No, Halal and Kosher Are Not the Same

In an age where truth matters little, where image trumps substance, and where widespread ignorance in so many areas reigns supreme, it is not surprising to find people totally clueless about Islam and its agenda in general, and the issue of halal foods and products in particular.

Part of that ignorance manifests itself in the all too common response when you seek to warn about the huge halal industry: ‘Yes but halal is the same thing as kosher.’ Um no, not even close. While there are some similarities, there certainly are some big differences which we must be aware of.

Similarities

From a superficial overview, it might seem that both of these things are quite straightforward, benign, and no big deal. Simply put, both have to do with which foods are acceptable or unacceptable to those of two different faith traditions.

In Islam, halal foods and products are those that are permissible for the Muslim, while haram foods and products are prohibited and unlawful. The Koran speaks to this in various places, such as surahs 2:172-173 and 5:3-5. Major haram items are pork and alcohol.

In Judaism kosher foods are those allowed to Jews and are not prohibited in the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Places like Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 speak to this. The lists are more detailed than what is found in the Koran. Pork is also not allowed for Jews, as for Muslims.

There are halal certification bodies which charge fees for their services, and to an extent it is the same with kosher items. However, that the halal industry is big bucks and part of a greater effort to Islamicise the West is found in just how far-ranging it has become of late.

Things never dreamed of in the Koran and the hadith are now said to be covered by halal certification. In Australia this includes the following:

cat food
milk
Easter eggs
honey
Cadbury chocolates such as Freddo Frogs and others
Vegemite
Bega cheese
Calcium and Vitamin C tablets
Johnson’s Baby Bath
baby food
McDonalds’ fish fillet
plastic wrapping
cutlery

Easter eggs? Plastic wrap? Indeed, many hundreds of companies in Australia now pay for halal certification, including Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, and Franklins. That this is a money-making scam should be clear to many. But that leads me to look further at the various differences between the two.

Differences

The truth is, the differences between halal and kosher far outweigh the similarities. Let me start with a particular set of differences – that which has to do with animal slaughter. Only Jews who have been specially trained are allowed to slaughter kosher animals, while Islamic slaughter can be performed by most adult Muslims.

The two methods are different as well. For example, invoking the name of God is essential in halal slaughter, but not in kosher slaughter. Also, halal slaughter is something that most folks are rightly concerned about. The RSPCA for example has spoken out against it, seeking to have it banned because of all the cruelty and suffering the animal can undergo when it is not first properly stunned.

Some might say this is no different than kosher slaughter, but there are differences. It seems that the Jewish method of slaughter, shechita, causes no suffering, pain or distress to the animal:
http://www.shechitauk.org/testimonials/

For a good overview of some more of these differences, see this article: https://www.jewsnews.co.il/2013/11/03/some-differences-between-kosher-meat-and-halal-meat-thank-g-d-i-keep-kosher.html

Moreover, generally all Kosher products come with a label. But routinely many halal products do not, and the consumer is usually left unclear as to if it is or is not. Furthermore Jews living in host countries over the centuries have not sought to impose kosher dietary laws onto others.

And this leads to some really important differences here. We need to see the bigger picture – in this case, the major differences between Judaism and Islam. As many have noted, it is probably more accurate to call Islam a political ideology instead of just another religion.

As its founder, history and key texts have always made clear, the global spread of Islam, the establishment of a universal caliphate, the endgame of seeing everyone submit to Allah (by death, conversion, or dhimmitude) is what Islam is all about.

It seeks global supremacy, with everyone under the rule of sharia law. And something like the halal scheme is just one facet of this. It is what we refer to as creeping sharia or stealth jihad. Sharia law for everyone is the end in view here. As just one indication of this, consider the words of Dr Mustafa Ceric, the grand mufti of Bosnia and a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Speaking at a conference in Islamabad, Pakistan in December 2010, he said there was a need to “conquer the world through the Halal movement, as Halal means pure and hygienic and the non-Muslim world will have no choice but to accept it”.

