The halal food industry is booming – witness the gradual transition of operators like Nandos and KFC to ever expand their markets (and our waistlines). I hear this has been yet another great year for halal turkeys at Christmas, with demands at butchers in places like the east end of London massively outstripping supply.
This is heartening news. Contrary to common stereotype, Muslims are celebrating the birth of Jesus in traditional form. As Abrahamic faiths, this shouldn’t come as a surprise though of course Judaism falls under the category and moderate Jewish and Muslim leaders here in Britain are coming to together to tackle growing conflicts and tensions on university campuses, which isn’t where we should be.
We should use our food traditions as greater cultural levellers than we do. So let’s all eat latkes on Hannukah, Biryani at Eid, Gulab Jamun on Diwali. Celebrating each other’s cuisines helps us celebrate and respect each other’s cultures.
Let’s eat our way to a more tolerant 2012.
Thanks for the post, Iqbal. The world’s religious traditions presented as food on a plate in the UK’s capital city is actually happening, then. And not just at the high-end of the market either –the demand for halal turkeys amongst ordinary Muslims means that something significant is going on. “Everyday multi-culturalism” the academics call it. I’m all for it.