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Mothers condemn school's meat decision
8:56am Saturday 5th January 2008
Comments (32)MOTHERS have criticised an Oxford school for serving halal meat in children's lunches without their knowledge.
Parents of pupils at Rose Hill Primary School, in The Oval, were angered by a letter they received from headmistress Sue Mortimer.
It informed them the halal meat, which involves slaughtering animals in a special way for consumption by Muslims, had been used in all school meals as part of the school's inclusion policy.
The letter said the reason for the decision was that since halal meat was not forbidden by any religion or culture, its use would allow everyone to choose a meat dish for lunch.
But parents had not been consulted and said they were upset by news the school had become the first primary in the county to ask caterers for all meat dishes to be halal, for a trial period.
Lyndsy Johnson, whose five-year-old son Dane Lovattattends the school, said: "I am angry that the headmistress seems to think she can do anything she wants without informing parents.
"Our kids do not know what they are eating now. We have got rights as well as everybody else."
Miss Johnson, from Radford Close, said she was planning, along with another mother, to stand outside the school gates to collect signatures for a petition.
Mother-of-three Sharon Haynes, 35, from Radford Close, said: "Why should we let our kids eat halal meat?"
Maria O'Callaghan, from Jersey Road, said: "I don't agree with the way the animals are killed for halal meat."
Mrs Mortimer was unavailable for comment. However, Raghib Ali, one of the founders of the Oxford Islam and Muslim Awareness Project, said: "The meat looks the same and tastes the same. It's just a different way the animals are reared and killed. It's not cruel - it's better for the animal."
However, Dr Taj Hargey chairman of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford, said he believed the school was at fault for not telling parents about the change.
An Oxfordshire County Council spokesman said three other schools in Oxford offered halal chicken up to once a week, and two more schools had requested halal meat, but had not started serving it.
Another school was consulting parents over whether to offer a fully halal menu, the county council said.
Your Say Yourthisisoxfordshire
Jane, Whitney says...
9:24am Sat 5 Jan 08
steve, oxford says...
9:30am Sat 5 Jan 08
Ken, says...
9:36am Sat 5 Jan 08
steve wrote:so killing animals with electric shock and let then suffer for half an animal is kinder?
Not so fast, you two. Halal slaughter involves a single slit across the throat. There are people concerned with animal welfare, who might find this method of meat preparation, upsetting.
george, says...
9:51am Sat 5 Jan 08
Kelly, says...
10:06am Sat 5 Jan 08
the headmistress probably did right not making it public as she knew it would cause this stupid reaction.
get educated people!!
Mel, says...
10:13am Sat 5 Jan 08
I guess they would'nt complain if the school started adding alcohol into the food though
Jock, Headington says...
10:32am Sat 5 Jan 08
Given the amount of money they are allowed to spend on school food I cannot believe that the meat they usually get comes from free range humanely treated livestock. If you're shopping for yourself and you want to make a choice between cheap meat and free range produce, that's fine, but let's not imagine that's the choice offered by mass caterers.
And as some of the previous posters have mentioned - I imagine there are plenty of people, if not these protestors, who will be reading this article and moaning about our country being "taken over" by foreign cultures.
DanOxford, Oxford says...
11:57am Sat 5 Jan 08
How long until beef is taken off the menu so as not to offend Hindus, pork to save the embarrassment of Jews and Muslims and no meat on Fridays lest the Catholics take umbrage? Doesn't sound very 'inclusive' to me.
Forcing these ridiculous views on children is a form of abuse- especially in a non- faith based school such as this.
Any decision about school food should be based on the health of the animals involved and that of the children who will eat it- not the outdated prejudices of two millenia ago held by backwards thinking people.
I'm afraid that 'multiculturalism' is to blame for setting the UK back about 400 years by people such as this headteacher trying to please all of the people all of the time.
DanOxford, Oxford says...
12:02pm Sat 5 Jan 08
Mel wrote:No- but the Muslim parents would as it's forbidden in Islam. This isn't about 'race' it's about religion- one you are born in to and the other you are indoctrinated into by adults who really should know better.
with parents attitude like that it will teach their kids to be racist. I guess they would'nt complain if the school started adding alcohol into the food though
Anon, Oxfordshire says...
2:33pm Sat 5 Jan 08
Send your children to school with a packed lunch if you are that bothered about what they eat - oh, no, you won't, will you, because they get free meals at school so you have more money to spend on high-quality meat products like chicken nuggets and beefburger to serve for their tea.
Mr A Carrot, OxforD says...
3:16pm Sat 5 Jan 08
No its not!
Sadistic people in the second world war would carry out the same type of killings just to watch the distress caused.
Neil, Oxford says...
3:57pm Sat 5 Jan 08
This is just a smokescreen for racism.
Mark, Oxford says...
4:25pm Sat 5 Jan 08
What next, the female pupils at the school being made to wear a veil?
Ali, Ox says...
4:32pm Sat 5 Jan 08
Mark, Oxford says...
4:48pm Sat 5 Jan 08
Ali wrote:That is because people CHOOSE to eat in take aways, the food is not being forced on them.
Halal meat.... All Asian take aways in Oxford serve Halal meat ... and more native go there than Asian !! I never see any protest over there ?
Carl, Oxford says...
