Feeding the Children of Abraham:

Those familiar with Islam may balk at the thought of an animal-friendly or vegetarian Islam. After all, of the three monotheistic religions, Islam is the only one that still calls for animal sacrifice. The Qur'an is also as explicit, if not more so, as the Torah or the New Testament with regard to using animals for human purposes. While these observations are true, vegetarian activists should not be put off. A deeper look at the tradition will reveal teachings of kindness and concern for animals, teachings that may indicate Muslims need to take another look at the animals they eat nowadays.

As previously mentioned, the Qur'an, Islam's holy scripture, plainly supports the use of animals for food, among other things.

And cattle He has created for you (men); from them ye derive warmth and numerous benefits, and of their (meat) ye eat.

And they carry your heavy loads to lands that ye could not (otherwise) reach except with souls distressed: for your Lord is indeed Most Kind, Most Merciful.

And (He has created) horses, mules, and donkeys, for you to ride and as an adornment; And he has created other things of which ye have no knowledge. (Sura 16:5, 7-893)

...We have made animals subject to you, that ye may be grateful. (Sura 22:36)

There can be no doubt that animal use is condoned by the Qur'an. In these verses Allah/God clearly authorizes the use of animals and even extols upon the benefits their servitude bestows upon humanity.

In addition to the textual cues concerning Muslim use of animals, we must also keep in mind the environment in which these revelations were given. The living circumstances for Arabs in pre-Islamic times (and in some areas, even until today) has contributed heavily to their reliance on animals. That the early Muslims had to make extensive use of animals, especially the camel, for transport across the harsh deserts of Arabia is obvious. The voluminous recordings of minute technical debate concerning which animals are halal (permitted) and which are haram (forbidden)⁹⁴ would seem to indicate food was also scarce in this environment.⁹⁵ Though both of these situations were especially acute in premodern times, they may still be the reality for many Muslims, especially those in the Middle East.⁹⁶ If the Arabs were to survive, let alone flourish and grow, it may well be that the use of animals for food, clothing, and transportation was a logical and necessary way of life.

Even as Islam is quite specific in its sanction of animals for food, it also provides a tremendous amount of support for the kind treatment of animals. Several surat illustrate the Qur'anic view of animals.

There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have We omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end. (Sura 6:38)

Seest thou not that it is Allah Whose praise all beings in the heavens and on earth do celebrate, and the birds (of the air) with wings outspread? Each one knows its own (mode of) prayer and praise, and Allah knows well all that they do.(Sura 22:41)

While these verses don't directly contradict our earlier look at surat justifying animal use, they do bring a new dimension to the discussion. We now have a view of animals that shows them not merely as resources, but as creatures dependent on God, organized into social groups, and most importantly, engaged in the active worship of God.⁹⁷ Animals then seem to have their own lives and purpose, valuable to themselves and to God above and beyond any material value they may provide to humanity.

The Qur'an is not our only Islamic source for messages of kindness towards animals. There is a rich tradition of the Prophets concern for animals to be found in the Hadith and Sunna.⁹⁸ One hadith quotes Muhammad as saying:

A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is as bad as an act of
cruelty to a human being.⁹⁹

Muhammad also condemned the beating of animals and forbade striking, branding, or marking them on the face. The Prophet cursed and chastised those who mistreat animals and gave praise to those who showed kindness.¹⁰⁰ He also instituted radical changes against the practices of the Arabs of the Jahiliyyah.¹⁰¹ Like the neighbors of the Jews, the Arabs of the Jahiliyyah often cut off the tails and humps of living animals for food, notched and slit their ears, and also put painful rings around the necks of camels.¹⁰² The Prophet was especially vocal in his disapprobation of these cruel practices.

In contrast with the Qur'anic approval of animal and flesh use, we have also seen powerful Islamic admonitions to kindness for animals. Activists should ask Muslims how the two strands reconcile in today's world of meat production and consumption. Would Muhammad or the Qur'an be as approving of flesh eating in view of today's factory farms or in the abundance of non-meat food sources?

