FRANCE: Meat "Halal", a juicy trading ...

24 July 2008

Nobody knows exactly how many Muslims in France, but their number exceeds four million

(out of a total population of 60 million). About half are foreigners, and half have French

nationality. If it is estimated that each person eats at least fifty kilograms of meat per year, the

quantity of meat consumed by Muslims in France is quite considerable, around 200,000 tons if

all Muslims in France were good Muslims and not eat meat as "Halal", ie the meat of animals

ritually sacrificed, it would represent a fairly large market, for 10 to 15 cent of the national

market for meat prepared for Muslims in a predominantly Christian country.

And actually just walking in some neighborhoods of Paris, particularly along the boulevards of

Belleville, Ménilmontant, and Villette in the rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, in the north-east of Paris,

to be convinced that indeed all these Arabs, the Turks and french these believers are good

Muslims: one can see signs of almost all these butchers the inscriptions "Boucherie Halal" or

Muslim butcher. " Abandoned by their traditional customers, who buy 80 percent of the meat

they eat in supermarkets, butchers french sell their businesses to Muslim immigrants.

Not more than five to ten percent of meat sold under the label Halal is really Halal

But in fact, most of the leaders of the Muslim

community and french experts believe - and this is

probably the only thing on which they are agree - that no

more than 5 to 10 percent of meat sold in France under

the label "Halal" is really "Halal": "Between 90 and 95

percent of meat sold in butcher shops" Muslim "is not"

Halal ", said an expert of the Ministry of Agriculture:" A

butcher who buys a sheep was killed ritually supervised

by a Muslim, and beam clearly the front of his shop, with

its blue and green patch, but the rest of the meat he sells in his shop comes from the wholesale

market at Rungis, and certainly not "Halal" ...

Larbi Kechat, the rector of the Mosque "Ad Dawa", the world's largest Muslim places of

worship of Paris, known as the Mosque of Stalingrad, admits that a "very large percentage of

stores selling meat is not really "Halal". Why? "Because everybody knows that Islam earns a

profit. These people want to get rich at any price. "

Ahmet Bakjan, secretary general of the Islamic Union of

France, who oversees one of two small "mosques"

Turkish du Faubourg Saint-Denis in Paris, claimed that

"in this street (full of" Muslim butchers ") is not can not

find meat "Halal", especially in the Turkish butchers. "I

know personally," says Ahmet Bakjan, a Turkish butcher

who communist east, but has made "Butcher Muslim" on his teaching to earn more money. "

Paradoxically, the problem of "false Halal meat has become a national problem in a country that

is at the same time secular and predominantly Christian. Firstly, because like all "labels", the

label "Halal" is subject to French law, which prohibits misleading the consumer and to sell a

product that does not conform to the label ... And also because of the colossal sums of money

are at stake And finally, because this problem directly affects the very delicate question of

organizing the Muslim community in France.

How to kill animals so "Halal"

To be called "Halal", the meat must come from an animal that is not 'Haram' (outlaws, like

pork), but must also come from an animal which was slaughtered by a Muslim who cut throat of

the animal, cutting the carotid artery and jugular, to bleed to death by directing the animal's head

to Mecca, and one who sacrificed the animal must pronounce the words "Bismilla oua Rahim

Allah Akbar" ( In the Name of God, God is Great). In all European countries and France in

particular, the slaughter of animals for meat consumption is regulated by many decrees and laws

that aim to protect the consumer (his health) and animal (in the prevent suffering). Normally

animals are killed by a mechanical or electrical shock. But the slaughter of Muslim and Jewish

communities enjoy special exemptions.

This poses technical problems: Because the animal is killed by being bled, it slows the

production of the slaughterhouse: 25 oxen were killed in an hour, instead of 30. This is even

more marked for chickens, two men can ritually sacrifice of 1,000 to 2,000 chickens per hour,

against 6,000 at a slaughterhouse in automatic. The French law also stipulates that an animal can

not be suspended before being put to death: beef or mutton should be detained in a special trap,

very expensive, about 400,000 francs for an ox. It is therefore a considerable investment ...

