Meat controversary at Costco!

Maybe you have heard about this latest controversy. There is always someone complaining about something. I just got wind of it the other day.

It seems that someone was shopping at Costco the other day and saw something that alarmed them. The label on the Costco sign above the meat said "Certified Halal".

Now, I have been around long enough to know that people are dumb and panic easily. The word "Halal" is an Arabic word that means Lawful, or Permissible. Another way to put it would be; "Good for you". The opposite word would be "Haraam", which means Forbidden, or Unlawful. Another way to put it would be; "Bad for you".

To me, this does not seem any different than our USDA label or the Kosher label. The USDA label tells us Americans that the meat is good to eat. Its passed inspection and wont kill us (Hopefully). "Certified Kosher" tells Jews that meat is lawful, or good for them to eat.

"Certified Halal" is simply telling Muslims that the meat is good for them to eat. I dont recall hearing of any controversy when "Certified Kosher" was put on food. Now that its for the benefit of Muslims, it must be a conspiracy to turn us all into Mulsims or Satan worshipers.

The main reason for all the hubbub seems to be that Christians think that they are being forced to eat meat sacrificed to idols.

The way that Muslims treat their slaughter of animals reminds me of the movie "Avatar". In the movie, the Navi were the indigenous people of the moon called Pandora. When the people had to kill animals, they did so with great respect. They recognized that the animal gave its life so that they would live. After the killing, the Navi that did the killing, would pray for it and thank their God for the gift of food. The American Indians had similar practices as well.

In Christendom, we also have a similar practice. Before we eat, we pray. In our prayer, we thank God for the food we are about to eat and we pronounce the name of Jesus over it.

It seems that Muslims also have great respect for the food that they eat. When the animal is being slaughtered they say a prayer for the animal. They are required to mention the name of their God. I dont know this for sure, but my guess is that in this modern age, recorded prayer has taken over.

What I cant seem to find is any mention anywhere in my readings of how and when this meat is sacrificed to idols. But even if it is, so what?

When Muslims pray, they turn their heads toward Meca. Muslims pray to Allah, not the God that us Christians know. My guess is that some well-meaning, but totally off-base Christians, have decided that these two things somehow equate to this meat being sacrificed to idols.

After 9/11, most Americans become paranoid of Muslims. We seem to be looking for them everywhere. It reminds me of the "Red Scare". Many of you, including me, are probably too young to remember the Red Scare. Im not sure what started it, but all of the sudden, everyone feared Communists (Russians). There was thought to be a Communist hiding behind every bush. People that were accused of being Communists were fired, jailed, ran out of the country, or worse.

Now its the Muslims turn. I have all the sympathy in the world for those that were in 9/11, and the family of those that died there. But that does not mean that every Muslim is bad. We, as a nation, need to forgive and move on.

From what I can tell, this is just another scare.....Seems like I read somewhere that fear is not of God. Oh yeah, I remember now.

Its the Bible!

If you are still in fear over this, I would offer up a suggestion that should settle this once and for all. When you buy this meat, pray to Jesus before you consume it. At the name of Jesus, any bad mojo that was on or in the meat will poof.
1 Corinthians 8

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+8&version=NIV

If you are still concerned about this meat, Dont buy it!