The duping of millions of British people into eating food prepared according to Sharia law (halal means ‘lawful’) is one of the more disturbing examples of cultural colonisation, whereby immigrants, instead of assimilating into British culture, impose their own cultural practices, displacing those of the host society. George – britishfreedom A growing proportion of the meat sold in UK shops and supermarkets or served in restaurants, schools and hospitals is halal, meaning that the animals are ritually slaughtered with an Islamic declaration to Allah. Worse, much of this meat is unlabelled, so many people with religious or moral objections are consuming it unwittingly. The duping of millions of British people into eating food prepared according to Sharia law (halal means ‘lawful’) is one of the more disturbing examples of cultural colonisation, whereby immigrants, instead of assimilating into British culture, impose their own cultural practices, displacing those of the host society. The secrecy and deception that surrounds the spread of halal makes it all the more worrying. Adding insult to injury, MPs have now banned halal produce from the Palace of Westminster, which begs the question: If it’s right to ban halal meat from Parliament, then why isn’t it right to ban it from the high street? As one Church of England representative commented: “It’s a bit hypocritical that the Houses of Parliament, which have allowed other people to provide halal food, have ruled it out on their own premises.” Christian Voice reported on the ‘secret halal’ problem over a year ago: Major restaurants, take-aways and sporting venues are secretly serving up halal meat. In another twist to the scandal of lamb and chicken being dumped on all supermarket own-brand shelves with the exception of M&S and Morrisons, meat sacrificed to Allah is being served up in major fast-food outlets and popular pub chains. THE RESTAURANT TRADE Halal chicken and lamb are likely to emerge from the kitchens in Harvester, Toby, Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurants. Whitbread, who own the latter two along with Premier Inns, have admitted that three-quarters of their poultry is halal. Mitchells and Butlers are responsible for Harvester, Toby and Travelodge. They told Christian Voice that New Zealand lamb – of which 75% is halal – is being used as well as halal chicken in their outlets. Traditionally, halal slaughtering was carried out without stunning, and many Muslim clerics still maintain that stunning of any sort means the animal is not ‘healthy’ when it is killed. But the Halal Food Authority now allows electric stunning, having been shown that animals can recover afterwards – if they are not cut in the meantime. So the problem is not principally one of animal welfare. Except in some franchises, the companies involved are adamant that the meat they use is from animals which are stunned before slaughter. But in many British abattoirs, a Muslim slaughterman is saying ‘Bismillah Allahu Akhbar’ (Arabic for: ‘In the name of Allah, Allah is the greatest’) over a large proportion of the lamb and chicken which ends up on our tables or in take-away cartons. SPORTING VENUES AND PIZZAS DO NOT TELL As there is over-production of halal meat, a lot of it is dumped on the non-halal market. So sporting venues like Royal Ascot and Wembley are selling halal meat. All chicken at Ascot is halal because it is ‘easier to store and cook only one type of meat.’ But it is not advertised as halal, which begs the question as to why the venue went down that route in the first place. At Wembley, all beef, chicken and lamb is halal, so a football fan with an objection to creeping Islamification has to stick to sausage rolls or bacon sandwiches. Again, there is no honest labelling at Wembley, nor at Twickenham, another sporting venue serving up halal chicken. Turning to the High Street, the burger chains, McDonalds, Burger King and Wimpy appear to be halal free, but pizza outlets Domino’s and Pizza Hut both use halal chicken in their toppings, much of it from halal abattoirs abroad. Halal chicken is imported from Brazil, Thailand and Turkey, undercutting domestic producers. One might think to avoid halal completely by ordering a ham and pineapple or pepperoni pizza, but some independent pizza outlets in areas with a Muslim population refuse even to handle ‘haram’ meat, which largely means anything made from pork. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uMdgIk0UKG8 KEBABS, INDIANS AND FRIED CHICKEN It is fair to say that every kebab shop will serve halal lamb and chicken, if for no other reason than that the kebab is a middle-eastern invention. The kebab meat will be sourced from specialist suppliers, and if any of them are not Muslim, it would be very surprising. The same goes for curry houses. Most ‘Indian’ restaurants are in fact run by Muslims, not Hindus, and any restaurant run by Muslims will serve up halal lamb and chicken and will not announce the fact on the menu. The most famous fried chicken chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken, sources some chicken from abroad for its 780 shops, and has just under a hundred halal-only outlets, running as an on-going pilot. Southern Fried Chicken is the next biggest, with 400 branches, which all operate as franchises. Nearly all are halal, and we were told that many announce the fact on the window. Miss Millies, located around Bristol, are totally halal. It is fair to say most of the fried chicken outlets are franchises (KFC is 50/50 franchise and company), and most operate in big towns. Muslims are concentrated in towns and are heavily involved in the take-away trade. Is it any surprise that a majority of chicken take-aways are halal? Halal outlets often have a halal sign visible outside, as much as to promote themselves amongst local Muslims as anything. Nandos, the chicken-based restaurant and take-away chain, have 234 outlets. Of these, 61 are halal-only and some chicken in the others is halal. Subway operate as a franchise as well, and a significant number of franchisees have gone halal, some of which put a sign in the window. Some halal Subways are so strict they will not serve pork, so a ham and cheese ‘sub’ is not on the menu. Outlets selling halal meat without always telling customers include Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Somerfield, the Co-op, Domino’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, KFC, Southern Fried Chicken, Nando’s and Subway. To avoid unwittingly consuming halal, customers should ask the store or restaurant manager to confirm whether their lamb or chicken is killed with an Islamic proclamation, whether it is so labelled, and why they feel it necessary to supply halal meat in the first place. Then boycott the outlet altogether. Almost 40% of British lamb is slaughtered according to Islamic ritual, and much higher proportions of some imported meats. Less than 5% of the UK population is Muslim. Sign the petition here against unlabelled halal slaughtered meat.