In addition, a decree of 1980 stipulates that animals can be ritually sacrificed by persons

qualified by recognized religious organizations "and these organizations must be" registered by

the Ministry of Agriculture, on a proposal of the Ministry 's Interior. " The decree added that "if

no organization has been registered," the prefect of the department may grant "individual". This

has been the case for over ten years: prefects regions have given several hundred "priests"

permission to kill cattle, sheep and chickens for the Muslims of France. Sometimes these people

were employed permanently by slaughterhouses that provided regular customers Muslims, in

other cases the priests were working at the request, a few hours or a day or two a week.

A new profession: ô their contr

But it soon created a religious and political problem: Who would control the priests and meat?

If a slaughterhouse is not working full time on a ritual, which will verify that the meat is "lawful"

and affix a stamp on it for customers that the butcher know that this meat is really "Halal"? And

even if a slaughterhouse works full time on a ritual, which will control - given that any

businessman, Muslim or not, may be tempted to save time - and money. A new profession was

born: "controller".

These inspectors verify that the animal has been killed in ritual, and for the guarantee, they affix

their stamp on various parts of the body of the dead animal. All these organizations have one

thing in common: they pay the slaughterhouse for this - it can be an annual fee (which reached

36,000 F), or a daily fee (800 F) or animal (10 to 12 F) or per kilo from 0.30 to 1 F F. .. In turn,

slaughterhouse pass this tax on the butcher's, which charges ... the consumer.

In recent years we have seen the emergence of several organizations "controllers": AVS, linked

to the FNMF (National Federation of Muslims of France); BARAKA, near the UOIF (Union of

Islamic Organizations of France); AL TAKWA; GUII ( Groupement des Unions International

Islamic); CIAM (Islamic Centre of the Alpes-Maritimes); LICOM; GISCOM (Islamic Group of

Priests and Controllers Muslims); BCAAR (Control Bureau of Food and authentication

Religious). The list of these associations authorities without any legal status has no end.

The export market

Alongside the french internal market, there is another market, even more important: the meat

"Halal" for export to North Africa and the Middle East - about 200,000 tons of meat and 200,000

tons of chickens, according to estimates by the Ministry of Agriculture. Again various

organizations of "controllers" verify that the animals have been ritually sacrificed, and are paying

for it: Because the quantities are substantial, the tax is "only" a few cents (0.02 to 0.05 F) per

kilo.

Officials french and most leaders of the Muslim community agree that most of these

organizations, if not all, are more intended to get rich that provide for the welfare of the Muslim

community: the name of "Muslim association. .. "Is often a facade for a business, there is

actually no association behind the name. It is an ingenious mechanism set up by a businessman

"Muslim" and a few friends, sometimes it's a family affair: a so-called "president" with his wife,

his daughter and son-in-law! In Marseilles, where a large Muslim community, a man who

proclaimed himself "imam" sells 4,000 F to a slaughterhouse the right to use its stamp "Halal" ...

An organization based in Paris to pay 0.30 francs per kilo to monitor meat and put his stamp on

it. According to most observers, it works quite seriously, often inspecting slaughterhouses, and

even claiming to have permanent inspectors in some slaughterhouses (for chickens). The

organization also controls butchers, verifying that they only sell the meat "Halal". In this case

they get a sticker they can stick on their windows. But this organization is subject to a number of

rumours: "A few years ago, they traveled by subway, and we give them from time to time 200 or

300 francs for their volunteer work," said a butcher installed near the mosque "Jamaa al Tabligh"

in the rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud in Paris, "but now these people are riding the wheel of new cars

... And they pay slaughterhouses, which we are paid to turn their services ". According to

various sources, the organization also asks for money - under the table - to slaughterhouses and

butchers to deal with them. And Khalil Merroun, the rector, a native of Morocco, the Islamic

Center of Evry, n 'Reluctance to condemn the "controllers" that threaten butchers telling them:

"If you do not take our meat, we tell people that your meat is not" Halal ". In less diplomatic

terms, officials Ministry of the Interior speak of "racketeering".

