Meat Slaughtered by the People of the Book
"We have been eating only halal meat as it is widely accessible in Toronto Canada for the past few years. Lately, our teenage daughters have complained that they have had to refrain from eating at relatives's homes including my parents and siblings who believe christian meat is halal. My daughters feel that we are making things more difficult when others have chosen an easier way, which is supported by a lot of Scholars in North America.every time I check your site for a solution to this, I get more confused because of the difference in opinions, Jazakum Allah Khairan for all your attempts at answering all the questions. Here's where my confusion comes from: Different opinions were given in the past few years regarding eating meat slaughtered by people of tbe book, in the US, UK, and Canada: 1. Sept 05 the conclusion was made that the meat in the US market is Haram because of "stunning the animal". 2. June 04 Sheikh Kutty noted that we can eat meat butchered by people of the book, but if find meat provided by muslims we should seek the latter. 3. In another Fatwa, Sheikh Kutty notes that zabihah of the people of the book is permitted in Canada as Canadian Government inspectors make sure that animals that die from stunning are not used for zabihah. My question is mostly for Canadian meat, does Sheikh Kutty or other respected Scholars continue to feel the same? Or has anything changed in the way Canadians slaughter the animals since 2004? Another concern is that Sheikh Kutty noted that we should eat halal meat when available. Does this mean the non-halal meat is only permissible in areas where the halal meat is not accessible? This is not usually the case in Canada especially in large cities. " Jazakum Allah Khairan
