MPs have rejected plans to make food outlets label meat from animals killed in accordance with religious practices, such as halal or kosher.
Conservative Philip Davies, who proposed the Commons debate, said there was a “huge public demand” to know more about where food came from. But consumer affairs minister Jenny Willott said the government did not think regulation was the best approach.
Mr Davies’ amendment to the Consumer Rights Bill failed by 264 votes.
On the eve of elections to the European Parliament, the Pew Research Center has published its latest report on public opinion in the EU. It is based on face-to-face and telephone surveys in seven countries: France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The ‘Trojan Horse’ plot allegations in British media aim at discrediting the work of Muslim educationalists, argues Ibrahim Hewitt.
Calls to label meat products with information about animal welfare at slaughter must not be hijacked by prejudice, according to the British Veterinary Association, which has been campaigning for an end to non-stun slaughter.
On the day that MPs debate an amendment to the Consumer Rights Bill calling for compulsory labelling of halal and kosher food, the President of the BVA has written to the three main party leaders asking them to support its call for food labelling to state whether the animal has been stunned in line with welfare legislation or not stunned under the legal derogation.
Recent media coverage about restaurants and supermarkets using and selling meat from halal and kosher slaughter has raised awareness of the issue of welfare at slaughter, but an enormous amount of confusion remains over how consumers can make an informed choice.
In the letters to David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband, BVA explains that labelling all halal and kosher products will do nothing to inform the public about the very proper concerns regarding welfare at slaughter but could fuel further confusion and potentially feed prejudice.
“Halal meat controversy is about unnecessary cruelty to animals and NOT Islamaphobia.” Well, that’s what Carole Malone claimed in her column in yesterday’s Sunday Mirror.
According to Malone, not previously known for her command of the finer points of Islamic theology, halal slaughter is not mandated by the Qur’an but is based on the Hadith – described by Malone as “teachings written 300 years after the Prophet died which are often used to justify hardline views”. Therefore, Malone asserts: “No Muslim is bound by his or her religion to eat halal meat.”
You might think this line of argument sounds familiar, and you would be right. Malone has lifted it straight from an article by the appalling Taj Hargey, published by the Daily Mail on its Right Minds blog last week.
You can understand why Islamophobes should be enthusiastic about Hargey’s article, which describes the sale of halal meat products by Subway and Pizza Express as “covert religious extremism and creeping Islamic fundamentalism making its way into Britain by the back door”. With a nod to the witch-hunt currently being conducted in Birmingham schools, Hargey concludes: “It is high time the white, liberal, Guardian-reading classes stopped behaving like apologists and woke up. There is a fundamentalist Trojan horse in our midst, and we must take corrective action.”
“The problem isn’t Islam. It’s your movement to demonize Islam in the liberal left.” Rabia Chaudry calls out US comedian/TV host Bill Maher.
Update: See Omar Baddar, “5 things Bill Maher got wrong in latest Islam rant”, Huffington Post, 13 May 2014
And Fatimah Mazhar, “Why Bill Maher’s Islamophobia is way more dangerous than right wing bigotry”, Carbonated.tv, 13 May 2014
Halal meat is on every menu; sharia law is taking over; the niqab is undermining the nation. Ever noticed how often the same old stories keep appearing about Muslims in Britain? Here’s the truth about these and other media myths. Nesrine Malik writes.
Reports and comment from Islamophobia Watch 5‑11 May 2014
Far right activists have targeted mosques in Bradford attempting to hand out Bibles and distribute leaflets accusing community elders of failing to stop grooming gangs.
It is believed members of Britain First, some wearing uniforms, staged the protests at 10 places of worship in the city centre. The group posted images of themselves on Facebook confronting members of the Asian community.
They also visited the office of Labour councillor Nazam Azam. Mr Azam said: “They have come to Bradford to cause residents to fear for their safety. As far as I understand they have tried to access mosques. They tried to hand out leaflets but I don’t know anyone who took anything.”
He added: “It is concerning and disturbing. We have a lot of good work going on in Bradford in terms of community cohesion and for people trying to disturb that the people of Bradford won’t fall for it.”
Mr Azam said the police had been called although West Yorkshire Police could not confirm the incidents on Sunday. It is believed around 10 people took part in the action.
Rotherham was brought to a standstill when hundreds of English Defence League protesters marched through the town.
Hundreds of people from the EDL marched through the town centre between 1pm and 3pm on Saturday, with another large group from Unite Against Fascism holding a counter-protest at the same time.
A huge police presence of around 1,000 officers from forces around the country outnumbered both groups and ensured the march took place largely peacefully. There were no arrests and police said the event saw ‘minimal disruption and no disorder’.
Barriers were set up around the town centre, with the opposing groups cordoned off from each other. The groups traded insults across the barriers but were kept well apart.
EDL members chanted songs mentioning Islam and Allah as they marched. They gathered in All Saints Square to listen to speakers who insisted the organisation is ‘patriotic’, rather than racist.