Is machine-slaughtered meat Halal?

Fingers were not lickin’ good for KFC in their bid to sell fried chicken to Islamic customers in Britain.

It hoped to woo the Islamic market by opening over 100 outlets selling halal-only meat, slaughtered under strict religious guidelines. However, Dr Nassem Chairman of Birmingham Central Mosque said that the method used for slaughtering by machine was not Halal.

The slaughtering must be performed by a Muslim while reciting the Tasmiyyah on each and every animal, which is an important part of the slaughter for halal, as per the guidance set by the Food Standard Agency.

KFC insisted their methods met the approval of the Halal Food Authority, a private business. A survey carried out by Islamic scholars here in the UK said that machine slaughter was deemed not to be Halal.

Free ranging hens in Australia. It looks as though the only way to truly ensure your meat is Halal is to raise and slaughter them on your own.

This view was also endorsed by the Lancashire Council of Mosques at their meeting with KFC, and also the Birmingham Council of Mosques who have also gone on record that machine slaughter is Haraam. [See on YouTube Muslims scholars across UK issue a Fatwa on KFC. Asking a private business to certify the product does not make it Halal.

Dr Yunes Teinaz, advisor to the Islamic Cultural Centre and the London Central Mosque Trust, said: “What is required is a government-supervised body for the sale and production of halal meat, with the issue of the guidance for halal to the local authority enforcement officers who are now requested to use this advice when planning inspections, food sampling and labelling checks relating to Halal foods.”

They should then take appropriate enforcement action where necessary to protect the interests of the Muslim community. The mislabelling and misrepresentation of Halal foods is of great importance to the Muslim community, and continues to be an issue of concern.

We have now warned the UK’s 2.4 million Muslims not to eat KFC meat. Any companies claiming to do machine slaughter will also be deemed to be not Halal.

Imam Yusuf Shabbir of the Lancashire Council of Mosques said: “With KFC confirming to us that it has no intention of changing the mechanical method of slaughter, we will advise members of the Muslim community of this.”

How can KFC claim some of their restaurants are halal and the majority of them are not, when the same slaughtering process has been adopted which is identical for both types of restaurant? It is either halal or not; it can’t be both, that is why it is important to label every thing 100% Halal.

Although the Daily Mail recently highlighted the situation that all KFC restaurants are using halal chicken without the knowledge of the UK public, they have done nothing to change their policy.

Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham said in his interview in front of the Houses of Lords that machine slaughter (a.k.a “Blessed Blade”) is not a method for Halal slaughtering. He also stated that companies that are issuing Halal certificates to organizations using machine slaughter are committing a crime and should be reported to the government or local authorities.

By HalalWorld.org via HalalFocus.net

Photo by Kym McLeod, Cann River, Victoria, Australia