Friday, April 30, 2010

Non-Halal Meat Unhygienic?

The President of the Malay Chamber of Commerce of Malaysia (MCCM), Datuk Yussof Mohammad has said that "halal* products are slightly higher in quality because of hygienic aspects" (Daily Express 1/5/2010).

Though generally non-Muslims respect Muslim view of what is lawful for consumption, it is downright unfair to compare what is lawful for Muslims with what is lawful for non-Muslims. As much as Muslim consumers would want meat which is prepared in hygienic conditions, non-Muslims also feel the same way.

There is no evidence to show that meat which is not prepared according to halal rites are unhygienic. In fact as one reader of the Daily Express commented in the newspaper's readers column, hygiene standards in the West are more stringent.

Just because an animal is slaughtered according to halal rites does not necessarily mean the meat is clean. It all depends on how the meat is processed and the cleanliness considerations.

To simply say that non-halal meat are unhygienic or inferior in quality is an insult to non-Muslims. The MCCM must remember that meat slaughtered according to halal rites are forbidden to followers of some religions and so are some animal meats that are lawful in Islam.

The MCCM has the right to fight for Muslim consumer rights, but it has no right to insult the consumer rights of non-Muslims.

*lawfully permissible according to the religion of Islam

3 comments:

MIGS-SABAH said...

I think canteens in schools are served largely halal foods and yet there had been many reports of food poisoning.

Why? Is it a factor of hygiene only?

What is halal or safe food really?

I hope research would be done on meats after the rites of Islam in term of DNA and other consideration.

There is an email circulating the water prayed to Jesus before consumption has molecular changes according scientists on such researches done in Japan.

Facts can be sensitive if minds are closed.

Joshua Kong.

Anonymous said...

What a coincident..
Read this article and its reader's comments.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/04/27/letter-what-has-happened-islam.html

Especially the reader's comment of
(1) Vanu, Jakarta Thu, 29/04/2010 - 10:04am
I gave up on Islam when I needed to convert to get married, I went to the religious office in Kemang and was asked to buy 10 chairs and pastries for the conversion..... I asked what happens if a poor person wants to convert and can't afford to pay and was met with only a smile and an outstreached hand to accept my cash.... I knew then that the religion was only a sham to make money and control people.

(2) Mohamed, Jakarta Fri, 30/04/2010 - 03:04am
.....Some people claim to accept a part that of a religion that they like, and leave the part that you don't..... For example, Islam forbids to eat pork. However, if a Muslim eats pork, it doesn't make him/her a non-believer as long as he keeps his belief and admits that he is committing a sin. It is up to Allah to punish him or forgive him. However, if a person commits the sin and argues that it is allowed in accordance to "his interpretation" of the religion, just to fulfill "his wishes" in the name of the religion, then that person is doubting God, challenging God, or simply not believe in God......

(2) Crusader, Jakarta Fri, 30/04/2010 - 10:04am
I just refuse to believe that on judgment day, my diet's gonna come into question. What you eat doesn't make you as good person. Are you gonna say to God that, hey God, I killed a bunch of kids, but I ate right. That's never gonna happen.
Remember what Jesus says, "it is not what comes into your mouth that makes you unclean, it is what comes out of your mouth that makes you unclean. For whatever comes into your mouth goes out of the body, but whatever comes out of your mouth comes from the heart." Now guys (including the author) tell me, who is amazing?

Anonymous said...

yeah...b4 there was this halal thingy all of us ate non halal food.. ithink all our moyang will go to hell cos at that time they dont know wat is halal or not..god help them...just a lighter side of my though..hehehe
ss