STANDARD FOR PURITY: HALAL

Written by Maria Hussain

The new concept is that "Halal" should not only refer to a ritualized method of slaughter, but a standard of purity, as recommended by the Qur'an.

In the years that Muslims have been gaining awareness and self confidence about practicing their religion in America, the discussion of Halal meat has gone through various phases. When the immigrant community was new, Halal meat was not available, so the Muslims usually bought their meat from Kosher butchers when possible, and the general assumption was, "If it's not pork, then it's Halal." As time passed, awareness grew about the religious specifications of zabiha slaughter: that it must be done with the name of Allah, with a sharp blade. Halal meat stores opened up all over the country, assuring their customers that the Halal meat is from a ritually slaughtered animal.

Now, we are entering a new phase of awareness in our progress as Muslims in America. The health, safety, and ethical concerns of the new generation of American Muslim consumers need to be addressed also. The new concept is that "Halal" should not only refer to a ritual­ized method of slaughter, but a standard of purity, as recommended by the Quran. (" 0, you messengers! Enjoy (all) good and the pure things and do righteous deeds. Surely, I know what you do. (23:51) "Eat of the things which Allah has provided for you, lawful and good; but fear Allaah, in Whom you believe" 5:88)

The educated Muslim consumer now insists that Halal meat should be better than other meat(s). The entire production process from the beginning to the end should be character­ized by purity, cleanliness, and humane treat­ment of animals. Cows or chickens should not be kept confined to stand in their own excre­ment, but they should be allowed to roam freely, grazing on grass and grain as God
intended. Their food should not be mixed with toxic chemicals or the remains of dead animals, as is currently the norm.
The Halal meat process­ing companies have a responsibility to monitor the ways in which the farm animals are being raised, not only to choose the cheapest animal for sale. The transportation of the animals to the slaughter house must take into account the animals' need for food, water, rest, and exercise, and the distance of travel should be kept to a min­imum. The standard practice of trucking ani­mals across the country without stopping, so that many of them arrive at the slaughter­house dead or half-dead, is not Islamically acceptable. During slaughter also, the strict Islamic guidelines must be followed - the ani­mal should not be dangled upside-down for extended periods of time, nor must the animal be allowed to watch its friends and relatives be slaughtered before meeting its own end.

Also important is the awareness of the impor­tance of cleanliness and sanitary habits, both in the slaughterhouse and in the meat store. Knives must be clean, the meat should stay refrigerated, and kept covered. Unfortunately, many Halal meat stores do not even take care to keep blood from dripping where it does not belong.
Higher standards of animal feed, ethical treat­ment of animals, and sanitary processing will prevent many possible diseases and result in a better-tasting meat as well. So far, a hand full of companies in America have taken the ini­tiative by making the extra effort to provide
Halal meat products available to the Muslim consumer. However, it is necessary for these companies to gain the trust and respect of the shoppers. Additionally, Muslims need increased knowledge about what they are eat­ing. Carefulness, mercy, and purity in food are essential to the development of a truly Islamic personal character.

Ideally, the concept of Halal as pure should become the norm, so that even non-Muslims could trust Muslims for high-qual­ity, natural food, just like Muslims should set the stan­dards for just weights and measurements, prompt pay­ment of debts, and other honest business practices. This ideal may seem like a long way off, but supporting sincere Muslim businesspeo­ple is a necessary first step.
How can the consumer know which businesses are truly ethical? We need a trusted body to act as a middleman between the Muslim community and Muslim business­es to ensure the Islamic guidelines are being followed. A Halal certification body must employ persons with expert scientific knowl­edge and higher education to keep up with the latest advances in farming techniques, in order to be able to determine if they are Halal or not. Islamic organizations should actively promote the idea of food purity but they should not be directly involved in certification because they do not have the time or the expertise to handle the responsibility.

This certification agency should not be fully sponsored by business, nor should it be depen­dent on national umbrella organizations who do not have food issues as their main focus. It requires the support of grassroots efforts from the local communities.
Perhaps the organization of consumer buying clubs could be established for this purpose. By working together to encourage the formation of an independent Halal certification agency whose primary focus is monitoring quality -not making sales - we can all step forward into a new era of successful Islamic business prac­tice in America.

Questions to ask when you call food manufac­turers or your local food supplier:

Can you verify or confirm that the meat are selling comes from animals fed free of animal by products, drugs or hormones?

Reason: For a long time, animal-by products or rendered animal remainings have been used or mixed in animal feed as a protein supplement. This is in regard to beef, lamb or diary prod­ucts.

Would you confirm that animal-by products are not in your products?

Reason: Almost all of the processed food in North America may have ingredients with untraceable sources. In some cases the source animal can be pork, chicken, cow or remain­ings of them. Even for the animals that are Islamically allowed to be eaten, zabiha slaugh­tering can not be assured.

Does your product contain alcohol?

Reason: A vast majority of processed food con­tains alcohol, even if it is not explictely listed on the ingredient list. For instance, if alcohol is not used in the process, it might be used as a flavor enhancer.

Can you confirm that animal-by products and alcohol are not used even less than 2%?

Reason: Food manufacturers are not required by law (FDA) to list any ingredient that is used less than 2%.

Have you or your supplier fed the animals with or used in the process any of drugs, her­niones, antibiotics or other chemicals?

Reason: Although antibiotics, hormones or other drugs or chemichals are merely used in food processing and/or in animal feeds, it is more likely to see them having a secondary or tertiary effect on us. Different studies have proven that, by using antibiotics in feed of ani­mlas or in the processed foods, are causing bacteria to gain resistancy. This might mean that via this process we will have stronger or more resistant bacteria surrounding us which may be life treathening for future generations or even now!