New challenges for Islamic ritual slaughter: a European perspective

Over the last 15 years dedicated markets for halal meat have emerged in a number of European countries. While ethnic stores still constitute the major retail outlet for halal meat in most countries, 'halal' labelled meat and meat products are increasingly available in supermarkets and fast food restaurants. Market expansion has also facilitated the rise of new certification bodies, each with their own marketing strategies and interpretations of what constitutes authentic 'halal', who question the reliability of certification policies that allow the practice of stunning before slaughter.

Over the last 15 years dedicated markets for halal meat have emerged in a number of European countries. While ethnic stores still constitute the major retail outlet for halal meat in most countries, ‘halal’ labelled meat and meat products are increasingly available in supermarkets and fast food restaurants. Market expansion has also facilitated the rise of new certification bodies, each with their own marketing strategies and interpretations of what constitutes authentic ‘halal’, who question the reliability of certification policies that allow the practice of stunning before slaughter.This paper offers a comparative analysis of these market trends and developments across four European countries. Based on research carried out during the EU funded Dialrel project, it draws attention to the ways in which EU legislation and WTO trade guidelines hinder attempts to standardize halal certification by giving equal weight to pre-stun and non-stun halal slaughter practices emanating from different regional schools of thought within Sunni Islam. Whilst recognising the impact of global politics on the identity claims of Muslim groups across Europe, the paper draws on Einstein's work on the ‘supply side’ theory of religion to demonstrate how the diverse halal practices evident in the marketing strategies of commercial and religious actors are now driving the rapid growth and development of halal meat markets across Europe.

It comes as no surprise that 'halal meat' controversies have consistently (re)emerged in Europe over the past two decades, propelled by discourses of political elites that concomitantly constitute and are constituted by fears of Muslim 'otherness.' Dietary preference is an embodied cultural symbol strongly intertwined with identity , thus discourses about 'halal meat' are proxy debates about larger questions of civilizational compatibility between Muslims and Europeans. France and the United Kingdom are home to large Muslim minorities and halal markets, whose visible expansion has become the subject of media frenzies and national debates about what exactly halal meat is and if it should be tolerated. This study conducts a Critical Discourse Analysis of halal meat controversies focused on the other-representation of Muslims in the French and UK Press and aims to contribute to the existent body of work on the reproduction of (Muslim) racism in (Western) discourses.

Originally published in Quranicosmos, Vol. 1, Issue 1, August 2017.

Derecho Animal. Forum of Animal Law Studies

One of the more intractable issues associated with animal law and ethics concerns responsibly regulating the slaughter of animals according to the requirements of the Jewish religious tradition and some interpretations of the Islamic religious tradition. Most Western liberal democratic societies require animals to be stunned before slaughter to ensure they are insensible when killed. However, the Jewish tradition and many interpretations of the Islamic tradition prohibit pre-slaughter stunning. In these traditions, animals are killed according to specific religious rituals that involve cutting the animal's throat and permitting it to exsanguinate without prior stunning. These requirements therefore come into direct conflict with Statutes, Codes and Regulations of many Western countries intending to give expression to animal welfare policies by requiring pre-slaughter stunning. However, such practices are also protected by international and domestic human rights instruments guaranteeing freedom of religious practice and expression. Recent decisions of European Courts demonstrate the difficulties that arise when countries attempt to regulate this conflict. In exploring several of these recent decisions, this article intends to outline the parameters of this conflict and to suggest a potential way forward to responsible regulation of such practices.

Meat Science, 2017

The importance of religious slaughter from economic, emotive and ethical viewpoints is significant. There are apparent economic benefits associated with trading in meats slaughtered according to religious traditions. Some religious authorities insist on the slaughter of animals without stunning, but this, according to many researchers, compromises animal welfare. We conducted a survey of Islamic scholars and Halal consumers, 66 scholars from 55 organisations and 314 consumers from 54 UK cities/towns were surveyed. Forty-nine scholars were interviewed through prearranged meetings, 17 surveyed online whilst all 314 consumers were either surveyed online or through the remote completion of copies of the questionnaire. Most of the scholars (>95%) (CI 86.9 to 98.4%) agreed that if an animal is stunned and then slaughtered by a Muslim and the method of stunning does not result in death, cause physical injury or obstruct bleed-out, the meat would be Halal and 53% (CI 47 to 58%) consumers also thought such meat would be Halal.

Journal of Religion in Europe, 2015

In 2011, the Dutch House of Representatives voted for the first time in its history for banning the practice of unstunned ritual slaughter in accordance to Jewish and Islamic rites. How should this remarkable vote be understood? In order to answer this question, a critical discourse analysis has been carried out. Three discourses are discerned in the debate: ‘unstunned ritual slaughter as an outdated practice,’ ‘ritual slaughter as a form of ritual torture’ and ‘unstunned ritual slaughter as a legitimate religious practice.’ The growing parliamentary support for the first two mentioned discourses is related to recent changes in the Dutch political landscape. In a wider context, it is related to a shift in the national self-conception of the Netherlands and, linked to that, to a change in the perceived position of traditional religious minorities within Dutch society in the aftermath of 9/11 and the ‘Fortuyn revolt.’

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2021

The Global Halal Industry is under threat and proactive action is needed to arrest the threat. The global halal industry is worth USD2.3-trillion. However, it is poised to decline in the coming years for it faces many challenges. In the West, the issue is not stunning animals before slaughter, in China, the Chinese authorities are battling to erase halal signs displayed on restaurants and in India, it is the Jhatka food industry. Since 2015, the Jhatka industry is gaining support from the majority Hindu population who feel that the minority Muslim population have imposed their religious practices on the majority Hindus, who regard the halal way of slaughtering is haram according to Hindu standards. The objective of the study is to examine all the opposition to the halal industry and suggest ways to minimize the adverse effects of the opposition. This study employed library research methods. Data was gathered mainly through newspaper reports published in the last 5 years. It was analyzed by examining the current trends in the meat industry and the reasons for introducing the Jhatka system of slaughter. It was found out that the Hindu revivalism and the perceived need for a more humane way of slaughtering animals by the West, as the main causes for the opposition. While nothing much can be done to religious claims of Hindus, it is proposed that the Halal industry introduces a mild form of stunning to place the animal in a semiconscious state before slaughter, while remainly true to Islamic standards.

Journal of Animal Science and Technology

This paper reviews many aspects of ritual and traditional slaughter methods used to produce meat for human consumption in different countries. Undoubtedly, meat is an important source of nutrients that are essential for human health. The global meat market has become increasingly interested in Islamic halal and Jewish kosher slaughter, in particular because of potential market opportunities. The requirement for unstunned slaughter or reversible pre-slaughter stunning makes religiously-based methods of animal slaughter unique. This study suggests a simple framework for a halal and tayyib meat supply chain for the Muslim community that also maintains meat quality and wholesomeness from farm to table as a model for the religious slaughter of animals.

Agriculture, 2021

Human rights, such as to non-discrimination and freedom of religion, are internationally recognized. In the meantime, the so-called global animal law is becoming more and more important. In this context, religious slaughter is increasingly becoming a matter for debate as a number of special procedures, which avoid stunning methods, may lead to greater suffering for animals. Such procedures are common to Judaism and Islam and involve 25% of the global population, almost 2 billion people. Considering that about 94% of European public opinion in 2015 expressed concern over animal welfare, it is time to evaluate the legal perspective of these special treatments. Indeed, although they seem to violate animal welfare policies, at the same time states have a duty to uphold religious freedom (and its forms of expression) under International and European law. The aim of this study is to evaluate, through a multidisciplinary approach, the complex balance between human rights in general and ani...