Hello Halal?

Someone called Neil Loughbrough recently wrote this in Facebook about halal meat in the UK. My reply is in italics. 

 
In some places — including hospitals and certain high streets — halal has quietly become the default option. That doesn’t sit right with me. In Britain, people should be able to choose food that matches their own beliefs, traditions, or personal preferences. No one should feel pushed into eating something they didn’t knowingly choose, or feel they have to go hungry, or be labelled as racist simply for questioning the food options available.

Hospitals are a good example. When someone is ill, stressed, or recovering, the last thing they need is to be told there’s only one type of meat available — especially if it doesn’t align with their own beliefs or comfort. A hospital should offer non‑halal as the standard option, with halal available for those who want it. That’s basic fairness.

I also think councils should have the power to ensure that high streets don’t end up with only one type of food outlet. On my own local high street, halal‑only places have become the norm rather than the exception. It’s only right to point this out, because it affects people’s ability to choose what they eat. A British high street should offer a proper mix of choices — traditional British food, non‑halal options, halal options, vegan, vegetarian — not just one category dominating everything.

I know people have different views on halal, and I’m aware that some in this group would prefer to see it removed from certain settings altogether. But I genuinely believe the first step is much simpler: give customers a clear choice.

Right now, many foods that were traditionally non‑halal have quietly switched to halal without most people realising. If everything was labelled clearly, people could make an informed decision. And if customers consistently chose non‑halal when given a fair choice, businesses might rethink their approach. They might even reverse decisions that were made without public awareness.

This isn’t about attacking anyone’s diet. It’s about transparency, informed choice, and respecting everyone’s preferences.

Clear labelling protects everyone.
It avoids arguments.
It stops people being judged for asking questions.
And it lets the public decide what they want to buy — not have it decided for them.

  

What a lot of nonsense! When my wife and I were living in Saudi Arabia, sometimes we wanted to eat a pork chop or drink a beer. Sometimes I wanted to wear a pair of shorts because it was so blooming hot. Guess what? I could not do any of these things (and I could not do many other things as well!) Halal slaughter is an important part of Islam, the Muslim religion. Islam is not about choice, personal preferences, freedom and the rights of the individual. 

On the other hand, you have said absolutely nothing about the wicked cruelty of halal slaughter. Halal slaughter is not quick and painless: it is slow, agonizing and terrifying. Perhaps you do not give a damn about animal suffering, Neil Loughbrough. Are you really so stupid and so selfish?

My own view is that absolutely no halal meat should ever be on sale in the UK. Halal slaughter is cruel and barbaric, involving a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering for the animal. NO halal meat should ever be sold in the UK. If we support the RSPCA and claim that we are a nation of "animal lovers", then our desire to protect animals from a slow and painful death is completely incompatible with the wicked and evil practice of halal slaughter.

  
 If we think about Islam in a more general context, I can tell you that Islam is not about "protecting everyone", "an informed decision" or "basic fairness". This is utter garbage! I have lived in several Muslim-majority countries, so I think I know what I am talking about. For example, what is fair about LGBTQ people being thrown to their deaths from the roofs of buildings? How can you talk about "protecting everyone", Neil Loughbrough, when apostates from Islam (people who do not want to be Muslims any more) are often murdered? Do you really think that girls and women are given their "personal preferences" in Afghanistan or in Sudan or in Pakistan or in Saudi Arabia or in any other dreadful Islamic country? 

I am amazed that you could post something on Facebook that is so naive, gormless and ill-informed, Neil Loughbrough. Islam is incompatible with British values and traditions. Islam always has been incompatible with those things that most British people hold dear and it always will be. 

It is not just about the "food options available". Halal meat is just the tip of the Islamic iceberg. What kind of country is the UK is rapidly becoming because of illegal Muslim immigration and our spineless politicians giving in to Islam and refusing to stand up for traditional British values? The Islamification of the UK is already happening and it is not simply a question of whether or not your local butcher shop is selling bacon and pork sausages. You say that customers should have a "clear choice", but I say that the British people were NEVER given any choice about whether they wanted their country invaded by illegal Muslim immigrants. Female genital mutilation, Sharia law, Muslim grooming gangs, Christian street preachers being arrested, people afraid to speak the truth in the country that invented the concept of "free speech": these things are a bit more important than some pieces of meat. 

