Muslims hope to create more halal products in the
marketplace like KFC in Michigan.
Dearborn Michigan, Kentucky Fried Chicken -
Underneath the colonel's bearded face, the store's sign reads "Now serving halal
original & crispy." The juxtaposition of American icons with Islamic tradition is
a striking display of the changing landscape of southeast Michigan. Halal meat is not new
to Dearborn's butcher shops and Arab restaurants, but a growing number of national chains
have been accommodating the local demand for Muslim food in recent years.
Two McDonald's restaurants are the only ones selling halal Chicken McNuggets and
sandwiches among about 13,700 McDonald's in the country. Ram's Horn, a local chain of
diners, and Big Boy restaurants also serve halal meat in the city. A manager at a Subway
restaurant in Dearborn hopes it soon will become halal, but it is facing difficulties
because of the chain's insistence on using uniform meat suppliers.
Wendy raw fries are made with halal ingredients but they fry in the same fryer where
non-zabiha chicken is fried so it becomes non- halal. Further, non halal cheddar powder is
used in some fries, so regular fries become non halal due to cross contamination.
"A lot has changed just in the past decade," said Bilal Dabaja, 22, a Dearborn
resident who eats halal. "More people want these products."
Other developments affecting Muslim civil liberties include:
The passage of laws regulating halal food labeling by the states of New Jersey, Illinois
and Minnesota. Recognizing halal food as a consumer product, the laws generally placed
penalty on businesses misusing the label.
A county jail has agreed to provide Muslim inmates with meats prepared according to
Islamic law, ending a three-year-long legal fight. Under a settlement approved by a
federal judge in Manhattan, the Westchester County jail is serving four halal meat dishes
a week for Muslim inmates who request them
Arizona prison officials need to show a real hardship if they want to deny halal meals to
a Muslim inmate, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleID=24508&&name=n&&currPage=1&&Active=1
Dietary laws for Muslims are outlined in the Qur'an. Muslims are forbidden from consuming
pork, alcohol, blood, meat dedicated to false gods. http://islam.about.com/cs/dietarylaw/a/halalfood.htm |
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