Halal certification: behind the veil of culinary sharia 2 “The cattle are pillowed in a comfortable compartment, where they take a concussive blow to the head. The attendant inspects the cattle by touching its eye: if it blinks, it is still awake and needs to be struck another time, killing it and marking it “non halal.” If, however, the cattle doesn’t respond, it falls on its back at the slaughter table where Mohammed sacrifices it in the name of Allah.”1 Australian meat: “As Halal as it gets”, muslimvillage.com.au, 13 December 2013 (emphasis added) “For whatever reason, Taqwa does not accept the Halal certification of AFIC, despite the fact that the Head of AFIC’s Halal certification is the reputable and trusted Dr Mohammad Anas who is globally respected and recognized as a Halal certifier.” 2 When Halal becomes Haram, more Taqwa is needed, muslimvillage.com.au, 15 May 2013 (emphasis added) “ICWA is opposed to stunning of animals before slaughter on religious grounds, because generally speaking the present methods of stunning in Australia are not right from Islamic point of view. Abattoirs have been advised to take steps towards removal of stunning and its replacement with straining devices such as koshers box in respect of cattle and the restrainers in respect of small stock. We have allowed them time during which this could be achieved.”3 ICWA Halal Guidelines, islamiccouncilwa.com.au (emphasis added) “Halal subcommittee now is functional and income starts coming Alhamdullilah. Our next aim is to expand Halal certification for local and international business insha’Allah… …During the year the ICWA has made ongoing donations to Syria because of the difficult civil conditions. The donations were through the Al Imdaad Charity, to ensure that no recriminations could be directed at ICWA.” President’s Report, Islamic Council of Western Australia 2013 Annual Report (emphasis added) 1 http://muslimvillage.com/2013/12/13/47317/australian-meat-halal-gets/ 2 http://muslimvillage.com/2013/05/15/39431/when-halal-becomes-haram-more-taqwa-is-needed/ 3 http://www.islamiccouncilwa.com.au/halal-certification/halal-guidelines/ 3 Contents Foreword ........................................................................................................................................................... 7 Part 1 - Introduction 1.1 Something old, something new ............................................................................................................... 9 1.1.1 The halal butcher strikes ................................................................................................................ 9 1.1.2 A century later another strike reveals halal hypocrisy ................................................................... 9 1.1.3 Halal certification: imposing Sharia law over the minutiae of life ................................................ 10 1.1.4 Take action or repeat the failures of the past .............................................................................. 11 1.2 Let’s protect freedom and choice .......................................................................................................... 12 1.2.1 Freedom and prosperity should mean choice.............................................................................. 12 1.2.2 Religious choice is protected by law ............................................................................................ 12 1.2.3 Object of food certification schemes ........................................................................................... 12 1.2.4 Halal fuses food & religion but fails to meet the object of food certification schemes ............... 13 1.2.5 The unreasonable has been normalised ...................................................................................... 13 Part 2 - From the customer is always right to the customer has no rights 2.1 Halal certification: an exercise in consumer confusion.......................................................................... 16 2.1.1 Basic outline of halal certification ................................................................................................ 16 2.1.2 Halal certification is failing to meet consumer needs .................................................................. 17 2.1.3 Who the halal knows? Part 1: a typical shopping experience ...................................................... 17 2.1.4 Who the halal knows? Part 2: a typical phone experience .......................................................... 19 2.1.5 When confusion reigns, consumers lose out and confidence crashes ......................................... 20 2.2 The state of play: chicken ...................................................................................................................... 21 2.2.1 What the producers say ............................................................................................................... 21 2.2.2 What exports? .............................................................................................................................. 21 2.3 The state of play: beef & lamb ............................................................................................................... 23 2.3.1 What the producers say ............................................................................................................... 23 2.3.2 The export market is mostly non-Islamic ..................................................................................... 25 4 2.4 The situation facing consumers ............................................................................................................. 27 2.4.1 No right to ask questions ............................................................................................................. 27 2.4.2 No right to information ................................................................................................................ 27 2.4.3 No right to religious freedom ....................................................................................................... 27 2.4.4 Accept it or be labelled a halal certified bigot .............................................................................. 27 2.4.5 When it’s about religion and money, let’s have open disclosure ................................................. 28 Part 3 - Halal concerns 3.1 Halal concerns (part 1): Islamic differences ........................................................................................... 30 3.1.1 Many certifiers with unknown standards ..................................................................................... 30 3.1.2 When halal is not halal ................................................................................................................. 31 3.1.3 When haram is halal .................................................................................................................... 33 3.1.4 Key points .................................................................................................................................... 34 3.2 Halal concerns (part 2): an unstunning ritual slaughter ......................................................................... 35 3.2.1 A sacrificial rite ............................................................................................................................. 35 3.2.2 The stunning situation ................................................................................................................. 35 3.2.3 Stunned, reversibly stunned or wide awake ................................................................................ 36 3.2.4 The Australian view ...................................................................................................................... 37 3.2.5 Key points .................................................................................................................................... 38 3.3 Halal concerns (part 3): an Islamised workforce .................................................................................... 39 3.3.1 The anecdotal evidence ............................................................................................................... 39 3.3.2 The requirements ........................................................................................................................ 40 3.3.3 The job market ............................................................................................................................. 41 3.3.4 Key points .................................................................................................................................... 48 3.4 Halal concerns (part 4): funding Islam ................................................................................................... 50 3.4.1 Halal certification schemes do fund Islamic programs ................................................................. 50 3.4.2 Charity or profit? No one knows .................................................................................................. 52 3.4.3 The terrorism question ................................................................................................................ 52 3.4.4 Zakat and jihad ............................................................................................................................. 54 3.4.5 Islamic organisations in Australia have a controversial record of accountability ......................... 56 3.4.6 Significant Muslim