Those who have studied Islam closely are well aware of this halal jihad. Sam Solomon for example discusses how the halal industry fits in with this global creeping sharia:

Halal food markets, Islamic dress markets, Sharia-compliant finance and banking, Islamic education, Sharia courts, etc., are all part and parcel of a unified, multifaceted socio-political-religious process deployed to transform the existing society from a civil/liberal/secular/pluralistic society into an Islamic society. The envisioned Islamic society would be a society whereby Islam is supreme over all other worldviews, both secular and religious, and whereby the civil/liberal/secular law is subservient to Islamic law.
www.christianconcern.com/sites/default/files/20190114_ChristianConcern_PolicyReport_HalalFoods.pdf?utm_source=Christian+Concern&utm_campaign=4f69a375f9-WN-20190118&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9e164371ca-4f69a375f9-127548293

Is halal certification really needed?

Finally, one can look at the whole notion of just how necessary halal is for the Muslim. If it can be shown that most of it is quite unnecessary, then we can indeed see all this as a scam, as a tax, as a type of extortion, and as a revenue-raiser.

That huge amounts of money are being raised, with at least some of it funnelled in some very worrying directions (eg., the funding of overseas jihadist activities) has been demonstrated by many. I have documented some of these concerns here: http://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/09/02/halal-certification-follow-the-money/

But the truth is, Islamic law does not record intricate certification procedures, and halal certifications seems to be a recent business construct. Thus we now have dozens of halal certification bodies in Australia. They seem to be designed not to help the Muslim know what to eat or abstain from, but to soften up the West to Islamic beliefs and practices – and make a whole lot of money in the process.

One Australian expert on Islam, Dr. Bernie Power, has laid out the case as to why the halal certification movement may in fact contradict basic Islamic principles. He notes that some significant international Muslim scholars actually resist the scheme.

He identifies “ten reasons based on the Qur’an and the Hadith, and corroborated by Islamic scholars, which demonstrate that halal certification is not necessary or is contrary to accepted Islamic beliefs”:

Reason 1: In Islam, Allah is the supreme law-giver, whereas halal certification undertakes that role for itself.
Reason 2: Halal certificates are unnecessary, since halal is the default setting for most food.
Reason 3: Halal materials should not be declared haram.
Reason 4: Halal certificates are unnecessary because the food of Christians and Jews (called ‘People of the Book’ in the Qur’an) is halal for Muslims.
Reason 5: The issuing of halal certificates is bid’ah (innovation), which is forbidden in Islam: such certificates are not legitimate under Islamic law.
Reason 6: Halal certification opposes the Islamic principle of justice.
Reason 7: Halal certification impedes economic development and diversity by concentrating capital in the hands of the wealthy few.
Reason 8: Halal certification combats the Islamic ideal of brotherhood (Q.49:10; 3:103), for halal certification is destroying social cohesion in the Muslim community.
Reason 9: Halal certification denies the applicability of prophetic example. Muhammad ate meat from Jews and Christians without any such certificate.
Reason 10: Halal certificates oppose the truth, for they may promote error and falsehood.

You can read his lengthy and detailed research paper here: http://www.mst.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/The-Halal-Certification-controversy.pdf

Conclusion

In sum, the incessant and sweeping push for halal foods and products by Muslims is not only far different than kosher foods in Judaism, but it is a genuine concern for all those who value freedom, democracy, and genuine pluralism. And this is something many, many people are legitimately worried about.

As just one indication of this, less than 48 hours ago I posted an article on halal and creeping sharia, and in the short time it has been up on my website, it has already had well over 5000 shares on Facebook. People have a very real concern about the implications of halal certification and its role in the spread of Islam, something they just do not have with Judaism and kosher foodstuffs. https://billmuehlenberg.com/2019/01/19/halal-foods-and-creeping-sharia/

Let me close with the warnings of an Egyptian woman who recently wrote an impassioned letter to Western countries, urging us to wake up to the realities of Islam. She reminds us that Islam is not so much a religion as an expansionist political ideology, one which is simply incompatible with Western values and our way of life:

Islam is a supremacist, racist political and social ideology wrapped in a thin peel of religious rituals. It seeks domination and supremacy over all other systems and religions…. Muslims use your own democratic laws and values against you, and they do it successfully while you keep sleeping as if as in a deep coma. This is why the leftists are the people who are worthy of the title ‘useful idiots.’ They are in a perpetual state of shame and self-loathing and will be the first victims of Islam once it takes over.

