According to the Office for National Statistics Household Survey published last month, 71.4% of people in the UK say they are Christian, with smaller percentages acknowledging other faiths; 4.2%, for instance, say they are Muslim. Many of those claiming to be Christian will be nominal Christians who may not darken a church doorway from one year's end to the next; but nevertheless, 71.4%.(The same survey showed that one per cent said they were homosexual and 0.5% bisexual, compared with the 10 per cent the homosexual lobby has tried to have us believe are homosexual, but that's another subject.)
The Mail on Sunday has revealed that Tesco, and apparently Asda, have been selling halal chicken and lamb - that is to say chicken and lamb slaughtered according to Islamic ritual - without its being labelled as halal meat and without customers being told. Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury's, Somerfield and the Co-op have been selling halal lamb without its being labelled as halal meat and without telling customers.
Fast food chains like Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway and McDonald's have been using halal chicken without customers being aware.
Halal food has been served in hospitals, schools, pubs and sporting venues across the UK without customers' knowledge.
Islamic law requires animals to be slaughtered by a Muslim slitting the animal's throat while reciting in Arabic "Bismillah Allah-hu-Akbar," which can be translated "In the name of Allah, who is the greatest."
The Bible says (in 1 Corinthians 10) that I am to eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience's sake (for "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness"); and if any of those who do not believe invite me to dinner and I desire to go, I am to eat whatever is set before me, asking no question for conscience's sake; but if anyone says to me "This was offered unto idols," I am not to eat it for the sake of the one who told me, and for conscience's sake.
Some people argue about whether animals killed according to Islamic ritual are killed humanely. I do not propose to go into that here.
But is it not reasonable to expect that if I want to buy meat I should be made aware when meat has been ritually blessed and dedicated to Allah, so that I am able to choose whether I buy halal meat or not?
What I do object to is that the needs of four per cent of the people appear to have been pandered to while the possible concerns of 71 per cent of the people have been completely ignored.
Does nobody care?
