010547 Muslims Get Help Against Meat CheatsMay 20, 2001Chicago Tribute - The large sign in the window of a Pakistani and Indian grocery on West Devon Avenue offers a $50,000 reward to anyone who can prove that any meat sold there is not halal, meaning prepared according to Islamic law and custom. Mohammed Ashraf Patel, owner of Awami Bazaar and Zabiha Meat, lets customers know that they don't stand a chance of winning. He takes them to his meat coolers to point out white and orange stickers that say "hand-slaughtered halal poultry." He presents receipts from halal meat producers. And for the strong of stomach, he shows a video on the store's TV comparing the standard practice of slaughtering 140 chickens a minute by machine to the Islamic way: a Muslim cutting the neck of each bird by hand in the name of Allah. Now a bill before the Illinois Senate, the Halal Food Act, would make it a misdemeanor for any business to sell meat as halal that has not been ritually slaughtered and guaranteed not to contain pork, alcohol and other ingredients. Other halal food products are also covered under the act.
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