Halal Meat: Indian Muslims Campaign Against Halal Beef

Seeking religious harmony in the Indian community, a leading Muslim group has announced the formation of a committee that will be advising Muslims against beef meat consumption to avoid hurting the Hindus’ sentiments.

The committee will propose the “formation of cow protection committees wherever they are formed must have 30 per cent Muslims, 30 per cent tribals and the remaining 40 per cent from other communities,” Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (JUH) vice-president, Abdul Qayyum Haque, told The Indian Express on Wednesday, August 27.

Named Gau Hifazat, the newly-formed committee by JUH in Gujarat aims to end selling beef meat by Muslims along with stopping cow sacrifices by some Muslims during `Eid Al-Adha.

Over the past year, members of JUH have been raising the awareness of the Muslim community about the campaign, cautioning them against cow slaughter.

Hindus believe that the cow is sacred, and many Hindus worship it.

The cow beef has always sparked communal tensions in India.

Earlier this month, a Hindu mob has attacked Muslim shop owners in Gurgaon village in the north Indian state of Haryana and ransacked their stores after accusing them of selling beef meat.

The Hindu attack has forced dozens of Muslim families to flee the Hindu-majority village.

Hindu right-wing organizations, like Vishwa Hindu Parishad, have been campaigning against cow slaughter, calling for punishing butchers who sell beef meat.

The protecting cows committee, which includes 15 members, started work in Bharuch and Surat districts on Tuesday this week to convince Muslims to use other halal meat options.

“So far, we have toured 62 villages and administered pledges to community people to go by our advice to keep respect religious sentiments of the majority community,” Haque said.

Muslims in India constitute 14 percent population of the country.

The concept of halal, — meaning permissible in Arabic — has traditionally been applied to food.

Muslims should only eat meat from livestock slaughtered by a sharp knife from their necks, and the name of Allah, the Arabic word for God, must be mentioned.

Islam provides details about avoiding any unnecessary

Originally published on www.onislam.net