Invisible Jihad: Pan-Islamism wages economic jihad through Halal Industry

By way of halal certifications to fight terrorists’ cases sanctifies terrorist horror as Halal Terror. Who ultimately pays? It is the non-Muslim consumers! Many incidents expose mass imposition of an item of the Muslim consumption on other sections in silent manner. Consumption of the “halal”, meat in particular, is being imposed on rest of the uninformed Hindu population. The word “Halal” means the religiously correct Islamic way of doing things as opposed to “Haram”, the incorrect way. It is from this term that Halaalaa is derived. Halaalaa, a marriage of convenience after triple talaq, is performed to get back to the earlier wedlock. That temporary marriage is considered religiously correct. The term halal is also applicable to many ordinary things.

In Islam, animal blood consumption is taboo. In order to prevent it, the animal needs to be bled to death with gasping such that maximum blood is expelled. It is done by slitting the windpipe partly and letting the animal bleed profusely as it gasps for breath and writhes to death in extreme agony. It has roots in the desert life, where the dearth of water prevails. Expelling maximum blood reduces disease infection through blood, needs less water for cleaning and easy disposal of the blood. Muslims insist not to consume meat prepared in any other way. As the number of Muslim customers increased considerably and with the growth of their identity politics, demand for the halal meat started growing. The long-distance travel agencies, the mass exporters of meat at the national and international level, started offering halal meat to meet their demand. Since the common meat consumer had no such preferred choice, they too were offered halal meat dishes. Most of the Airlines, including Indian companies silently started serving halal meat items on the whole. Gullible Hindus did not bother to demand the zatkaa type preparations during air or train travels.

It came to me with surprise, not shock. A few years ago I wrote an article where I mentioned about Hindu butchers selling zatkaa type meat. I received a call from a reader who told me that Hindu butchers have stopped killing animals long back and what we eat even in the local hotels is halal meat. I was taken aback. Where have the Hindu butcher communities gone? How are they earning their livelihood? I asked him about the authenticity of the information. He informed that he himself belonged to the Hindu butcher community and is in the business. But since long, he stopped killing animals. The fellow Muslim butchers did it. He does all further cutting and processing. He also informed that the Muslim butchers flatly refuse to kill animals the zatkaa way. From that day onwards, I stopped eating meat of any type. As recent as 2018, a butcher shop opened in my neighbourhood. I went there early morning to check. A Hindu butcher employee of the shop refused to kill a chicken. When the Muslim owner came after some time, he too flatly refused to kill by zatkaa. He told me to do it by myself. Why have the Hindu butchers stopped killing animals by traditional methods? Partly because they are outnumbered by Muslim butchers and may be under pressure, partly because their new generation is leaving the profession to join white collared jobs with more dignity and partly because the gullible Hindusmeekly accepted it. They haven’t bothered to ask for non-halal meet in their regular market place.

It is to be noted that over the last two decades, small time Muslim traders and artisans have received petrodollar funding towards business activities. It is with a clear cut strategy to displace the local Hindu trading communities. The retail fruit market, transport business, tourist destinations are the ones almost taken over through this funding. It was openly acknowledged at a Barelavi convention held at Nashik on January 26 2020 by a religious speaker. I have reported it in my article.

The demand for halal preparations came in handy for Muslim organisations to generate funding resources not only in Bharat, but in many non-Muslim countries in the world. The present author’s full-length article titled ‘Funding Terrorists Officially” published in the Organiser (July 12, 2015) described how the “Halal Tax” paid by major Australian food product establishments generated large funds. Those were utilised to fund ISIS activities through official channels. Even now, the procedure is simple. The Muslim customers motivated with strategy, started demanding Halal meat and other Halal branded products, including even the soft drinks. The commercial establishments succumbed to the pressure for non-meat products too, which in fact is not necessary. Who will certify a particular product as halal preparation? It needed a recognised Muslim organisation to depute representatives to be there to oversee and certify. The Muslim organisations, in turn, started deputing Mullas or religious preachers, who were certified as proficient in the Islamic texts and procedures. Person on deputation received payment officially. There is a convention that Muslims are to be given priority to work on the halal production shop floors. These companies made no hue and cry about the payment, and officially the halal tax funds were deposited in the coffers of the Muslim organisations. These companies even developed their Halal brands which the Muslim customers could verify and purchase. It served many purposes, including employment generation for the burgeoning Muslim population in the respective countries, including Australia. The fund expenditures were not critically audited because that would offend the sensitivities of the Muslim minority. It is very vocal for decades and adept at playing the victim card. Large scale exports of meat and beef from Australia to the Islamic countries, of course, needed Halal certification on payment. That was how the terrorist activities are funded even now in many countries.

Halal meat preparation performed in an ordained way requires the sacrificial animal windpipe to be slit only after uttering the pious call of “Allalhu Akbar”. Then it is let bleed till it is over. It takes time. A goat keeps writhing for 5-7 minutes, and the large animals take even more. In the slaughterhouses and large abattoir killing thousands of animals per day, it becomes virtual sham to say that for every animal mechanically slaughtered was given a pious call before killing and that it was let to bleed as done at an individual family level on the occasion of Muslim festivals. The things have changed there too. Currently, animals are allowed to be killed in official slaughterhouses and not in individual houses. These norms aren’t followed strictly there too. Every thinking Muslim is aware of the limitations of the establishments. He prefers to overlook it. Certifications thus issued in the case of large scale productions are sham certificates. There is an unspoken understanding that the funds will go for spreading Islam. That is the purpose. This has generated fairly large scale employment for the religious preachers and commoners in Muslim communities all over the world at somebody else’s costs.

The conditions in Bharat are in no way different. There are many Muslim organisations like JamiatUlema-e-Hind who are authorised to issue Halal certificates to the food products manufacturers. They depute their representatives to keep check and see the proper execution of the norms. In turn, they get paid hefty amounts. It is to be noted that Jamiat is fighting cases of the terror accused. Official funding by way of halal certifications to fight terrorists’ cases sanctifies terrorist horror as Halal Terror. Who ultimately pays? It is the non-Muslim consumers, who as common, undistinguished entities pay for the expenses towards halal certifications. Article 19 in the constitution is often invoked in these cases. The simple way out of this situation is that, the Muslim organisations should be made to issue halal certification free of cost as a religious requirement. At the same time, Hindu customers should start asking for the zatkaa type meat preparations. They have not only to generate demand but refuse to pay for Halal preparations, involving brutally killing animals. The procedure violets their own religious sensitivities. Those who demand halal meat and consumer products should pay additional tax for the certified preparations to meet their culinary requirements. The fund transactions towards halal certifications and recovery of those expenses by an additional tax on the certified halal products, should be separately accounted and be made available to the public under RTI. That will clear the air about undue tax imposed on the non-Muslim consumers. As such citizens in many countries are raising voices against halal way and certifications that cost. It is up to Hindus to take up issues for the undue additional price they are paying, concerns related to cruelty towards animals and question the age-old customs of the mediaeval times.