A halal meat shop in Bloomfield, Connecticut garnered controversy after extreme unsanitary conditions were discovered following an employee slaughtering a runaway cow in a Home Depot parking lot. An anti-Muslim vandal defaced the outside of the shop last week, writing “Muslims go home” in spray paint. Given the media coverage of these incidents, halal food has been in the news a lot recently – but not under the best of circumstances. We sat down with Refai Arefin, a local imam, to find out the truth about halal food.

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Extended Interview with Imam Refai Arefin:

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Citations: 

#1: Brone, Abigail. “Butcher Shop Employee Who Slit Runaway Cow’s Throat Behind Bloomfield Home Depot Charged with Animal Cruelty.” The Hartford Courant, 2 Aug. 2019, http://www.courant.com/community/bloomfield/hc-news-bloomfield-cow-slain-arrest-20190802-oqknvlswsbauriwgqdjzcj6ofa-story.html. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#2: Puglisi, Dave. “Bloomfield Butcher Shop a Target of a Hate Crime.” FOX 61, 8 Aug. 2019, fox61.com/2019/08/07/bloomfield-butcher-shop-a-target-of-a-hate-crime/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#3: Brone, Abigail. “Bloomfield Butcher Shop Cleared to Reopen After Cow Escaped and Was Killed in Home Depot Parking Lot.” The Hartford Courant, 26 July 2019, http://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-br-bloomfield-saba-cease-desist-20190726-plz2yyadmzfpljzfntfnxve3vy-story.html. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#4: “Butchers Slit Cows Throat in the Parking Lot of a Home Depot.” YouTube, 21 July 2019, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJBYTbq54HU. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#5: Brindley, Emily. “Vigil, Protest Held for Cow Killed in Bloomfield Home Depot Parking Lot.” The Hartford Courant, 28 July 2019, http://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-br-home-depot-calf-vigil-20190728-exkgcyczwngijjcfio7tjxuoaq-story.html. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#6: “A War of Words over Halal Food is Heading for Court.” YouTube, 7 Feb. 2017, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhAB9aW3bPg. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#7: “What is Halal? A Guide for Non-Muslims.” Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV), 21 Mar. 2016, http://www.icv.org.au/about/about-islam-overview/what-is-halal-a-guide-for-non-muslims/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#8: “What is Halal Meat?” YouTube, 9 Mar. 2018, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMG1FUUk6jE. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#9: Power, Carla. “Ethical, Organic, Safe: the Other Side of Halal Food.” The Guardian, 15 Aug. 2018, http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/may/18/halal-food-uk-ethical-organic-safe. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#10: “Why Halal-Grade Meat Is More Humane And Better Tasting.” YouTube, 5 May 2016, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0Xk12l2IbE.

#11: “Stunning Animals Prior To Slaughter.” Halal Advocates, 29 May 2018, http://www.halaladvocates.org/stunning-animals/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#12: “What “Halal” Really Means.” YouTube, 1 Feb. 2014, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD3JfOCBxKw. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#13: Datoo, Siraj. “8 Questions You Were Too Embarrassed To Ask About Halal Meat.” BuzzFeed, 8 May 2014, http://www.buzzfeed.com/sirajdatoo/8-questions-you-were-too-embarrassed-to-ask-about-halal-meat. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#14: “Halal Food Becoming $20 Billion Industry in US.” YouTube, 7 Dec. 2016, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG6UXKho1b0. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#15: Meikle, James. “What Exactly Does the Halal Method of Animal Slaughter Involve?” The Guardian, 15 Aug. 2018, http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/may/08/what-does-halal-method-animal-slaughter-involve. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#16: “What Is Shechita?” Judaism, Torah and Jewish Info – Chabad Lubavitch, 16 Nov. 2004, http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/222240/jewish/What-is-Shechita.htm.

#17: “What is Halal? Know the Definition of Halal Food, Procedure and Rules.” Halal Food Authority, http://www.halalfoodauthority.com/definition-of-halal. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#18: “What is Halal? A Guide for Non-Muslims.” Islamic Council of Victoria, http://www.icv.org.au/about/about-islam-overview/what-is-halal-a-guide-for-non-muslims/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

#19: “Saba Live Poultry Photos.” Yelp, 16 July 2013, http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/saba-live-poultry-bloomfield?select=IH9NyTRL7A2hHE6rpDGxCA. Accessed 14 Aug. 2019.

#20: “File:TheHomeDepot.svg.” Wikimedia Commons, 18 June 2007, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TheHomeDepot.svg. Accessed 14 Aug. 2019.

#21: “Maryam Khan.” “While a mistake was made by an employee of this establishment…”, 7 Aug. 2019, http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10217085591986691&set=a.1481988404426. Accessed 14 Aug. 2019.

#22: “Png Logo Halal.” Freepnglogos.com : Free Transparent PNG Logos, http://www.freepnglogos.com/logos/logohalalpng. Accessed 14 Aug. 2019.

#23: Song in video: Blue Dot Sessions. “Order of Entrance.”