The following article outlines some halal research which was carried out in advance of a vacation / holiday to Disney World, Orlando, Florida
Disney World, Orlando, Florida is a great attraction for both adults and children alike. Not only does the appeal of a holiday / vacation to Disney stretch across the age ranges, but it also appeals to people of all backgrounds, races and religions.
As a Muslim, I am obviously keen to ensure that any place I visit allows me access to halal food – Disney World, Orland, Florida included!
If you are not familiar with the term halal, then it is described by the Halal Food Authority in the following way:
The Halal food Authority rules for halal are based on Islamic Shari’ah. Opposite to halal is haram, which means unlawful or forbidden.
It is well known in the meat trade that Muslims consume halal meat. However, at times questions are asked, what is halal? In Arabic it simply means permissible or allowed. Opposite to it is haram, which means forbidden or not allowed. Arabic is the language of Qur`an, a scripture revealed to the Holy Prophet of Islam by the Almighty Allah to be followed in its entirety by the Muslims.
Now to make meat halal or permissible, an animal or poultry has to be slaughtered in a ritual way known as Zibah. To make it readily comprehended halal is somewhat like Jewish kosher and, Zibah is with some exception similar to Shechita. The Qur`an gives following underlined injunctions in chapter al-Maida 5:3 that
• Zibah require animals to be alive and healthy at the time of slaughter, since carrion is forbidden and, jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe have to be severed by a razor sharp knife by a single swipe, to incur as less a pain as possible. Here the only difference is that a rabbi will read what is required by his faith and, a Muslim will recite tasmiya or shahada, which fulfils the requirement of dedication. The question of how to overcome the issue of recitation of shahada on individual bird whence we now have poultry being slaughtered at a rate of six to nine thousand per hour, has already been addressed. A Muslim is commanded to commence all his deeds in the name of Allah. • All the flowing blood (al- An`am 6:145) must be drained out of the carcass, as blood is forbidden
• Swine flesh is also forbidden, and it is repeated in few other places in the Qur`an
• Forbidden is an animal that has been killed by strangling or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall
I was quite surprised when researching facilities at Disney World, Orlando, Florida as to the lack of halal restaurants there. There is very little attention given by formal sites to the need for Muslims to eat halal food whilst on vacation / holiday at the resort.
The only halal restaurant that I could find is located just outside of Disney World, Orlando, Florida. For those who may also be making efforts to find halal restaurants in or near to Disney World, Orlando, Florida the address is:
Slim Orlando’s Phillysteak & Gyro
11985 South Apopka Vineland Road, Orlando, FL 32836-7025
If any readers of this article are able to advise of any other halal restaurants which they may have come across then please be sure to email the details in order that they can be included in this article.
However, what Disney World, Orlando, Florida does do well, is to ensure an ample supply of Kosher restaurants in Disney World. As Muslims, we are able to eat meat from ‘People of the Book’ and hence kosher meat is a good alternative to halal meat.
But, the question must be asked, why does Disney World, Orlando, Florida seemingly fail to provide a choice of halal eating options for their vacationers / holiday makers? There must be significant numbers of Muslims enjoying Disney World in the same way that non Muslims enjoy it. So, if you get the chance then consider sending Disney World some feedback – they make great efforts to accommodate minority needs so hopefully, with a little pressure they’ll make headway to bringing halal foods not only into Disney World, Orlando, Florida, but also into the other Disneyland outlets!