STOCKHOLM,
September 18 (IslamOnline.net) – Swedish dictionaries have introduced
a new word now ringing a bell all across the country.
“Halal”
could be checked in the dictionary along with a simple explanation in
Swedish that it stands for food and drink allowed for Muslims under
Islamic dietary laws.
Tens
of Swedish major food chains in the country have been increasingly trade
in meat of animals slain according to Shari’ah (the Islamic law) and
to serve the demand of the half a million community members.
The
halal food is sold alongside other foodstuffs in big stores of the major
cities in the country and even small areas in the south – much to end
a main concern for Muslims here.
Islamic
rulings stipulate that other than seafood, Muslims may only eat meat
that has been slaughtered in a specific manner, over which the name of
anything other than God cannot have been pronounced.
Halal
meat is prepared by slaughtering the animal with a cut to the throat to
allow the blood to drain from the animal.
This
is the most painless method of slaughter that the sudden loss of blood
from the head means the animals feel virtually nothing.
Ubiquitous
Moving
across stores of the capital, one can see how prevalent halal food is.
“Halal
food has a place to be displayed there,” one saleswoman pointed to a
special section in one store’s corner.
Muslims
in the country had suffered deeply to find a halal food in stores, let
alone making sure that its preparation confirms with Shari’ah.
Numeir
El-Sayyed said his company is one of some others preparing and
distributing halal food to stores dotting Europe.
“The
firm owns special farms and markets halal meat all over northern Europe
and also provide major Swedish stores and others owned by Arabs and
Muslims with such meat,” El-Sayyed said.
No
wonder, observers and analysts say, halal has thus found a place in most
of the Swedish dictionaries along with a simple explanation of the term.
Three
Kinds
There
are three types of companies marketing halal food in Sweden and other
European states.
Some
companies offer 100 percent halal meat, as they seek the supervision of
representatives of Muslim scholars over the slaughtering process.
These
companies rent slaughtering equipment from companies in Sweden, Holland
or New Zealand and purify them with disinfectants.
However,
these companies cannot meet the needs of markets of Muslims in Europe,
estimated at 20 million people.
As
for the second type of companies, they only market halal meat after
importing them, with less concern about its abiding by Shari’ah
tenets.
The
third type is that of fraudulent companies that provide Muslims with
meat of animals killed with bullets, despite their claims it is halal.
These
companies use expired meat, hot dogs and chicken bought from major
stores at half their original prices, before marketing them on claims
they are halal products.
They
exploit the high demand on halal food in Sweden and other European
states to distribute these products.
Eating
out at restaurants still poses a problem for many Muslims. But
governments and companies are coping.
