The word ‘Halal’ has become the most abused and equally misused word by Muslims and non-Muslims. It is displayed anywhere and everywhere without any kind of regulation and corroboration and the consumers are led to believe that it is genuinely Halal. According to a research, statistics show that over 90% of Halal labelled meat and poultry in the UK is in actual fact, doubtful. Indeed the word ‘Halal’ displayed at outlets or on consumables is not sufficient anymore.

This unfortunate situation has been highlighted by an incident which occurred on Eid day (2008) in the abattoir of Scotbeef.

The Muslim slaughter man in the Scotbeef abattoir walked out on Eid day as he could not stand the racist remarks of one of the employees working with him on the same line, using racist language, slandering Muslims and Islam and the Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him. (A recorded proof of this is available). The slaughter man came to report this to the Imam of Stirling Mosque who phoned the Central Mosque in Glasgow and an emergency meeting of the Imams was called. This was not reported to the supplier (Mr G. Pearson) until the 20th of December of which he says he assumed that the guy (Muslim slaughter man) had only walked out after killing his animals which was not the case and the animals that Mr. Pearson assumed were halal were in fact haram, i.e. slaughtered by a non-Muslim as there was no Muslim killer.

These were not ordinary animals but rather the animals of Qurbani as this was Eid day. Thus all those who ordered their Qurbani through Mr Pearson had haram Qurbani. (We have a list of all these butchers who provided Haram Qurbani to the Muslim community). (Mr Pearson has given us his written statement apologising on his behalf for what happened and stating this clearly.) There are contradictory reports by both the Scotbeef and its supplier Mr Pearson as to what has actually happened in terms of the warning given by Scotbeef, however, this account tells us one thing very clear that there is no system in place in any of the abattoirs in Scotland through which a constant and regular monitoring could be done.So the fact that we need a foul proof system in place is something that we, the Imams in Scotland, have been long working for. In other words, a uniform verification and certification body was much needed to oversee, recommend, facilitate, implement the Shari'ah requirements of Halal, and create a clear-cut reliable certification procedure. As such a steering committee was put in place to take us forward into the pursuit of our Islamic duty of facilitating our moral and obligatory right. This in mind, we started searching and studying the different systems working in the market/field.And what we found is this that:

There are 3 major systems (certifying bodies) working for this purpose in the UK.

1- HFA (Halal Food Authority).

2- Islamic jurisprudence of (Mufti Sacha)

3- HMC (Halal Monitoring Committee)

We contacted HFA and found that they do not have a constant regular monitoring system and in addition to that they allow pre-stunning to be carried out on the animals which in Shari’ah is not appropriate and specially in the case of chicken as after a proper investigation it was found that %33 of them die before being slaughtered and we would not be able to know whether we eat Halal or haram (dead). Next, we contacted the Islamic Jurisprudence, they said that they are not a National organisation and they rather work locally and there is not any possibility for us to adopt their system.

Finally, we looked at the HMC and found that they are not only willing to help us but rather their system is the best in the whole UK.

Not allowing pre-stunning, they have the most ideal mechanism for Muslims and those who want to choose to eat % 100 halal meats in the UK.We, the Imams from Scotland, went down to study their system and got trained.We observed their system, the way they monitor the outlets and inspect the abattoirs and we are satisfied that it is THE system we need to adopt inshallah.

We are in the process of bringing this system and are working on it very hard.We definitely need the support of Muslim community in general and especially that of the suppliers and butchers.We met quite a few suppliers and are still trying to meet as we do not want to damage, in any way, the businesses of our brothers up here in Scotland.So basically we are giving an opportunity, probably the last opportunity, to our brothers to agree to support and help the Muslim brothers and sisters in Scotland to eat %100 Halal, inshallah, as there are many suppliers who are ready to come up and supply HMC meat to Scotland.We are happy to say that almost all of the suppliers and butchers have agreed to HMC and are willing to get registered and we take this opportunity to thank them and pray Allah to enable us and them to choose Halal, amen.We are soon giving away the forms and getting them registered for HMC.Our message to them is that the sooner the better for the Muslim community as well as for their businesses.