Since the halal industry – unlike kosher dietary laws – is a big part of the Islamic takeover of the West, we need to heed her words:

Your country is like your house; you expect visitors who come to your house to respect you and respect your rules, not the opposite. Visitors must appreciate your kindness and your generosity for receiving them into your home and not imposing their own rules on you. This is your house, you own it, so you have the obligation to protect it and defend it. If the visitor doesn’t like your rules, all he has to do is to leave. Nobody obliged him to visit you, and nobody will prevent him from leaving. As he came to your house by his own choice, he can leave your house freely or by force, if required.
https://www.israelislamandendtimes.com/brutal-warning-to-america-from-egyptian-woman-wake-up-or-be-wiped-out/?fbclid=IwAR3N6YRE7pijQgtxpcLvXuUVtwDqQ3hOlOwDxpLAkCLKnW0rjmxbtJVyaC4

[1756 words]

26 Replies to “No, Halal and Kosher Are Not the Same”

  1. Spot on, Bill. Honestly, the barbaric practices within Islam are disgusting. See this for example: https://www.jewsnews.co.il/2013/11/03/some-differences-between-kosher-meat-and-halal-meat-thank-g-d-i-keep-kosher.html
    If we needed further evidence of the evils of Islam, we don’t need to look far. I’ve always believed that a cruel person can be recognized via the way he/she treats animals. And I’ve seen this confirmed many times over the years. Of courser Islam extends this cruelty far beyond animals, into every area of life. That is because it is in itself an evil and despicable ideology that should have been banned when it first came into existence.

  2. “Moreover, generally all Kosher products come with a label. But routinely many halal products do not, and the consumer is usually left unclear as to if it is or is not.”

    Kosher Australia provides a comprehensive subscription service, both online and in print, detailing which products are, or are no longer, kosher. This covers those products which do not contain Kosher certification labelling.


    https://kosher.org.au/register

  3. Halal certification is nothing more than creeping Sharia.

    Halal certification fees are nothing more than Islamic rivers-of-gold.

    Halal slaughter, with its requirement for MUSLIM MALE slaughter MEN, is nothing more than workplace discrimination.

    Halal slaughter itself is nothing more than barbarism.

    I and my family will no longer shop at Woolworths.

  4. Dear Ann,

    That link is full or fake news and lies.

    My family comes from the Middle East so we know all about both Jewish and Muslim ritual slaughter rules.

    I am one of the biggest critics of Islam but my criticisms are based on facts not lies. Our cause doesn’t need to resort to lies to prove our point. And if we do we risk being discredited if our lies are exposed. Here are the facts on religious slaughter in Australia.

    The follow the money trail argument is too complicated for Australians to understand. Cory Bernardi tried it and got nowhere.

    The winning argument is to say the slaughter of any animal without stunning is barbaric and should be outlawed in Australia. We can easily build a coalition of Christians, secular anti-Islam activists and animal rights activists to ban Halal strict slaughter methods, as many countries in Europe are doing this now, and if Kosher gets caught up too well feel sorry for them but there are bigger things at stake, and in any case Australia is a Christian Nation and in a Christian Nation no other religion can demand special laws to accommodate them. As “Magda Borham” wrote:

    “Your country is like your house; you expect visitors who come to your house to respect you and respect your rules, not the opposite. Visitors must appreciate your kindness and your generosity for receiving them into your home and not imposing their own rules on you. This is your house, you own it, so you have the obligation to protect it and defend it. If the visitor doesn’t like your rules, all he has to do is to leave. Nobody obliged him to visit you, and nobody will prevent him from leaving. As he came to your house by his own choice, he can leave your house freely or by force, if required.”

  5. Thanks Micheal. But the link Ann gives is the same link I gave. And it is similar to the link you gave, showing real differences between Islamic and Jewish animal slaughter methods. So I am not sure what your point is, and what all these lies are you speak of.

    And of course I also quoted Magda Borham in my article.

