Move is Islamophobic, antisemitic and undemocratic, say Muslim leaders.
A council has banned meat from animals that have not been stunned from council-supplied school meals, prompting accusations of Islamophobia and antisemitism.
Lancashire county council voted on Thursday to stop providing halal meat to council establishments unless animals were stunned before slaughtered.
The decision ignored the result of a public consultation in which 65% of respondents strongly disagreed with the proposal. About 8,545 people filled in a questionnaire earlier of which about 2,000 were pro-forma responses that used a template provided by the Lancashire Council of Mosques (LCM).
Nine out of 10 Muslims who responded were against the move, saying that stunning animals before slaughter is against Islam. The Board of Deputies of British Jews also opposed the proposal, saying that stunning could go wrong and lead to animals drowning, being gassed or electrocuted.
The National Secular Society supported the ban. Stephen Evans, its chief executive, said: “It’s reassuring to see Lancashire councillors voting to pursue the council’s ethical policy on the provision of halal meat in schools, and facing down orchestrated efforts to ensure school meals in the county comply with a hardline interpretation of Islam. [The Guardian] Read more
