http://www.stonegateinstitute.org/2886/france-halal
The halal issue is about more than just meat.
A French television documentary has revealed that all of the slaughterhouses in the greater Paris metropolitan area are now producing all of their meat in accordance with Islamic Sharia law.The exposé broadcast by France 2 television also alleged that much of the religiously slaughtered meat known as halal is not labeled as such and is entering the general food chain, where it is being unwittingly consumed by the non-Muslim population.
The revelation has sparked political controversy in France, where Islam and the question of Muslim immigration has become a central issue in the presidential campaign.
Halal, which in Arabic means lawful or legal, is a term designating any object or action that is permissible according to Sharia law. In the context of food, halal meat is derived from animals slaughtered by hand according to methods stipulated in Islamic religious texts.
One such halal method, called dhabihah, consists of making a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife on the neck that cuts the jugular vein, leaving the animal to bleed to death. Much of the controversy involving halal stems from the fact that Sharia law bans the practice of stunning the animals before they are slaughtered. Pre-slaughter stunning renders the animals unconscious and thus is said to lessen pain.
Not surprisingly, far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has turned the halal controversy into a campaign issue. Speaking to supporters at a February 18-19 congress of her National Front party in the northern city of Lille, Le Pen said: “All the abattoirs in the Paris region sell halal meat without exception. They have succumbed to the rules of a minority. We have reason to be disgusted.”