Report : The Muslim Consumer as the Key Player in Halal
The efforts made by the association known as "Integrity" and its creation of the "Tayyibah" (a gathering of about 70 Muslim associations) have permit the French Muslim communiy’s establishment of a definition of halal that has been validated by Professor Muhammad Hamidullah [1] in Paris in 1982.
Definition of Professor Muhammad Hamidullah : Paris August 15, 1982 Meats are considered Muslim (Halal) from religious slaughter performed exclusively, without stunning, by a Muslim, as follows :
Turn the throat of the animal towards the direction of the Kaaba (in Mecca, south-east France)
Invoking the name of God by the slaughterer before bleeding, on each animal, using the formula : "Bismillah, Allahu Akbar "(i.e., The name of God, God is the greatest)
Cut the larynx, using a sharp instrument, the jugular veins, carotid arteries and the trachea, but no the spine
But this definition has been counterned by almost all the Muslim stakeholders n the halal marketplace, including the three great mosques (Paris, Evry, Lyon). more dangerious of this is the several attempts conducted by the Paris Mosque in order to generalize the use of stunning within the Mulim religious slaughter.
The creation of ASIDCOM, in 2006, is a continuation of the fight of Muslim consumers to establish respect for their rights, make known their true needs and require its recognition by various institutions and stakeholders within the economic and political spheres within France. the Muslim consumer leaves gradually his posture of passive and forgotten halal stakeholders.
The association ASIDCOM will try in this report to analyze consumers’ responses to a set of surveys which they undertook. This analysis aims to :
Determine the consumers’ opinions on various topics related to halal,
Determine the mindset of the consumer and the degree of his mastery/knowledge of subjects related to halal,
Collect some useful information about the response of Muslims to possible reforms or improvements in providing halal foods for the French Muslim consumer.
[1] Muhammad Hamidullah was a Muhaddith, Faqih, scholar of Islamic law and an academic author (french CNRS researcher) (Web page wikipedia)