Primary school to serve pupils halal meat whether they're Muslim or not

I don't understand why they would not allow for all religions. It makes not sense and it is a form of prejudice.

regardless of religion I think there should always be several dishes to choose from whenever government or state are serving meals. vegetarians, picky eaters, fishhaters, salad-refusers should be respected

That is an issue. But what is halal meal? I know I could search it. I have a friend who says his father, a Christian minister, always said we should not have prayers in school, because " how would we decide which prayers to have?" If it is my right to have my religious items and teachings in public school, then it is the right of all other religions as well. We all have to get along, we share this planet.

if I were a parent I would have my child served the vegetarian option, rather than halal meat, as I consider it a very inhumane method of slaughter.

do u even know what is halal meat at all? it's just meat and the method of slaughtering the animal differs. the animal is slaughtered by a Muslim and bismillah is read before slaughtering the animal and the slaughtering method differs and is actually more hygienic cause it drains all the blood out of the animal, and if u don't know, blood is a medium that can spread diseases. this way of slaughtering makes the meat halal (permissible to eat) for Muslims. it is just as kosher is for jews. since christians and other people aren't really bound how the animal was slaughtered, this news shouldn't bother them whatsoever. it's just meat for them, with just a label for halal that tells that it can also be eaten by a Muslim, not that it makes any difference to anyone else. the students are being served with halal meat, but i don't really get it how can this change the 'menu' of the school because meat is an ingredient, so what it is to a person who don't care if it is halal or not. it only takes a moment to search for info and clarifying yourself rather than making a mountain of an anthill. but then again, it's a matter of seeking pleasure by criticizing Islam, so who cares researching about what you are actually saying yes? such a shame.

Halal is almost identical with Kosher and is a higher quality of food. I don't see what the problem is. I buy Kosher all the time because I like to know what's in my hot dogs.

I think that because parents are free to send their children to school with any foods they want, the school should not have to change their menu for anyone's religion. No one cares that schools generally have no vegetarian options, yet bring religion into the picture and people are forced to act all politically correct. You bring your own food if you don't like what is served, it's that simple. No one is shoving non-halal meat down their throats.

Hi ronald, I couldn't agree more, we must all respect each other. Blessings.

I think that parent is a very good example of what we should all be like. Not catering to special interests but taking everyone's feelings and customs into consideration. I've never heard of Halal meat, I'll have to look that up. Oh, I see now, it is made according to their dietary laws. Well, I think it's a good idea as long as other, non-Muslims aren't forced to eat it if they don't want to.

Well, like a couple of other people have said, it won't make much difference at all if the meat is halal. It's just killed in a different way to non-halal meat, and I'm sure that nobody will be able to taste the difference anyway. Nobody who currently eats meat there will be disadvantaged in anyway, and it ensures that the meat that they serve can be eaten by more of the children, so it makes sense really. The only concern I would have is that if the whole kitchen is going halal (rather than just the meats permitted by islam), are they going to reduce the variety of meat that they can serve in their kitchen? If they can no longer serve pork, bacon and other pig products as a result of this change then this might disadvantage the non-muslim pupils who enjoy eating these things. However, if they have several menu options (eg. regular, halal, vegetarian etc..) then this might not be a problem.

i agree. don't think that's fair to the children at all. what is halal meat?

Hi ronaldinu, Gosh! religion has gone school dinners too, Well I agree with this parent, as they are other religion involved here, I think this has gone beyond. Tamara

Actually I happen to think that it's of no big deal at all. Lol. Afterall, halal and non halal is about the same kind of food, just that there is no pork or pork by-products that are being served. Not such a big deal at all if you come to think about it. All Christains and Hindu people are able to eat Halal food as well, it's only beef that the Hindus can't take. So perhapes the school might consider removing beef on their menus too out of respect to those Hindu students? This is a suggestion that the school might want to consider seriously if they want to respect all religions. However, for Christians (if I am not wrong), they are allowed to eat almost everything, so in that sense, there should not be much of a problem in food for the children in this religion. In Singapore.. There is a wholely Halal food court over in the Eastern part of Singapore. Lol.. the food served in this food court is all Halal food - from the Chinese food to the Japanese food that is sold there. However, there seems to be nobody complaining and in a way it kind of brings up the revenue of all food stalls as the Muslims are able to eat food that previously they were not able to! So it's a win-win situation for all. Of course, this is just my own opinion, and well happy mylotting!!

In Canada that would never happen so i am sorry i just can phantom this type of thing happening Sorry i do not know the culture and the real meaning behind this I tend to making too many suggestions re foreign countries and religions so i will gracefully bow out Good Luck

I agree that they should be other dishes offered because not all kids will eat it and parents would be mad if the school didn't serve food their children would eat. They do need to provide for all religions no matter what they are but this is a step in the right direction.

Is this primary school in Malta? I am glad to see that a MUSLIM parent is talking about alternative options for non-Muslims. She sounds like a true representation of what Islam is supposed to mean. I completely agree with her.

not all Asians are muslims. a lot of Chinese and Indian people are not muslims. in a cafetaria there must be a list of choices so they should make it convenient for everyone, not just muslims since other parents pay for their students to be schooled there too.

Hi there ronaldinu The things is that halal meat will cost a lot more and will send the price of school dinners sky high. At my son's schools they offer a vegetarian meal and of course children can always have a packed lunch. I think that we are very accomodating in the uk towards other religions baring in mind we are a Christian country or at least was! My brother is in Kuwait at the moment and has experienced ramadan in a muslim country first hand. Even though he is obviously a foreigner in Kuwait he was still not permitted to drink water in the streets during the hours of daylight. Other countries do not always tolerate other people's beleifs. The father to my kids is muslim so I do understand some of the in's and out's of the religion. I have always stuck to the phrase 'when in Rome do as the Roman's do' and respect the culture, tradition and religion of the country I am visiting.

To actually understand the implications of halal meat, we need to go back in history. Mohammed started the eating of halal meat since he headed a small group of believers that had to gain supremacy over barbarians through war. Typically, when halal is done, the animal is put to tremendous pain and torture, which floods its body with various enzymes. This meat, when consumed, fills the human body with aggression, cruelty and brute power, dulling sensitivities. The halal meat was prescribed for those warriors because they had to overcome TREMENDOUS odds. This situation does not exist today. In most cases, in the civilized world, we dont need to eat halal meat and fill our body with negative energy. Certainly for children, it should not only be avoided but banned.

I think that parent is right. After all, Muslim does not eat pork, and pork happens to be the favorite meat of Chinese. Some people are vegetarians, due to religion influence or family influence. If the school changes all menu to halal menu, those poor kids who are vegetarian will go hungry. it is good to consider the Muslim children. However, it is better to have different food so that children can choose.