Abdulhalim Dede: The incalculable consequences of the CoE decision on Halal
By EleniTsaga
The decision of the Council of State regarding the Halal and Koscher process, the slaughter of animals for Muslims and Jews in our country, brings incalculable for the time being, losses and consequences in many sectors. The CoC deemed illegal the joint decision of the Minister of Rural Development and Food and the Deputy Minister of Development (JM 951/44337 / 21.4.2017), which determined the necessary additional measures for the implementation of Regulation (EC) 1099/2009, in relation to the slaughter of animals in slaughterhouses in the context religious types (StE 1751/2021).
Specifically, the Council of State annulled the JMC which provided for the slaughter of animals in the context of cults of the Muslim and Jewish religions without prior stunning. The JMC was annulled, following an appeal by animal welfare organizations, as it was deemed illegal, contrary to European and Greek legislation and contrary to the Constitution.
Cibum contacted Mr. Abdulhalim Dede * Founder of the European Halal Certification Center “HALAL GREECE”, who gave the Muslim version of the issue, requested an appeal to the Plenary Session of the Council of State, resolved the questions regarding the stunning of animals, He spoke about the noise caused by the Greek decision on the subject, in the news networks of the Middle East.
* Abdulhalim Dede Founder of the EUROPEAN HALAL CERTIFICATION CENTER “HALAL GREECE” https://halalgr.org/ Head of Halal at the Official Mufti of Komotini for 20 years, Member of the World Council,Member of the Board of AHAC (Halal Certifiers Association), Retired Journalist.
At the same time, he expressed his anxiety about what will happen after this decision, as he said that not only will Halal certifications be stopped in Greece, not only will exports be reduced, but it is possible that many companies will close, many people will lose their jobs, while the approximately 1,000,000 Muslims living in Greece, Greeks and immigrants, will begin to slaughter their own animals, in houses, garages and yards, which poses many risks to the health of the entire population.In addition, Greece’s image of respect for diversity and religious tolerance will be called into question and it will take all Muslim countries against it.
“I was really surprised by this decision of the CoS, which I believe was taken without going into the substance of the issue and without calculating all the parameters. I am not a lawyer, but I think that the Ministry of Agriculture should appeal the decision of the Council of State, so that it can be put in the plenary “, Mr. Dede stressed and added that even if the Ministry of Agriculture decides otherwise, animal welfare organizations will appeal again and will can be re-canceled, so this big issue needs to be examined by the plenary session of the CoC, which will exhaust it from all points of view and parameters “
“Animals, of course, have rights, of course they must be slaughtered properly and not inhumanely and in accordance with EU regulations. We do not disagree with that, and in fact the Greek legislation stipulates that the slaughter of large animals should be done with an electric shock “, said Mr. Abdulhalim Dede, adding:” Animal welfare organizations think that Halal means that we take the animal and slaughter it inhumanely. Halal’s order is that the animal be slaughtered as painlessly as possible. Halal accepts the stunning of the animal with electroshock. We do not accept the so-called stunning with the pistol which is not stunning but murder. The pistol has a 15-point blade which, when struck in the calf’s temple,it penetrates the brain and the animal is then brain dead. We do not consider this stunning; it is murder! “
He continues: “In Halal there is no religious ceremony for the slaughter, just the slaughterer must pray and invoke that the animal is slaughtered in the name of God. Moreover – which is the most important – what is forbidden to us in Islam is the blood of the animal. When the animal is killed with the pistol, 60-70% of the calf’s blood stays inside the body. “Blood, because it has toxins, is the” weakest link “to spoil the meat, and in addition its quality deteriorates when the blood remains in the veins.”
“What we are asking for is that the stunning be done with an electric shock and then the slaughter be done. This is allowed by both Greek and European law, and then to have the complete bleeding of the animal. “
Mr. Dede also went on to address the issue of respect for diversity and religious tolerance in Greece.”Are these decisions ensuring secularism in Greece? Or is it disputed? Why force us to eat murdered animals when our religion forbids it? Today, with this decision of the CoS, we are again the first country in the EU. which completely rejects religious slaughter. “If an appeal is made to the European Court, the Ministry of Regional Development will be vindicated and the CoS will be forced to take back the decision”. Asked by cibum what he predicts Greek Muslims and immigrants will do, Abdulhalim Dede said: “Those who have money will buy imported Halal meat, from France, Germany or the Netherlands” – and tell me ,really these countries are more barbaric than us and we here in Greece are more sensitive? And those who do not have money will buy lambs from the yards and slaughter them themselves in their homes, yards, garages, fields, an illegal practice but necessary for the faithful Muslims, which, however, poses very serious dangers and is a huge threat to the health of all Greeks “
Mr. Dede stressed that the lambs of Greece are the best in quality for this and are sought after in foreign countries and especially in the Arab countries for this and our country makes many exports.With this decision, Mr. Dede said, many Greek companies that have invested money and time to enter and establish themselves in the international markets with certified Halal food products, will receive a very serious blow and the consequences that the export sector will suffer are incalculable.
Finally, Mr Abdulhalim Dede said the news had caused a great deal of controversy internationally. That since Tuesday he has received dozens of phone calls from companies in panic, that the issue has been published in many forums in the Arab world, while he estimates that official steps will soon be taken to the Greek government.