The Halal meat fallacy

The whole point of halal meat not being stunned before it is slaughtered is that the animal is supposed to be healthy and well before it is killed. The point about slitting its throat with a sharp blade is that we take personal responsibility for what we are doing. I take it that the point about the animal not being killed in the presence of others is that the process is not one of callous mass production. And the need to mention the name of God (by Muslim, Jew or Christian) while doing this is not some creepy religious ritual but a reminder that all creation, humans included, exist under God’s care.

Secular atheists may not subscribe to the metaphysics, but the idea that all life — human or otherwise — shares some inherent and fundamental connection is a noble position to take (and, no, you cannot catch Islam from halal food). With the exception of Hinduism, the Islamic scriptures are probably the most diligent in insisting upon animal welfare.

The truth is that many Muslims in the UK ignore that most of the meat which is labelled as halal simply is not. Seeing as Muslims eat a disproportionally large amount of the red meat sold in the UK we can understand why it is easy to turn a blind eye to the mistreatment of animals and the practise of stunning before applying the Islamic method of ‘slaughter’.

An animal must be treated with respect and dignity throughout its life and it is not just the last two seconds of the animals life which matter and as Muslims we all need to stand together to demand real halal meat.

Original Source: The Guardian