One of the interesting things about the current debate about animal slaughter is that people are conflating Halal with Kosher. The thing is, as the esteemed Israeli writer Brian of London, points out in an excellent blog post, they are really not the same. Yes there are similarities such as death of an animal by exsanguination but that’s just about all there is.
In the Kosher laws called Kashrut, that have remained unchanged over thousands of years, there are a whole host of detailed instructions and taboos that must be either followed or avoided. The knife must be used by a highly trained person with almost veterinary knowledge of animal physiology. The knife must be round or blunt ended and as sharp as it can possibly be, the cut must be made without undue pressure, without ‘sawing’ and nobody must touch anywhere near the cut after it is made lest it fire off nerves and cause the animal undue distress. With Halal the rules, such as they are, are much more flexible both in what is acceptable as Halal and with regards to animal welfare. I’ve seen countless videos of Halal slaughter that show practises that would never ever be accepted in any meat that could be deemed Kosher. Animals are held in distressing positions for unnecessarily long periods of time, the pointed ends of knives are used to stab at the blood vessels, the slaughter environment is not calm (there’s often the screaming of Muslims during Halal slaughter), there’s the use of knives that are unreasonably blunt and cuts made in the wrong places, places that almost ensure that distress will be caused to the animal. The differences are why Moslems can eat Kosher meat but Jews cannot eat Halal.
As Brian says in his article, Halal is not even a major religious requirement for Moslems. Islam is flexible enough to allow Muslims to eat any meat unless it is from a forbidden animal such as a pig provided they say the ‘bismillah’ prayer prior to eating. That option is not open to Jews. Jews cannot say the ‘Shehakol’ blessing over either conventionally slaughtered or Halal meat and make it Kosher but the Moslem can say ‘bismillah’ and make it Halal.
In the UK there is a tiny market for Kosher meat as there are not that many Jews. Yes some rear end beef and a tiny amount of lamb leaks out into the non-Kosher market for pie fillings and stuff like that, but because of the small volume of Kosher meat produced in the UK, the amount of leakage of Kosher meat into the general market is also infinitesimally small.
This not the case with Halal. Even though there are more Muslims than Jews in the UK there is a vast amount of Halal meat getting into the general market, probably far more than would be justified by Britain’s current Moslem population. It is also being pushed by Islamic groups onto caterers, local authorities and other entities that buy in meat in order to cater to the Islamic market. It is also creating a situation where Moslems gain control over meat supply in the UK. With a strong penetration of Halal into the general meat market there will always need to be Moslems in charge of said meat production. If you want to attack Halal then the animal welfare route might not be the best way as the major problem in undue Islamic influence on meat supply.
Brian of London said:
As much as Muslims like to talk about halal, it is not a religious requirement in the same way as kosher has been to Jews for thousands of years. There is conclusive historical and archaeological evidence across Israel and anywhere else Jews lived, that the rules of “Shechita” have been followed in an unaltered form for millennia. The mere fact that kosher food is perfectly acceptable to Muslims while halal is not acceptable to Jews shows the Muslim requirement has a certain inherent flexibility born of political expediency. The Jewish laws do not yield for convenience or to achieve other goals. Halal has also been flexible enough to include “light stunning” which has been enough to sidestep a ban in New Zealand. A very large proportion of the lamb consumed in the middle east is actually New Zealand lamb and in the UK this halal lamb is nearly always sold unmarked in big supermarkets.
Here’s Brian of London talking about how ‘control’ of supply is one of the defining differences between Halal and Kosher. Brian said:
There is another issue here about the real purpose of halal outside of Muslim countries. As a general rule Jews and other groups with special dietary rules have not asked for their food to be served in public places outside their home countries. Jews outside of Israel adapt themselves to the food available in public institutions such as hospitals and schools often by eating vegetarian options. Even in neighbourhoods where Jews form a very high proportion of the population, there are hardly any demands to change the catering in public institutions.
By contrast, halal has made serious inroads into institutional mass catering in the UK. There are now numerous examples where non-Muslims looking for meat are given no other choice but to eat halal food in public institutions such as schools and hospitals. This has never happened with kosher food and nobody has ever seriously forced, for example, a vegan option on an un-willing population.
##It’s all about control
There is a significant point of view that says halal food is all about a bid to take over and control the food supply. Animals must have an Arabic prayer said as they are killed and this must be performed by a Muslim. In effect halal mandates that Muslims perform most of the tasks involved in the production of the food.*
Brian is correct here. The differences between how Halal and Kosher foods are available in places like the UK are stark. Yes specifically Jewish organisations might have a Kosher policy for themselves and any venues that they manage but these organisations are not badgering and bullying local authorities, the NHS and others to provide Kosher meat to those who do not require it or want it. In UK hospitals for example you have to request in writing for Kosher food to be provided and it will be shipped in from a Kosher supplier but if you don’t make that request or you don’t need to make that request the chances are you’ll be given a ‘Hobsons Choice’ of Halal or bugger all.
I agree with Brian that Halal needs to be countered but it needs to be countered on the grounds that a) it facilitates Islamic control of the meat industry and b) the push for Halal removes choices from everyone else.
I would most strongly counsel that anyone who has an interest in this issue and who wants to understand the differences between Halal and Kosher and the danger of allowing meat supply to fall under the almost total control of Islam to read Brian of London’s most excellent blog post. You can find Brian’s post via the link below.