A brief introduction of HMC.

The call for a body of Muslim leaders, scholars, and jurists who would form the backbone of such an organisation has been answered in the form of the Halal Monitoring Committee (Scotland) in order to serve the Muslim Ummah.The Halal Monitoring Committee does not side with any one particular sect, but rather is a universal service, which seeks to represent all the different schools of thought within Islam and also to obtain self sufficiency (i.e. not remain dependant on donations for its continuation).

There are many Rumours as to the price being high and so on; the matter of the fact is that there is only 2p additional cost per chicken and not more.

HMC is a non profit making organisation set up to monitor, inspect and certify Halal products, in particular the Halal meat and poultry sector. HMC was established in early 2003 consisting of various Ulama (Muslim Scholars) and figures from diverse backgrounds. HMC has been set up to work in the favour of all Muslims; consumers, retailers and suppliers.

AIMS
HMC aims to regulate and at every point inspect Halal products from the sources to the consumer. This is done by means of thorough inspections, continuous checks, labelling and sealing of these consumables, which are to be continuously monitored by HMC trained inspectors and monitors, thus overcoming the many doubtful issues arising with regards to our daily diet by providing the public the reassurance of genuine Halal products, not just “because it says Halal….it must be Halal.’’ By implementing an authenticated system, the Muslim public can have full confidence and assurance in their choice of buying HMC certified products leaving no doubts in their minds.

COMMITMENT
The Halal Monitoring Committee is aimed solely at serving the Muslim public in so far as their basic needs of eating Islamically suitable foods. HMC intends to start off with the raw meat industry and thereafter move on to as many different food industries as possible with the aim of providing Muslims with peace of mind and security regarding their foods. We believe it is only right for the hard earned Halal wealth of our Muslim community to be spent on genuine Halal sustenance.

Thus we consider it our duty to serve the Ummah. The labelling system and the stamp mechanism all this is a wonderful system such that not only institutions in the UK but also some Muslim countries, like Malaysia, have invited them to study their system and apply it in their respective countries.We, the Imams of Glasgow andsurrounding area, are working hard and very closely with each other also with the suppliers and aboitoirs to set up this HMC system.

CRITERIA OF HALAL SLAUGHTER ADOPTED BY HMC

HMC has adopted such a criterion for Halal slaughter that is accepted by all, irrespective of sects and schools of thought. In other words, the most stringent guidelines have been adopted to ensure for universal acceptability and so that the consumable is Halal according to everyone and not just one group.

Therefore the ideal solution is that such a path be adopted that caters for all, not just the majority or any particular group or school of thought. While this may seem difficult it is neither impractical nor unattainable. Both theoretically and practically a “middle-way” must be adopted by the Monitoring group.

In theory the method to adopt that would be all inclusive would be to accommodate only those decisions that are permissible for all, not just those that create lee-ways for a specific group. This is easier than it sounds.

The reason is that there are no situations where a certain item would be necessary on one and forbidden on another, but rather an item may be permissible for one group and impermissible for another. In which case the solution is to accommodate the view of impermissibility, as because neither the former are committing any wrong by being made to follow this more precautionary ruling, nor are the latter (for whom the item was impermissible) being subject to rules that do not accommodate them.
Hence, the most important factors of the criteria are:

  • NON STUNNING

  • MANUAL SLAUGHTER BY A MUSLIM - NON MECHANICAL

  • VERBAL RECITATION OF ALLAH’S NAME – NO BLESSED BLADES OR PRE RECORDED BISMILLAH

  • ENSURING THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF VESSELS ARE SEVERED

Another reason for HMC adopting the most stringent guidelines is that the Jurists have derived a principal from the shari`ah that:

الاصل فى الاشياء الاباحة وفى اللحوم الحرمة

"Everything is permissible and Halal except those items which are clearly proven to be prohibited and Haram. On the contrary, all meat of animals is HARAM unless clearly proven to be Halal".

We find from this that we need to be extra cautious in certifying as well as purchasing anything from anywhere.