The first area of consideration should be Islamic animal slaughter. As with Judaism, animals consumed by Muslims should be slaughtered in a ritual manner, according to religious instruction. The animal's throat is to be slit with a sharp object (typically a knife), severing the windpipe, gullet, and the two jugular veins¹⁰³; the name of Allah is to be invoked during the slaughter.¹⁰⁴ This process of slaughter was clearly intended to provide a quick, humane, and relatively painless death¹⁰⁵; however, like Jewish ritual slaughter, the current implementation of this practice may be causing great cruelty to the animal. Muslim leaders have shown little interest in allowing the pre-slaughter stunning of animals¹⁰⁶, and so fully conscious animals are again shackled and hoisted, in great pain and terror, as they wait for their throats to be slit.¹⁰⁷

Shackling and hoisting conscious animals seems to violate both the humane intent of Islamic slaughter law, and the Prophet's comments on the process of slaughter. Concerning slaughter Muhammad has said:

"When one of you slaughters, let him complete it," meaning that one should sharpen the knife well and feed, water, and soothe the animal before killing it.¹⁰⁸

Do you intend inflicting death on the animal twice - once by sharpening the knife within its sight, and once by cutting its throat?¹⁰⁹

Knowing what we do about modern factory farming, it is obvious that neither of these proscriptions can be properly followed. Animals are in no way soothed during the killing process, and food and water are routinely denied animals during transit and slaughter.¹¹⁰ At the actual point of slaughter many animals are struck and beaten (the Prophet forbade beating animals) as they resist moving towards the end they know awaits them (they are certainly "dying twice").¹¹¹

Other violations of halal standards occur throughout the factory farming of an animal, in addition to any violations around the time of its death. The majority of intensively-raised animals spend their lives confined to small cages, cramped inside windowless buildings. This is in contrast to Muhammad's teachings, which called the caging of animals a "great sin"¹¹² The animals whose lives are reduced to this existence of horrible suffering are not just dying twice, but daily in the factory farms.

Agribusiness also mutilates its animals in ways that should appear to Muslims as chillingly similar to pre-Islamic Jahiliyyah practices. Chickens are debeaked and cattle and other large animals are mutilated through anesthetic-less castration¹¹³, dehorning, ear-slitting, and tail docking.¹¹⁴ Eating meat raised by these methods violates the Prophet's general precept to cause animals no pain before their slaughter, as well as more specific injunctions regarding the treatment of food animals.

The factory farming system contains another significant flaw in the production of Islamically acceptable meat. Pig flesh is one of the meats that is forbidden in Islam. It is considered unfit for food because "...the pig relishes filth and offal, its meat is repugnant to persons of decent taste..."¹¹⁵ In fact, a Muslim would view a piece of pork set on his plate as an American would if feces was placed on his. With this in mind we should return to our earlier examination of modern animal feeds. If we carry the prohibition against pork to its logical conclusion, all animals that eat (or are fed) the waste of other animals should likewise be forbidden. Similarly, the flesh of carnivorous animals is generally forbidden as a food for Muslims.¹¹⁶ We saw that animal feeds often contain animal parts. Again, this should logically render typically herbivorous animals as haram, since they are eating the flesh of other animals.

Activists should especially pursue environmental concerns when making a case for vegetarianism to Muslims. Like the other faiths, Islam has a tradition of considering man as God's vice-regent on the earth. The Qur'an clearly states this:

He it is that has made you vice-regents (inheritors) in the earth.(Sura 35:39)

But Islam qualifies this special position in a variety of ways. This vice-regency is not a license to consume, but an onerous burden of environmental protection that no other creature was willing to assume.¹¹⁷ The protection of nature is the duty of Muslims because, as with the other faiths, the creation was carefully and purposely created by God, to protect it is to preserve its values as a sign of the Creator.¹¹⁸ This is not to be a simple or half-hearted venture; Muslims are exhorted to actively intervene when the earth is threatened.¹¹⁹ Mankind is accountable to God for its actions as vice-regent; it is by this responsibility that each person will be rewarded or punished by God after death.¹²⁰

Muslims are taught to study nature as a means to better understand the interconnectedness of life and to see that life as originating from God. Species preservation is also important in Islam.¹²¹ The agribusiness practices of today, so harmful to the environment, challenge Islamic teachings on all fronts; the practice seems inherently inimical to Muslim tradition. If Muslims could be informed of the facts about factory farming, they might well become among its most vocal critics.

Islam is also concerned with maintaining the good health of its followers. Preserving human life is a central principle of Islam, and even haram substances may be used or ingested if it is the only way to save a life.¹²² Since we now know about the dangers posed to life through meat consumption, Muslims might want to consider reducing or eliminating flesh foods in an effort to more correctly comply with the order to protect health. Going further, Muslims might recognize such a danger in meat eating that they apply the converse of the above law, forbidden halal foods that are known to be injurious to life.

Muslims should also consider those employees of the slaughterhouse and packing plant, working in terrible conditions and for low pay. That these workers are often women and the poor, two groups the Prophet was particularly concerned with, should make this an important issue for Muslims.¹²³ The charitable essence of Islam and its call to lighten the burdens of others seems quite a break with the working conditions of agribusiness employees. While not as convincing of an issue as the others, this area still holds some promise for vegetarian advocates.

Conclusion