Probably because you are a dishonest person, Neil Loughbrough, you have not mentioned Muslims or Islam even once in your piece of writing about halal meat. You are a coward because you do not want to face up to reality. As long as meat is labelled properly, you are not going to confront the truth about Islam. That is almost as stupid and as selfish as someone saying, "As long as they make the trains run on time, I don't mind the Nazis, Adolf Hitler and the murder of millions of Jews."

A lady called Aisha replied to my post. In the interests of fairness, this is what she wrote.

Have you visited abattoirs where animals are killed with non-halal methods? I did and it was horrendous. If the stun gun misses its target only slightly, the animals suffers great pain and it knows another one is coming. Animals are screaming and howling, wait their turn to be slaughtered. In a halal abattoir, each animal is sequestered from the cutting and it is quick, silent and dignified. I have seen both and even before I embraced Islam, my money was on halal slaughter.

In terms of the rest of the response, whoever wrote it sounds more Fascist than Neil. There is so much nonsense in the whole piece. The UK is far from being a Christian country. Churches are empty and are being sold off to avoid maintenance. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, as it represents the truth. Many of the converts are highly educated, reasoned thinkers who are able to discern the hyperbole of the likes of Trump, Farage, Musk and wee Tommy R.

The world is a mad, crazy place right and I think that there are many, many issues facing us, the least of which is the banning of halal outlets. If you were the writer of this piece, then I am glad that none of my family were pupils of such a closed mind.  

 

With John Cann, just outside Jeddah

I have seen Islam for myself: in Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. I appreciate that Islam is not entirely homogeneous, the same wherever you go. I have had some Muslim friends who were lovely, kind and genuine people. I have absolutely no desire to upset or offend any individual Muslims in the UK who are there legally, who are hard-working and law-abiding citizens.

Some Germans are great people. Clever, brilliant, witty, creative: yes, I have met some great Germans. Anyone who listens to Beethoven or drives a Mercedes loves Germany. But does that mean that Nazism and the Third Reich were okay? I do not think so. Just as Nazism was an evil philosophy or ideology, so I believe that Islam is a dreadful religion. I have had some lovely Muslim friends, but that does not change my rejection of Islam.    

No, I am not suggesting that slaughterhouses and abattoirs are pleasant places and that no animal ever suffers when they arrive in one of them. However, National Union of Farmers in the UK does not want halal slaughter and neither does the RSPCA. All of the research shows that halal slaughter is more cruel and involves more suffering for the animals. As my friend John Cann discovered in Egypt, halal slaughter often happens in street. It is a shocking, stomach-churning sight.

No, I am not a Fascist. I do not belong to the Nazi party, I have never read "Mein Kampf" and I have many Jewish friends. I am not trying to defend Donald Trump, Farage or Elon Musk. I have not even mentioned any of them.

Yes, I agree with you that the Church of England, the C. of E., is a mess and that Islam certainly is growing in the UK. However, I do believe (and so do many Brits) that Islam is incompatible with many of the traditions and the values that British people hold dear.

How can anyone approve of cousins getting married, so that they produce children with many genetic defects? Or the murder of apostates (those who want to leave Islam)? Or female genital mutilation, FGM? Or so-called "honour killings"? Or Muslim grooming gangs? Or illegal immigration? When my wife and I went to several different Muslim countries, we did so legally, as we had the relevant documentation and visas. Muslim migrants have no right to come to the UK illegally.

If any Muslim wants to insult the Archbishop of Canterbury, he or she is free to do so. If you want to say anything bad about Jesus Christ, you probably will not be arrested or killed. But if anyone draws a cartoon about Mohammed, they are murdered! That is what happened with the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris. This is why I believe that Islam is an intolerant, bigoted and cruel religion.

In the early part of the 20th century, some brave women in the UK fought very hard for the right to vote and for women's rights in general. Some of the Suffragettes (as they were called) were assaulted, arrested and imprisoned. I have nothing but respect and admiration for those brave ladies who demanded justice for women, but Islam wants to make all women wear those dreadful black things. Islam is a betrayal of all that the Suffragettes campaigned for. What rights do women have in Afghanistan? The appalling crimes that have been committed against women and girls by Boko Haram in Nigeria is just one more example of Islamic barbarity towards the female sex. And according to the hadith, who was it, when he was about fifty years old, that married a girl who was only six and ****ed her when she was nine?

My wife Irena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia