Is 'Halal' what you think it is?
Khen Lim
Image source: urbanlegends.about.com
In Malaysia, the prevalence of halal meats is increasingly
more visible. Tesco and Aeon as well as most of the premium supermarkets have
been selling them for some years now. Fast food outlets are declaring in their
menus that the meat they use are halal also. So what is there to say about
halal meat that we don’t already know?
Image source: billionbibles.org
According to a Muslim-run site called, ‘The Islamic Guidelinesto Slaughtering Animals,’ its author Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam reveals the procedures involved in making
meat halal. These procedures require the declaration of the name of Allah as Muslims
slaughter the animal lawfully and piously. When slaughtering, the animal must
face in the direction of Mecca while prayers are chanted over it.
Invariably for
some Christians, they may be eating meat without the knowledge that halal meat
is meat prayed over in the name of an idol. Halal doesn’t refer to hygienic
cleanliness. Instead it points to the worship of a god by the name of Allah, a
god that, by all means, is pagan and idolatrous to Christians. It is likely
that many might not realise this.
Part of this problem in Malaysia may be that some places
source their meat products from overseas where they are already slaughtered in
accordance to strict Islamic guidelines for halal certification. Countries like
Australia, New Zealand and even Denmark have been practising this for some time
as they gear their meat exports to the Middle East region but invariably, the
same products are headed to other countries including Malaysia where consumers
may not be aware of even as they indulge in fine dining. The same meat exports
land in America and England where, unless visibly advertised or labelled,
nobody knows about their halal nature.
For example, Connecticut-based Subway has been successfully selling
halal sandwiches throughout their 34,000 outlets worldwide including Malaysia. For
the sandwich maker, building brand equity was worth the effort. Subway’s
spokesman Les Winograd’s business model was to reach out to those who otherwise
would always had to bring along their own food wherever they went. However whether
Christian consumers understand the specific significance of the halal
procedures may be important to those who have sensitive and vulnerable moral
conscience.
Image source: barenakedislam.com
On the other hand, the experience encountered by Domino’s
Pizza in the U.K. was different. With the removal of pork from their menu in
their Birmingham, Bradford and Blackburn outlets in 2009, the franchise
suffered a sales backlash and by the following year, they reverted to the
original menu. The failed experiment meant American outlets won’t be treading
the halal route. On the other hand, Domino’s Pizza in Malaysia has been halal
since its opening.
Despite denying at the beginning, McDonald’s in the U.K. has
been using halal chicken in their products but then they said to Mail on Sunday
that it was accidental, claiming that for some inexplicable reason, halal
chicken had unknowingly made its way into their supply chain. Although odd to
say the least, McDonald’s outlets in the U.S. have begun to sell halal products
along with Walmart and so has the vast Whole Foods chain.
The Campbell Soup Company has recently gone controversially halal
as well with an expanded range of vegetarian soups that they said was the
brainchild of in-house diversity efforts. They now hope that this will ‘inspire’
the company culture to embrace greater inclusiveness beyond just mere ‘programs.’
In fact the Associated Press (AP) says halal products have now
grown globally to half a billion dollars a year and there’s no doubt that it
will grow even more exponentially.
Image source: malicethoughts.blogspot.com
The Bible talks of what are and aren’t acceptable to eat in
several places including Gen 7, Lev 11 and Deut 14. In the New Testament, Acts
15 and 21 adds the perspective of unclean food because it was offered for idol
worship. Today Christians remain divided as to what they can and cannot eat.
Some insist that the commandments concerning food in the Old Testament are still
meant to be observed but equally as many don’t see a problem eating pork, lobster,
prawns and even alligator meat.
Yet, no matter the biblical warnings about eating food sacrificed
to pagan idols, Paul’s viewpoint in 1 Cor 8:4-9 lays the groundwork for a
deeper and perhaps more sensible understanding of the real crux of the
situation:
“Should we eat meat that has been
sacrificed to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and
that there is only one God and no other. According to some people, there are
many so-called gods and many lords, both in heaven and on earth. But we know
that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we exist
for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made
everything and through whom we have been given life.
However, not all Christians realise
this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat
food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real
gods, and their weak consciences are violated. It’s true that we can’t win
God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t miss out on anything if we don’t eat
it, and we don’t gain anything if we do. But you must be careful with this
freedom of yours. Do not cause a brother or sister with a weaker conscience to
stumble.”
The point is
not whether or not the public objects to the use of halal food in any eatery or
the fact that such meats are sold in the best supermarkets. The real issue is
that Christians have the right to know when they’re eating it. It is more a
case of awareness than objection.
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