Halāl

Halal butcher's shop (Paris)

Frozen department in a German supermarket

Halāl restaurant in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , a neighborhood with a large Muslim population

Halāl ( Arabic حلال Halal , DMG ḥalāl ) is an Arabic word and can be translated as “permitted” and “permitted”. It describes all things and actions thatare permissibleunder Islamic law . As the third of the five categories of human action in Islamic jurisprudence , it stands between harām (حرام), forbidden, and fard (فرض), obligatory acts. Between halāl and harām there is a gray area, the makruh (مكروه) is called. Makruh (frowned upon / undesirable) describes all things that are not expressly forbidden but not recommended.

Religious background

The dietary regulations of Islam are regulated in the Koran and in the Sunna . Basically, all foods are allowed, with the exception of those that have been expressly or clearly prohibited. A Muslim is forbidden to eat pork and its by-products, blood and the consumption of intoxicating substances including beverages such as alcohol.

Halal meat

Similar to kosher meat in Judaism , Islam only allows animals to be eaten that are permitted for consumption, that have been properly slaughtered and that have not already died. In contrast to Central European standards, the animals are killed in slaughterhouses without anesthesia with a special knife with a single large cut across the underside of the neck, as a result of which the large blood vessels as well as the trachea and esophagus are severed. With the shafts , the residue-free as possible to bleed the animal be guaranteed.

In the Koran it says:

“You are forbidden to eat meat from dead animals, blood, pork and meat, about which (during slaughter) a being other than Allah has been invoked, and that which suffocates, is beaten (to death) ) fell or was pushed (to death by another animal), and what a wild animal has eaten - unless you slaughter it (by bleeding it out afterwards) - and what was slaughtered on a (pagan) sacrificial stone , ... "

- Koran sura 5 , verse 3, translation: Rudi Paret

The traditional anesthetized butchering is practiced in most countries. Although an anesthetic before slaughter is compatible with the Islamic Fiqh law , as Muslim scholars have confirmed, some Muslims fear that the anesthetic is fatal and that the meat is forbidden.

Religious currents such as u. a. the Alevis refer to the Koran, sura 5, verse 5, according to which what is slaughtered by Christians or Jews is also permitted:

“Today you are allowed the good things (to eat). And what those who eat (before you) have received the Scriptures is lawful for you, and what you eat is lawful for them. "

- Koran sura 5, verse 5, translation: Rudi Paret

The United Arab Emirates have also stipulated in their national Halal standard that Christians and Jews carry out halal slaughter if they meet certain requirements (among other things, butchers of any faith must be able to show a certificate as proof of personal competence). The standard "Animal Slaughtering Requirements According to Islamic Rules" (UAE.S 993: 2015), which can be obtained from the state standards institute "Emirates Authority for Standards & Metrology" (ESMA), states:

"4.2.1 The Slaughterer shall be a Muslim, and may be a Jew or Christian, sane, and aware of slaughtering related requirements."

- United Arab Emirates (2015): Animal Slaughtering Requirements According to Islamic Rules (UAE.S 993: 2015)

Numerous other international Halal standards such as However, e.g. from Malaysia (JAKIM), Indonesia (MUI) and Singapore (MUIS) stipulate that only Muslims are permitted as butchers, which is why it has not been accepted that Christians and Jews also carry out halal slaughter.

In general, it should be noted that the Islamic dietary regulations in practice bring with them numerous questions and cases of doubt, on which scholars offer different interpretations. The attitudes of Muslims in this field are correspondingly diverse. According to the study of Muslim life in Germany , “91 percent of the Sunnis surveyed adhere to Islamic dietary regulations. For Shiites (60 percent) and Alevis (49 percent), following these regulations is far less important. "

Economic importance

According to estimates by the Halal Journal in 2009, the global market for Halāl food products was 587.2 million US dollars in 2004 and increased to 632.4 million US dollars by 2009.

In 2010 there were around 400 companies in Germany that offered Halāl products. There are around 20 million Muslims in Western Europe and around 3.5 million live in Germany. A publication by the ÖIF assumes that 515,914 Muslims have their place of residence in Austria.

