No call to boycott halal meet: Kerala Churches

By Matters India Reporter

Kochi: Mainline Churches in Kerala have distanced from a call to Christians to boycott halal meet ahead of Christmas

The Catholic Church “will never make policy decisions on personal subjects. We have not issued any statement and we are not endorsing this boycott,” Father Jacob Palackapilly, spokesperson of the Kerala Catholic Bishop’s Council or KCBC, thenewsminute.com.

The Orthodox Church says it has made no statement, proclamation or episcopal instruction asking people to not eat Halal meat. “The Church is not endorsing any boycott of this sort. It is individual prerogative to choose what to eat. We consume all kinds of meat, including Halal,” the spokesperson of the Orthodox Church in Kerala told thenewsminute.com.

The controversy arose after a media organization used the headline that read: “Christians in Kerala decide to boycott Halal meat; Hindu groups extend support.”

Halal in Arabic means ‘allowed’ or ‘permitted’ and is a dietary standard prescribed by the Quran. The Halal form of slaughter is prescribed by Islamic law and all halal certified meat is slaughtered in this manner.

The boycott call was given by Churches Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), a non-religious development organization based in Chennai and a service wing of the National Council of Churches in India comprising the Orthodox and Protestant Church societies in the country.

According to thenewsminute.com, CASA that called for the ban has affiliations to the minority wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The group also held internal discussions on whether to hold a three-day protest against Halal meat in Kerala before Christmas day.

However, Father Palackapilly says “neither has CASA consulted us before calling for this boycott, nor have we spoken to CASA’s members.”

Father Abraham Kavilpurayidom, chancellor of the Syro Malabar Church in Kerala, says the Oriental Catholic rite has no prerogative to decide what its followers should eat or not to eat.

“It is an individual’s choice to eat whatever they wish to. Even during lent, the Church only advises believers to avoid eating certain foods such as meat in order to adhere to the canonical laws. However, we do not force believers to do this. Independent groups may be undertaking such programs, but it is not with the knowledge of the Church. Neither does the Church endorse or support such boycotts,” he added.

Joy Abraham, general secretary of CASA’s Kerala unit, says his organization comprises Christians from all denominations and is mostly made up of young believers.

“The idea was sparked after a concern about the beliefs of the Christian community. Halal is a ‘religious product’ of Islam and a meat is Halal only when the animal is slaughtered by a person from the religious community. At the time of slaughter, there are certain rites and prayers from the religion which is uttered. There were discussions over whether such ‘dedications’ to another god are acceptable in Christian beliefs. So this time, we have decided to refrain from buying Halal meat for Christmas,” Abraham told thenewsminute.com.

Although CASA members insist that the boycott is not an attempt to discriminate against Muslims or communalize a festival, a Whatsapp forward on the same clearly suggests otherwise. The forward asked why “non-Muslims are forced to eat Halal products” and “why Islamic traditions are being forced upon non-Muslims?”

The scale of CASA’s boycott is yet unknown and it is unclear whether meat shops in Kerala run by members of the Muslim community would be affected, as Christmas is a busy season with meat shops seeing high volume of sales.

The Indian Union Muslim League has reportedly opposed CASA’s boycott, stating that such anti-Halal campaigns were an attempt to create a communal division and “boycott Muslim meat shops.”

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/no-kerala-christians-arent-boycotting-halal-meat-church-differs-casas-call-139949