Mehboob Ayub, who has a butcher's shop in Huddersfield, alleged that HMC inspectors threatened him, tried to damage his property and told people in the local mosque not buy his meat.
"They tried to push me in my shop and argue with me, they tried to take my posters down and have been telling people in the local mosque not to buy meat from my shop," Mr Ayub said.
"I buy my meat from a HMC-registered slaughterhouse, my wholesaler has a HMC licence, so why should I pay them £30 a week to sell the meat? They just want money."
Read more @ BBC News
i dont know how true this mans story is, because we haven't heard from those who went in to inspect him. But it sounds as if this guy never had a licence and was selling hmc products. which is possible, but you cannot advertise yourself and do your own posters because it could suggest to the public you're fully hmc licenced on all meat products, when you are not.
If the man in question was fully licenced he needs to pay the fee like everyone else. They are a voluntary organisation, ive said before my husband worked as a monitor for a while. It's hardly a money making job. Furthermore the inspectors have every right to take the licence back, even if it means pulling it off the wall or window themselves, because there are some butchers who refuse to give the licence back.
I'm not saying the monitors didn't mishandle this man, i don't know. But what of the monitors they see butchers mixing meat. Some butchers will go to the length of hiding a freezer upstairs in a shop so the inspectors cant see, and in there they will have non hmc meat, which they will then put hmc stickers on, and pass off as hmc is that right?, is that not a form of greed.
What is 30 quid to a butcher who earns a lot more money than that, its nothing. The truth is butchers who don't want to pay the fee should stick to non hmc meat, no one is forcing them, they are opting for it. But greedy butchers want the hmc custom and non hmc custom so they will go to many lengths, and deception is very common. They could simply stock some hmc products without having the licence, but that is not profitable enough for some butchers so they like to pay for the full licence get their deliveries late night so they can mix up the meat, when inspectors are less likely to pop in.
“O my people! Truly, this life of the world is nothing but a (quick passing) enjoyment, and verily, the hereafter that is the home that will remain forever.” [Ghafir : 39]
From the story, he was not advertising he was HMC compliant - he just used their compliant slaughter houses as he knew the meat was verified.
The campaign after that to discredit his meat shop is what concerns me... and IMO it part and parcel of HMC. Look at the HMC Vs HFA topic where HMC wass going after HFA saying it was up to no good...
It seems to be the HMC way in my eyes.
If it was not for the attack on HFA, I could accept that this may be a one inspector crusade or something - organisations will get both good and bad people - but when the organisation itself attacks other monitoring organisations, there are more questions in my eyes.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
I need to add here that I don't think that there aren't stand-up people working for HMC.
I just don't like the idea that Halaal becomes synonymous with a single organisation.
and if a slaughter house does slaughter meat in a halaal fashion, but is not HMC certified (maybe it is a member of one from a plethora of other monitoring committees already?), should the business/butchers who buy from it be penalised with campaigns telling people that they should not buy from there?
They have every right to control who uses their certification, but targeting other businesses that may be selling halaal, but simply not certified by them is not the way to go. That is like mafia tactics.
On the other hand, it is good to see that the HMC has expanded outside to have a greater reach, hopefully not though to monopolise the word "Halaal".
EDIT - ok, that has come across far less conciliatory than I had intended...
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
i dont know if they target other businesses, but no one can say its for greed, because they dont make big bucks from the work they do. maybe they like to assert the fact that they randomly monitor butchers everyday, i dont know any other organisations that can say that they do.
i've never heard of campagins against butchers, i have though on two occasions found out my butcher was mixing meat, and if it wasnt for these monitors i wouldn't have known. One of these butchers apologised and said he wouldn't repeat it, he did and got his licence taken away for good. The other didnt want to admit to friends, neighbours and customers that he had been mixing so he made up stories about the organisation.
i went to a hmc conference once that was how i first became aware of stunned and unstunned meat. At this conference a man stood up to ask a question, and before i knew it he was in a very heated argument with the ulema that were present, to the point of being angry and extremely rude, my brother later told me it was a butcher. he said that his meat was stunned but still halal. so fine i just wondered why he was at the conference? If a person disagrees they shouldnt affiliate themselves with the organisation there's no compulsion, i really dont believe that.
So doesn't it make you think of those organisations that do offer the same sort of meat (i/e unstunned halal meat) whether they are mixing, and if they were you would never know since they dont monitor the business premises on a daily basis?
Well i dont think hmc is the only org that offer unstunned halal meat there are others, and i would possibly buy from them, but i like the idea of the butchers being monitored everyday.
if we had unstunned halal meat as a rule of thumb there would be no issue, no grey area over the method of slaughter. Then there would be no need for organisations such as hmc and others. To me its not just about speed, its about money, even amongst muslims money seems to matter more than whether the food that lines our stomachs is halal or not. i mean who decided we should resort to stunning and deemed this halal, whats gona be said for the slaughter, is Allah's name played on a record in the background? Ironic really some slaughter houses do use cdplayers to do this.
“O my people! Truly, this life of the world is nothing but a (quick passing) enjoyment, and verily, the hereafter that is the home that will remain forever.” [Ghafir : 39]
EDIT - I have deleted this post apart from the following bit as it was just me taking the same argument around in circles.
I think we can let it lie with the idea that what is important is that the food is halaal and not who certifies it.
A common accusation made of the HFA which the HFA emphatically deny - HFA FAQ.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
If HFA are denying, perhaps we should believe in them. After all, it is a Muslim-led organisation. Like sister said before about HMC, I guess there is too much hearsay about HFA and hearsay is a sin. This may sound silly but people who are against HFA should also stop consuming Kellog's corn flakes because it also has HFA monogram on it.
Transliteration of a part of an Ayah in Surah Al-Momin (aka Surah Ghaafir) follows: "if he is a liar then his lie will be (a burden) upon him"
and if we are not consuming HFA-certified products just because of the 'doubt' that it may not be halal (though it is halal alhamdulillah), then consider first Ayah of Surah Al-Tahreem (transliteration): "O Prophet why do you delegalise (make haram) what Allah has made lawful (halal) for you?"
I think it all boils down to "Taqwa". No muslim would intentionally eat haram.
Al-Hasan bin Ali, the grandson of the messenger of Allah, who said : I memorized from the messenger of Allah his saying :
"Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt."
narrated by Termithi and Nasaee, and Tirmithi said it is true and fine hadith.
When a person talks about themselves, by all means use a higher standard.
However, when dealing with others, you should use the lower common standard.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
?
"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi
when there are two opinions on what is allowed and one is more strict on the other.
If you accept the more strict interpretation, thaen that is good for you, you are going the extra mile.
But when it comes to what you hold others to etc, if they are following the easier opinion, let them as both will have their reasons and thoughts.
(there are two related ahadith - one that says avoid doubt, another that says what is halaal is clear, what is haraam is clear and what is in the middle is the mercy of God or something like that.)
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.