  6. Thank you for this enlightening article, Bill. It’s one of those, “rightly dividing the word of truth” sort of essays. Some things seem so very innocent and many participate in unbiblical things due to ignorance. And I mean, ignorance in the Webster’s dictionary true meaning…they aren’t dummies, they are just ignorant of the facts and/or don’t grasp the depth and significance of the choices they are making. Gosh, it seems like we now live in a time when even what seems small and like no big deal is enough to put our unintentional imprimatur on behavior and choices that make us enablers of false doctrine, the doctrine of demons, and participants of the devilish PC crowd. After all, PC fanaticism is nothing more than a method of the enemy to stop any discussion to the contrary dead in its’ tracks…. Especially to block another person from explaining the biblical position or the gospel to another person. (Oops. forgive me, I’m beginning to ramble. As you well know, there’s just so much that can be said on this topic).

  7. There is a debate within the Muslim community over whether meat from animals which are killed after first being stunned can be considered Halal. While research undertaken by Meat & Livestock Australia supports the use of pre-slaughter stunning, Ikebal Patel, the then president of AFIC, believes, “the jury is still out”. The RSPCA says while the vast majority of halal slaughter in Australia involves pre-slaughter stunning, “the slaughter of a fully conscious animal is inhumane and completely unnecessary” and is strongly lobbying for action against this practice for all domestic and export animals.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halal_certification_in_Australia

    Halal Boss Slams Australian Men

    https://m.facebook.com/BenFordhamRadio/posts/1578387682193034

  8. THE TERROR TAX. (Part 12)

    Australian consumers nervously worry that their hard earned dollars might be making their way from the checkout counter to terrorist organisations, which have tentacles reaching into Australia. It sounds like another conspiracy theory, until you take a closer look.

    http://pickeringpost.com/story/the-terror-tax-/4608

  9. Dear Bill, my point is nowhere in Australian abattoirs is it “required the animal be bled out in agony while sick people who get off watching that kind of thing have a “festival””.

    This doesn’t even happen for commercial meat sold as Halal in Lebanon.

    Sorry I didn’t open all of your links and only saw it when Ann posted it again.

    But the fact is that link contains a lot of hyperbole and misinformation if not outright lies. And and even if some people somewhere in the Middle East do that for religious festivals this doesn’t happen in Australia (easily checked on the internet). And since our aim is to ban Halal certified foods, and if not all foods then at least meats sold under Halal certification (to slow the flow of money to terrorists) “articles” like that link only damage our credibility.

    Cory Bernardi has tried to raise awareness about Halal taxes paid by Aussies going to terrorists but let’s be honest, that hasn’t got a lot of traction. It’s something definitely worth fighting for though, and I thank you for being in the front line on this issue. But in the meantime we can have a quick win by forming a coalition of Christians, secular anti-Islam activists and animal rights activists to ban Halal strict slaughter methods. The MSM would love it, they would promote it any chance they get. Why don’t we fight this battle and enjoy a quick win while fighting the longer game to ban all Halal certification?

    I would have never thought of forming a coalition with animal right people but it’s something you wrote that made me change my mind esp. the bit about people who avoid sinners but “end up doing little for the Kingdom”.

  10. Thanks Michael. But simply making an assertion that an article is full of lies without actually pointing them all out and countering them is not all that helpful. And what I was quoting from had to do with the American scene, not Australia. But leaving all that aside, here is my main reply: If some folks think that both Jewish and Islamic animal slaughter methods are just peachy, or that they stink and should be banned, that is up to them. I still think there are some differences between the two.

    However, that was NOT the main point of my article. Sadly that seems to have gotten lost here by some folks. The main point I wanted to emphasise was this: there are bigger and more important issues that we should be worried about concerning halal. What I really wanted to do in this article was demonstrate how halal is part of global creeping sharia, and that is completely unlike kosher dietary laws.

  11. Zakat

    As one of the Five Pillars of Islam, zakat is a religious obligation for all Muslims who meet the necessary criteria of wealth. It is a mandatory charitable contribution, the right of the poor to find relief from the rich, and is considered to be a tax, or obligatory alms.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakat

    According to the Quran’s Surah Al-Tawba, there are eight categories of people (asnaf) who qualify to benefit from zakat funds.