These organizations controllers also try to get juicy commissions in the export market: it often

happens that a representative of a "Muslim Association" to contact an exporter of meat and tell

him: "I have a customer in the Middle East or North Africa which could you buy meat, but he

wants the priests and controllers are appointed by my association ... And since I bring the case,

can you pay me a commission ... under the table ".

The four main exporters of meat french - SOCOPA, ARCADIA, BIRET International, VITAL -

have regularly complained of such practices. In some cases, companies importing or ministries

of Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, or Yemen, have formally asked the exporters to work with

such and such "association", leading officials of the Ministry of Interior to whether these

countries are not funded or indirectly such as Islamic association. In 1994, the Ministry of

Awkaf (religious affairs) of Yemen has requested that BARAKA, an organization linked to the

UOIF (Union of Islamic Organizations of France) is the "controller" for a contract to be signed

with this country . Apparently, it was known, and Fouad Alaoui, secretary general of the UOIF,

we said: "We agreed to monitor this contract because the Yemeni minister, who was a former

board member of our association , Had insisted that we do ... But it does not brought us any

problems, and we froze the activities BARAKA ". And Lhaj Thami Breze, president of the

UOIF, said, on the defensive: "The UOIF has been accused of finance itself with meat" Halal "I

swear on God that we have nothing to do with it" ...

SOCOPA, french largest exporter, exported 110,000 tonnes of meat annually, of which about

half is "Halal: if there are between 0.02 and 0.05 franc per kilo, this represents a" tax Halal

"comprehensive" an amount ranging between one and five million francs for this company -

without taking into account commissions unofficial ... BIRET International exports a little less

than 15,000 tons of meat a year, and approximately 7,500 tonnes ARCADIA ... The France also

exports large quantities of chickens to North Africa and the Middle East: 200,000 tonnes per

year, half of which is exported by a single company, SWEET, Brittany. This is clearly a

lucrative market for receiving "commissions".

Iran is a special case: the contracts are negotiated directly with the french government, which

divides the market between the main exporters of meat, and then send Iran to France a relatively

large team, including a veterinarian, several officials of the IMO (Iran Meat Organization) and an

imam. The imam visit slaughterhouses, control the priests, and verified the entire chain, while

officials of the IMO and the veterinarian are also their checks: certificates final "Halal" cover

three different signatures ... All these people are "guests" of exporting meat, which provides

them with housing, food and pocket money. But there is no "tax" per kilo.

At the other extreme, Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia import any meat provided it is stamped

"Halal". According to persistent rumours, shrewd businessmen Algerian based in Marseilles

import cargo intact meat from Argentina, and re-export directly to North Africa after a local

imam has put his stamp "Halal" documents - with a generous payment.

The "monopoly" of the Great Mosque of Paris

This is to clarify this situation, which became increasingly unhealthy that the french government

has promulgated on December 15, 1994 a decree known as "Decree Pasqua" (named after the

Minister of Interior) stating that the Great Mosque of Paris was the only organization qualified to

appoint priests and monitor their work. The current rector, Dalil Boubakeur, considering the

french market of Halal meat and 500,000 tons (a figure highly inflated, as we saw) announced in

June 1995 that it had signed an agreement with FNEAP (Federation Nationale des

Slaughterhouses Publics), which undertook to pay the Great Mosque of Paris one franc per kilo

of meat for the "cost of technical assistance and theological (CATT).

Furieuses, all other Muslim organizations in France denounced the "hegemony" of the Great

Mosque and declared that they boycotteraient "label Halal". The protests were such as the new

interior minister (Jean-Louis Debre) postponed the implementation of the decree at the end of

June 1996. In fact, it removed.

