiĥa meats at restaurants presents a rather difficult problem to overcome. While a Muslim will not order a non-dhabiĥa halal dish, there is a concern about cross-contamination. This is likely to occur when the dhabiĥa halal dish is prepared with the same cooking tools as other non-dhabiĥa halal dishes. Food and juices from the two dishes are likely to be exchanged, technically rendering the dhabiĥa halal dish as haram.

• Many apparently meat-free dishes, and even some desserts, contain pork, gelatin, or other non-conforming substances. There is also a concern in the Muslim community about food additives such as monosodium glutamate (MSG) that may use enzymes derived from pig fat in the production process. It is very difficult to avoid such food additives as they are widely used and are not declared on restaurant menus.

• Alcohol, especially wine, is frequently used in cooking. It is largely used in sauces and cakes, and is also present as an ingredient in vanilla and other extracts. Alcohol in food flavors will mostly evaporate if it is used as a solvent in food flavors for baked products or heat treated products. One opinion is that food cooked with wine is haraam since it involves paying for the wine and the alcohol does not evaporate totally in some meats^[9]. Some Islamic scholars do not consider a food product Halal even if it is made with all Halal ingredients but food flavor in which ethyl alcohol was used as a solvent. But other Islamic scholars recommend food products made with all Halal ingredients even if food flavors containing ethyl alcohol as a solvent. ^[10]

Since the turn of the 21st century, there have been efforts to create organizations such as the Muslim Consumer Group that certify food products as halal for Muslim consumers.

• In 1986, Islamic Meat & Poultry was founded in Stockton, California. Islamic Meat & Poultry is a USDA inspected Halal only, hand slaughter and meat processing facility. Islamic Meat & Poultry follows the principles of slaughter according to Islamic Shariah.

• In 1993 Ahsan Mohyuddin founded the facility of Halal Meat & Food Corporation in Bladenboro, NC. Contrary to belief, Halal Meat & Food Corp is not the first halal meat company in the US.

Halal food and Animal welfare

The ritual method of slaughter as practiced in Islam and Judaism has been decried as inhumane by some animal welfare organisations in the UK who have stated that it "causes severe suffering to animals."^[11][12] In 2003, an independent advisory group - the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) - concluded that the way halal (and Kosher) meat is produced causes severe suffering to animals and should be banned immediately. FAWC argued that cattle required up to two minutes to bleed to death when such means are employed. The Chairperson of FAWC at the time, Judy MacArthur Clark, added, "this is a major incision into the animal and to say that it doesn't suffer is quite ridiculous."

Halal and kosher butchers deny their method of killing animals is cruel and expressed anger over the FAWC recommendation ^[12].

Majid Katme of the Muslim Council of Britain also disagreed, stating that "it's a sudden and quick haemorrhage. A quick loss of blood pressure and the brain is instantaneously starved of blood and there is no time to start feeling any pain."^[12]

In April 2008, the Food and Farming minister in the UK, Lord Rooker, stated that Halal and kosher meat should be labelled when it is put on sale, so that the public can decide whether or not they want to buy food from animals that have bled to death. He was quoted as saying, "I object to the method of slaughter ... my choice as a customer is that I would want to buy meat that has been looked after and slaughtered in the most humane way possible.". The RSPCA supported Lord Rooker's views. ^[13]

For the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Humane Society International, "the animals that are slaughtered according to Kosher and Halal should be securely restrained, particularly the head and neck, before cutting the throat" as "movements (during slaughter) results in a poor cut, bad bleeding, slow loss of consciousness if at all and pain." ^[14]

However, a study incorporating EEG (Electroencephalograph) with electrodes surgically implanted on the skull of 17 sheep and 15 calves, and conducted by Wilhelm Schulze et al. at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Germany concluded that "the slaughter in the form of a ritual cut is, if carried out properly, painless in sheep and calves according to EEG recordings and the missing defensive actions" (of the animals) and that "For sheep, there were in part severe reactions both in bloodletting cut and the pain stimuli" when Captive Bolt Stunning (CBS) was used.^[15] This study is cited by the German Constitutional Court in its permitting of dhabiha slaughtering.^[16]

Dr Zakir Naik of the IRF is quoted as saying “the swift cutting of vessels of the neck disconnects the flow of blood to the nerve of the brain responsible for pain. Thus the animal does not feel pain. While dying, the animal struggles, writhers, shakes and kicks, not due to pain, but due to the contraction and relaxation of the muscles deficient in blood and due to the flow of blood out of the body” ^[17].

See also

• Harām
• Makruh
• Difference between Halal and Dhabiha
• Islamic dietary laws
• Istihlal
• Ḏabīḥah
• Kashrut
• Unclean animals
• Scottish pork taboo
• Taboo food and drink

References

External links

• Gateway to Malaysia World Halal Hub

• Laws of Islam concerning food
• Muslim method of slaughtering
• Answering criticism
• What Is Halal?
• Halal and Haram research
• Consumers increasingly perceive kosher and halal food as safer Scientist Live
• Is conventional meat halal/zabiha? Green Zabiha
• The Halal Standard Institute of Thailand
• The Halal Science Center,Thailand

Mcdonalds, Pizza Hut and KFC have been made Halal in Sri Lanka by the Jamiyathul Ulama of Srilanka; the only competent authority to give out the certification.