    Category 7. Those fighting for a religious cause or a cause of God (F? Sab?lill?h), or for Jihad in the way of Allah by means of pen, word, or sword, or for Islamic warriors who fight against the unbelievers but are not salaried soldiers.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakat#Distribution

  12. Okay, so I’ve been following numerous links by those who’ve commented on your original article and links, Bill. I think the bottom line is that no matter how halal meats end up in their markets, we are best advised to avoid them and go elsewhere for similar grocery products. Seek out kosher shops if you are strict about this sort of thing. I choose the Mediterranean Diet because I like it…period. But, hey, you can get all the necessary ingredients at your local WalMart. Sheesh, it’s that simple, at least here in the USA. The Mediterranean Diet is a type of cuisine and isn’t about whether the ingredients used are halal or kosher. Let’s don’t absentmindedly support false gods by buying foods dedicated to their false deity. This article has spelled this all out for us. Can you any longer claim innocence…that you did not know?

  13. Whoops,
    I missed something important in the previous article, and it is mentioned more clearly here’ “many hundreds of companies in Australia now pay for halal certification, including Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, and Franklins.”

    Why? why? are the supermarkets paying for Halal certification?
    How is it calculated?
    Does this mean that Muslims can now buy anything from Woolworths, etc and it is halal without having to check the label?
    Perhaps now pork and alcohol are thus halal? (I joke… for now …)

    Does this mean that a halal fee has been paid multiple times?
    e.g. at the slaughter house, then at the base product manufacturer then at the final product manufacturer, then the packer, then the retailer?

    I’m building a head of steam here.

  14. Of course, the missing voices here are the animal rights people, who have no interest in religion, but only seek to defend animals? Where are they, nowhere to be seen, well heard ? is there a pattern here I wonder, as Where is the feminist’s outrage over the rape and trafficking of teen girls some, pre-teen! by the men of “the religion of peace”? nowhere to be seen? Where was the police when a father called them as he had located the place where a group of Muslim men were raping his schoolgirl daughter? Nowhere to be seen, oh sorry they were arresting the father who called them, however, the police did manage to get the “set” as our brave and courageous police only targeted a 13-year-old girl for arrest at a yellow vest demonstration in London? Where was the outrage? nowhere to be seen.

    Until governments see, those who they are going to invite in, as guests, guests who must be compatible with the values and traditions of the society who created and voted for the institution that is inviting the guests in.

    Adults need to ask politicians regularly what right they have to invite in, those who have different values and traditions into our home, after all, England is my HOMEland and I’m sure you guys have HOMElands that you value as much as I value mine.

    If someone is escaping persecution and becomes a guest of another country where the meat may not be consumed for religious reasons, then I’m sorry you either have to become vegetarian or find refuge in a country that has your values and traditions. I think discussing the rights and wrongs of their traditions should have been done before letting the guests in. If this did not take place, then the discussion to have is with the government, like Mr Government you have two important actions you need to do.

    1. Send back those who do not have our values and traditions.

    2. Resign your post as you are incompetent.

  15. May Grace and peace be extended to you Bill from our Heavenly Father, Thank you once again Bill, i use work in the livestock industry in Australia. For a change to be made now will be extremely difficult as the only large abattoirs who do not use Muslim slaughtermen are works who slaughter only pigs.
    God Bless you & all your readers
    Mark Bryant

  16. If most, of much, of the products certified as halal are not marked as such, how is the poor Muslim supposed to know whether it is proper to eat it? If he doesn’t need to know, then surely it wasn’t necessary in the first place?

  17. On the subject of halal a person stated on Facebook that if you change the position of the letters in halal you will get Allah.

    Once again Bill you have hit the nail on the head. Thank God for you and the amazing articles you write to further educate us on so many issues.

  18. Yet when you write to the immigration department as I have done asking that no more Muslim immigration be allowed all you get in reply is that Australian immigration policy is non-discriminatory and how law abiding and peace loving most Muslim immigrants are. I am sure that is true yet if it is true that halal is part of the creeping sharia law to be imposed on all Australians eventually then the fewer muslims there are the better. If an august body like the RSPCA has condemned the practice of slaughtering animals without stunning them first we should sit up and take notice.

