Busting myths around what is Halal meat – and what isn’t

SBS Arabic24 spoke with the general manager of the Australian National Imam’s Council (ANIC) Halal Authority to bust some of the myths associated with Halal meat.

Muslims around the world choose to eat Halal food because it meets requirements that they believe make it suitable for consumption.

Halal originates from rules and guidelines set out in the Qur’an and the Hadith (the Prophet Muhammad’s example), which have been followed over generations of Islamic practice.

Halal means “permissible” and can refer to any aspect of life covered by the teachings of Islam, not only for food.

There are several myths and lesser known facts associated with what constitutes Halal meat.

One such fact is that Muslims can, in fact, eat slaughtered animals, or ‘Dhabihah’, which is butchered by People of the Book, or ‘Ahl al-Kitāb’, whether they happen to be Christian or Jewish.

In addition, animals slaughtered using Halal methods in Australia are first stunned and rendered temporarily unconscious before slaughter, where methods in overseas abattoirs often don’t use these methods.

Economically, the global Halal market size is likely to reach USD 9.71 trillion (AUD$13.9 trillion) by 2025, according to Reuters.

To shed light on some of the technicalities around Halal meat in Australia, SBS Arabic24 spoke with Dr Mohammad Anas, the General Manager of Australian National Imam’s Council (ANIC) Halal Authority.  

Read the article and listen to the interview by Jameel Karaki on SBS Arabic Radio.