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Last Updated: Jun 25th, 2007 - 17:07:26 |
Muslims and meat
Ask anyone who knows Yavuz Toklar well which day of his workweek is the hardest, and they'll tell you Wednesday.
That's when he drives about 20 miles to an abattoir (slaughterhouse). Several goats, lambs and beef cattle have arrived ahead of him, courtesy of a livestock broker who procures the animals at regional auctions.
Freshly showered and with his ritual prayer washing complete, he dons knee-high rubber boots and a dark cap and picks up his 8-inch knife. He recites a short prayer in Arabic. The translation:
"In the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful. Allah is great."
Then quickly, carefully and with intense concentration for the task at hand, he cuts the animal's throat.
"The day after I kill, I feel bad. I can't do anything. It's not easy," says the 46-year-old Turkish-born Muslim and owner of Halal Market & Meats in Rochester, N.Y. "If God didn't give me permission to do it, I wouldn't do it."
In addition to religious code, Toklar's meat complies with U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations, and a USDA inspector is on site to vet the animals before and after slaughter.
Halal is a general term used by Muslims to describe anything that is permissible under Islamic scriptures.
Meats must be slaughtered by a Muslim following a particular set of rules (sharia) that minimizes suffering and ensures cleanliness. These meats are considered zabiha.
South Dakota has a halal slaughterhouse. Bridgewater Quality Meats in Bridgewater opened in 1999 as a strictly kosher processing facility, but owner Ilan Parente says the demand for halal products led to change.
"We'd have a handful of folks who seek that meat in state, but most of the halal products go to Minneapolis for sale," he says. There are 30 or more retailers in the Twin Cities that cater to the 50,000-person Muslim population, he says.
Parente processes goat, lamb, cattle and buffalo on site. Rabbis do the slaughter according to the ritual. He estimates less than 10 percent of his work is done in this fashion.
Halal foods must not contain anything that is haram, or forbidden, such as pork, blood, alcohol and anything derived from humans.
In today's industrialized food world, that can be tricky. Enzymes and rennet used in cheeses and yogurts may be derived from pork. L-cysteine, a dough conditioner and flavoring aid, can be derived from human hair or pig bristles.
Because the derivation of some additives are not required on nutrition labeling, Muslims end up putting these foods in a category called mushbooh, or unknown and to be avoided.
To address these concerns, third-party halal certifying agencies have evolved to ensure foods meet halal standards.
Saif Galaria, owner and chef at Taste of India Restaurant in Sioux Falls, says a halal symbol can be found on some foods, but he still is careful. "Lots of Muslims read labels very carefully to make sure there is no haram in a food," he says. "We read to make sure there is no pork and no alcohol. You have to be picky."
Halal certification has a much shorter history in the United States than its kosher counterpart, which goes back nearly 80 years, says Muhammad Munir Chaudry, president of the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of North America in Chicago, a leading halal certifying agency.
When halal certification started there about 20 years ago, it was mainly for the benefit of the export market. With 8 million Muslim consumers now living in the United States, that is starting to change, Chaudry says.
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