  19. Dear Bill,
    I think that the young English school girl Sarah Clark’s response to your halal food blog is quite profound.
    Sarah has hit the nail on the head when it comes to the root cause and the consequences of our current Godless society’s troubles.
    She touches on many points and even offers a prediction of the end result of our lapsed Christian world.(our Just Deserts)
    It’s is worth an extra read.
    God Bless Sarah Clark.
    Regards,
    Terry McDonnell

  20. Well, Mr McDonnell, your post is definitely going to go into my eotp and it will be alongside my dad’s cereal bowl in the morning. I have to tell you I do not have many such posts, in fact, well, we won’t go down the, in fact, road at this time as it will take the smile off my face.

    I think Mr M’s, Halal meat point that he wanted to explore got “hijack” to one degree or another a few times and it must have been really frustrating for him. I was concerned we were searching out the mechanism as if we found it that would somehow solve the problem. I think it is the case that Mr M is in the early stages of Islamification perhaps where I am in its pit. So imagine what I have been exposed to in my location, which is rape and trafficking of teen girls my age, the police knew it was going on for years so did social services, parents were taking registration numbers of the cars the girls were being transported in, and given to the police, nothing was done to save those girls, since the Muslim population wasn’t to be upset. I can’t describe to you in words just how seriously fallen a society has to become to sacrifice the mothers of tomorrow, for a view of tomorrow that didn’t include them in any meaningful way, as that is the only conclusion any rational person could come to. Allowing that to go on has such a low view on children one would have to ask did any of those men have children of their own, and we now know some of those muslin men were kissing their daughter’s goodnight, and then going and raping someone else’s daughter. I’m sure some of those policemen went home to their children and kissed them while knowing someone’s daughter was being trafficked like a lump of meat that had less of a value than the aforementioned halal meat. My dad and brother would protect me with their very lives since I am an important part of their tomorrows. Of course, if you believe your god told you to take over the world and to use the sword, rape and taxes to do so then, of course, those children were nothing more than spoils of war. If your view is we are just fizzing chemistry sets, then so what if one fizzing chemistry set rapes another. Yet, what if your God told you to love your neighbour, what if he said you and your enemy are made in his image and have innate value? Well, that as you have seen is despised more than those schoolgirls who were just liberal fodder to show how inclusive they were, note how generous such people are with others’ lives! No, I’m afraid the issue isn’t Halal meat its utter godlessness.

    Now, my dad didn’t invite terror into my country, whoever did needs holding to account and to do that we do not want to offer them a discussion of halal meat, the burqa or anything other than who gave them the right to bring such people into our communities? They did not get that mandate from us to change our customs and traditions so they need to start returning those in our communities back to where they came from. The problem isn’t ours, it’s the ones who delivered them into our communities and then demanded we adopted them. I’m sorry adoption doesn’t work that way.

    This is the hard bit we have to overcome and it’s going to take courage, you and I have got to become bulletproof to the bullets, Islamophobe, Nazis, Racist or any word that is used instead of an argument but used to stop the conversation. Interestingly the police admit those words concerned them more than the concern for the girls being raped, if this sounds unbelievable I can give you the link to the video where the police were being grilled by a committee trying to get to the cause (the cause was rapist were invited into our communities without our express permission. The police’s failing was the result of that.) but even without that video you know the truth of that, as you daily live with and accept the equivalent which is a mother going to a man who will pull apart an innocent baby limb from limb simply because the baby is an inconvenience to her. do you see the godlessness of your existence, mine too?

    Finally, to drive my point home, a man who survived the gulags in the Ussr by the name of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. If you haven’t read the Gulag Archipelago you should read it. He wrote extensively on what happened in the gulags (I cried myself to sleep having read some of what went on) and when he asked the elder generation how this all came about their response was, since we had forgotten God, their society became Godless and the results are just the same wherever that happens.

    Thanks again, Mr McDonnell and God bless you too.
    Sarah xx.

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