by Samaa Elibyari, member of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (Montreal Chapter)
Host and producer of Caravan, Muslim community radio program, CKUT 90.3 FM www.ckut.ca
Tel :514-288-8609, samaa@videotron.ca
In the coming days, Quebec Muslims will celebrate Eid- al-Adha, a joyous occasion for gathering with family and friends around a great feast, the main dish being traditionally meat, naturally halal. However in the context of the debate about the Charter of Quebec values, a palpable uneasiness has spread among the community.
Eid-al-Adha is among the rituals of the annual Islamic pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, where the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic). lived with his family.. For this reason, other names for Eid refer to this period such as Hajji Peru Nal in Tamil. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. Last year the Saudi authorities have estimated the number of pilgrims to nearly 2.5 million of 189 nationalities.
In the Muslim holy book, the Quran as well as in biblical history, God (Allah) demanded of Abraham the sacrifice of his son Ishmael (Ismail) to test his faith, but ultimately substituted the slaughter of a ram. For all schools in Islam, this episode represents the absolute faith of the Prophet Abraham and the infinite mercy of the Creator. This is what Eid-al-Adha commemorates and the tradition (Sunnah) is to replicate the sacrifice and to show gratitude for the outcome.
Practically, families who can afford it slaughter an animal, a sheep or a ram, but sometimes a cow or a goat, according to a religious ritual called halal.. The rule of the third is widely accepted, i.e. one third of the sacrifice (dahiya) stays with for the family, one goes to needy relatives and one is distributed to the poor in the community.
In our affluent society, it is difficult to imagine that some will not taste meat except on the day of Eid. Hence another name for the feast refers to the animal that will on the table. We find the Festival of the goat (Bakr Eid) in Southeast Asia, bakri in hindi means goat and Festival of the lamb (Fiesta del Cordero) in Spain. However, adopting these designations would be comparable to calling Thanksgiving ‘Turkey Day’.
Eid al-Adha is the most important holiday in Islam hence the name of Eid-el-Kebir ‘great celebration’ in North Africa and Egypt. It occurs always on the tenth day of the month of Zul Hijjah of the Hijri lunar calendar but the date varies in the Gregorian calendar. The little celebration or Eid Al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan.
This year 2013, Eid-al-Adha coincides with October 15. Unfortunately instead of feelings of joy, the climate of unease that hangs over the Muslim community since the publication of the Chartre des valeurs québécoises, has thickened as we approach this date. Are we going to see a resurgence of the acrimonious debate surrounding the ‘halal’? Joe M. Regenstein, Chairman of the Kosher and Halal Food Initiative , at Cornell University reminds us that ritual slaughters, halal or kosher, are meant to minimize and shorten the suffering of the animal.
Some proposed to slaughter in Ontario, but this option has not proved popular. In Les enjeux de la viande halal au Québec by Denise Helly, Azeddine Hmissa and Patrice Brodeur (under publication) we learn that in Quebec, halal meat and meat products sold by supermarkets are mainly imported from Ontario, origin of the Zabiha et Al Safa.brands. Others advise to send money to charities in their country of origin to help poor families to celebrate the Eid. This idea is not new and is gaining followers. ‘Modernists’ prefer a symbolic sacrifice, a charitable donation equivalent to the price of the animal, in Quebec or elsewhere. And in this turmoil, the majority called for calm and suggested doing as every year, the sacrifice in Quebec slaughterhouses.
In the same research mentioned above we notice that ‘according to butchers and grocers selling halal products, nearly 70% of their clientele is not Muslim but patronize them because it appreciate the tenderness of the meat and its freshness’. And this is not the only attraction of halal meat if we consider the economic aspect, often overlooked.
In 2010, the halal food market was valued at $ 661.6 billion, according to a report by the Canadian government (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2011). Canada even seeks to increase its presence in this market according to the same source. The main countries targeted being the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Indonesia. Representing about 16% of the global market, the halal stands as a sizeable Food Business. So far, Quebec remains simply an importer of halal products.
Yet there are more than 240,000 Muslims in the Belle Province (Statistics Canada, 2011). Assuming that only 5,000 families buy a sheep at $ 300 apiece, we get to a total of $ 1.5 million in two days. A business opportunity and a profitable potential market since the Muslim population is growing. Therefore, it is not surprising that Eid Al-Adha is locally known as ‘la fête du mouton’.
A debate on killing methods is desirable, but let’s do it calmly and scientifically. Regenstein believes that ritual slaughter can meet and even exceed the currently accepted standards and that if we wanted to label halal and kosher slaughter we should be doing it for all other methods of slaughter, otherwise it would be an exercise in ‘anti-Semitism and Islamophobia’