Why Charles Pasqua he made such a "gift" to the Grand Mosque of Paris? This decision falls

within the framework of its close relations with Lamine Zeroual, President of Algeria. He had

also Dalil Boubakeur to propagate Islam a "modern", "enlightened" and "tolerant": Inaugurated

in 1926, the Great Mosque of Paris, the only "real" mosque in the capital, has for decades issued

a "Islam french "very official ... Managed since 1982 by the Algerian government, it controls

and pays the salaries of hundreds of imams in France, and it is linked to a hundred local Muslim

associations which can not be suspected of harbouring "Islamic militants" close to the FIS.

Finally, the Great Mosque control associations "harkis" and their descendants, became french

citizens who take part in national elections a few months before the presidential elections of

spring 1995, Pasqua could expect that such a gift would be paid back. This mit boiling the

Muslim community.

The divisions of the Muslim community in France

The french government is once again facing an almost insurmountable challenge: how to

encourage the emergence of a council representing different groups, associations and

communities of Muslims living in France to resolve various pending issues: the meat " Halal ",

but also the distribution of Zakat, the problem of Muslims doing their military service, the ban on

headscarves in French schools, and so on.

This is even more difficult than the Muslim community in France is extremely diverse: in

addition to the various national communities (Algerians, Moroccans, Tunisians, Turks, Kurds,

Senegalese, Malians, Comorians, French, etc.), there are associations have close links with

international Islamic organizations, as "Tabligh and Da'wa ila Allah" (affiliated to the Jamaa

Tabligh, Pakistan) and the UOIF, which ad'étroites relations with the international movement of

Muslim Brothers. There are no fewer than 1,300 registered Muslim associations in France,

including 48 for the only city of Marseilles.

The map Moroccan

While stressing that this is a purely internal French affair, officials from the Embassy of

Morocco show willingly letters of Muslim associations French regional declaring their embassy

that they can not accept the decree because Pasqua We can not trust the Great Mosque: "The

Ambassador expressed his reactions to the French authorities and have suspended the decree,"

said an official of the embassy.

Moroccans Why can not they accept the authority of the Great Mosque of Paris: "This is an

organization in which we do not recognize," said the official Moroccan. "The Moroccans will

not recognize an authority that was established without their participation." No Moroccan do not

say officially, but they can not accept a decision which put unemployment at around 200 priests

and controllers of Moroccan origin - and would lose revenue associated with this "control",

calling this "windfall" to the Algerians.

In fact, the Moroccan community is preparing to launch its own organization for the control of

meat "Halal" means the Islamic Cultural Center of Evry recently established the association

"Halalan Tayyeban" (Pur Halal), which will monitor the slaughter animals and distribute the

"Halal label" the butcher: "This label will be withdrawn in case of fraud," said Khalil Merroun,

and we reserve the right to denounce fraud in the press "! Does this is not to create an

organization of more? "No, responds Khalil Merroun, our association will be based on a well-

established, and we gèrerons funds raised in a very transparent: the Great Mosque of Paris does

not operate with transparency".

"It is obvious that Morocco intends to monitor the community", a replica Dalil Boubakeur,

rector of the Great Mosque of Paris, "but we do not have the same story: I did not approve of the

presence of fundamentalists in their midst. I do not want people impose Islam "Barbus" ... We

do not share the same values: I know the laws of the Republic since my childhood. "

Towards a french Islam?

Long before the creation in 1990 of CORIF (Council of Reflection on Islam in France) by

Interior Minister Pierre Joxe, the French authorities have dreamed of giving birth, or help to

create a "council" An interlocutor who could speak on behalf of Muslims in France, as

Protestants or Jews have their central organization. The french government wanted to have a

single interlocutor which it could apply, but mostly he wanted to give birth to a "french Islam",

cutting its ties with Morocco and Algeria: the French authorities, left or right - sought also to

prevent the FIS in Algeria to extend its influence in France ...

CHRIS KUTSCHERA

30 YEARS OF REPORT

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