Certification

In Muslim countries it is assumed that food is halāl according to religious regulations. Similar to the organic seals or the Jewish Hechscher seals for food, there are so-called Halal certificates in stores . This is intended to achieve the labeling of products that are manufactured in compliance with the Halāl rules.

For a certification it is imperative to say the name of Allah when slaughtering each animal. In the case of mechanical slaughter, it is sufficient to do this when pressing the start button, which, even after an interruption, may only be operated by Muslim employees. According to the Shiite school of law, the slaughterhouses must be oriented towards Mecca . For Sunni Muslims this is the ideal case, but not a mandatory condition.

In order for Muslims to ensure that they do not consume any unauthorized foods, they may have to be checked by knowledgeable Muslims. This can be done through a mosque community . Various certification companies offer certifications for companies that are subject to a fee and confirm that a food produced or sold by the certified company is halāl. Usually the certifiers work with Muslim authorities to authenticate the certificate, similar to what is done in Judaism by rabbis for kosher food.

With the certificate, the manufacturer assures the customer that the food was produced according to the Islamic religious dietary regulations and is therefore halāl. Health and hygiene aspects are not checked separately during certification, but can be B. on the ban on ingesting food that is harmful to health. Some certifiers check according to existing standards in Islamic countries such as the Malaysian Halal Standards MS 1500: 2009 .

In addition to process certification, which includes surveys, tests of the origins of goods and of the production facility and processes, some certifiers, such as B. based on the standardized test procedure of the company Halal Circle Europe , random sampling for the presence of pork with the help of genetic testing and chemical analyzes for alcohol.

Certifications are partly carried out for promotional reasons, for example for foodstuffs such as pasta , where there is hardly any possibility of violating the regulations from the outset. The exact requirements for certification differ in detail, often depending on the Qur'an interpretation of the authority on which the certifier refers. This does not refer to the basic dietary regulations themselves, but to their specific interpretation, e.g. B. with regard to the design and use of production facilities. There are different views as to whether or not animals stunned before slaughter are halāl according to German animal protection regulations .

Halāl and animal welfare

Halāl meat products are often produced by slaughtering without stunning . This is prohibited in Germany according to § 17 TierSchG. Anyone who violates this regulation commits at least one administrative offense. This can only be circumvented by applying for an exemption in accordance with Section 4 of the TierSchG upon presentation of proof of competence. For religious reasons, an exemption can also be applied for.

According to the case law of the Federal Administrative Court (slaughter judgment) of November 23, 2006, an exemption must be granted on request because of the unrestricted freedom of religion and belief in accordance with Art People are consumed, for whom mandatory religious regulations prohibit the consumption of the meat of non-slaughtered animals without exception. However, slaughtering must be carried out by a competent person in an approved and registered slaughterhouse and monitored by the responsible veterinary office.

In Austria, according to Section 32 (5) TSchG, slaughtering without anesthesia prior to blood withdrawal is only permitted in certain slaughterhouses under veterinary supervision. The animals must be effectively anesthetized immediately after the blood vessels have been opened. In 2014 there were 17 companies in Lower Austria and two in Styria that had a license.

Slaughtering, i.e. slaughtering without prior stunning, has been prohibited in Switzerland since 1893. So that Jews can still get their kosher meat and Muslims still get their halal meat, the federal government auctions annual import quotas for slaughtered meat. The production of halal and kosher meat is very similar. Both types of battle require religious butcher, prayers and special slaughter knives.

In France, a large proportion of cattle are slaughtered halāl without prior stunning (32% of total meat production) and 7% of consumers potentially only ask for halāl meat products.

In 2019, the European Court of Justice ruled that meat from ritual slaughter may not be labeled with the organic seal of the European Union, as the animal welfare, which is central to the seal, is not sufficiently taken into account when slaughtering without stunning.

TV reports

What does "halal" mean? , Abdul-Ahmad Rashid in conversation with Mohammad Djavad Mohagheghi (Halalworld-Germany), 16 minutes, ZDF December 1, 2017

literature

Paula Schrode: Sunni-Islamic Discourses on Halal Diet. Constitution of religious practice and social positioning among Muslims in Germany (= Muslim Worlds. Vol. 2). Ergon-Verlag, Würzburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-89913-816-0 (Also: Heidelberg, University, Dissertation, 2009).