5:15pm Sat 5 Jan 08
george wrote:being rasicst ha,that`s those are the three words why this country supports foeriens more then british people being that`s what they say all the time when what we say ain`t rasist.Anyway i don`t blame the parents,animals shold be killed respective by being stunned then when they`rew on consious having there throat slit.not by a barbaric way.
All butchery kills animals.Stop being racist its the same meat you will find in a curry yum yum!!!!
Pete, 567-857 says...
5:28pm Sat 5 Jan 08
Carl wrote:'foreigners' as you call them a lot of muslims are british born.
george wrote: All butchery kills animals.Stop being racist its the same meat you will find in a curry yum yum!!!!being rasicst ha,that`s those are the three words why this country supports foeriens more then british people being that`s what they say all the time when what we say ain`t rasist.Anyway i don`t blame the parents,animals shold be killed respective by being stunned then when they`rew on consious having there throat slit.not by a barbaric way.
secondly the halal way of killing is much quicker, have witnessed both in my time and the halal way is a lot quicker rather than writhing about for ages.
Kevin, Oxford says...
7:38pm Sat 5 Jan 08
Emma, Oxford says...
8:09pm Sat 5 Jan 08
Ali said: Halal meat.... All Asian take aways in Oxford serve Halal meat ... and more native go there than Asian !! I never see any protest over there ?
Ali, thats a bit of an inflammatory comment you have made. You seem to be implying that Asian people are not 'native'. In fact the majority of people with Asian heritage in Oxford are UK born. Or do you mean 'native' to mean white? That in itself is a racist comment.
I do however agree that meat used in school meals is of such a poor quality (as demonstrated by jamie oliver) and is probably not slaughtered humanely ANYWAY, and this seems to be a protest for the sake of it.
Anyone who has been on holiday to Islamic countries for example Turkey, Gambia, Morrocco, has probably been fed halal meat without their knowledge, and most curry houses and branches of nandos also serve halal meat. I havent got a problem with it AT ALL.
Although having seen how school and hospital dinners are prepared and the low quality of the ingerdients, I would not lt my child eat them on principle, halal or not.
WS, Oxford says...
8:15pm Sat 5 Jan 08
Isn't that the real story? Overall, it's the sentiments represented in this article (in 2008!) that leave a nasty taste in the mouth.
Is it any wonder the Head was unavailable for comment ?
Tules, Oxford says...
8:28pm Sat 5 Jan 08
Maybe some of you retards need to take a good hard look at these other relegions before you start calling others racist.
Ever noticed how Muslims and Jews give up nothing but Christians do.
DanOxford, Oxford says...
8:52pm Sat 5 Jan 08
Mark M, Oxford says...
12:25am Sun 6 Jan 08
secondly the halal way of killing is much quicker, have witnessed both in my time and the halal way is a lot quicker rather than writhing about for ages.
Really? Having your throat slit is quicker than being shot in the brain, and less painful than being stunned first? I think not. Its different, is all.
The point about this protest is that schools should /not/ be secretly putting in place policies regarding choldrens' welfare - parental consultation should take place.
Jim, Cowley says...
11:21am Sun 6 Jan 08
How about sticking to the issue at hand, as opposed to prejudice masqerading as concern for children and/or animal welfare? At least a bigot like "DanOxford" is being honest about his real thoughts on the issue...!
john, says...
12:05pm Sun 6 Jan 08
Jim wrote:And so the issue is what exactly? A school secretly and without the parents knowledge feeding children halal produce without asking their permission first.
It\'s disappointing (but not totally surprising) that this story is being used by a few to bash Muslims in general.
How about sticking to the issue at hand, as opposed to prejudice masqerading as concern for children and/or animal welfare? At least a bigot like \"DanOxford\" is being honest about his real thoughts on the issue...!
That is not honest.
It also shows this school is not "multicutural"
Another lie.
Please try adding to the debate Jim.
DanOxford, says...
6:57pm Sun 6 Jan 08
Jim wrote:It's only a matter of time before someone pulls the 'bigot/ racist/ Little Englander' card isn't it?
It's disappointing (but not totally surprising) that this story is being used by a few to bash Muslims in general. How about sticking to the issue at hand, as opposed to prejudice masqerading as concern for children and/or animal welfare? At least a bigot like "DanOxford" is being honest about his real thoughts on the issue...!
Yes- I am honest. I'm also informed and back up my (factual) arguments with evidence. And yes- I am sick of people whose only experience of religion is of the diluted, church bells and cucumber sandwiches C of E vicar variety rushing to defend Islam or any other set of inherently intolerant beliefs.
I think you'll find that it's people like me who are the REAL defenders of choice, freedom and equality and not the Immans or their misguided middle-class apologists.
Anyone who SERIOUSLY thinks that giving Islam (or Scientology, or Evangelical Christianity, or Nazism, or Communism...) anymore 'freedom' to influence life in Britain or elsewhere is very, very much mistaken.
If a group of people want to tell their children that 'God' tells them an animal must be killed in a certain way then so be it- but these totally irrational beliefs should in no way influence anyone else.
Liberal relativism hasn't worked- look at how the Dutch have had to tighten up immigration and citizenship regulations in their Country, having learnt the hard way that these religious zealots hate them BECAUSE they're liberal and tolerant.
M, Oxford says...
7:51pm Sun 6 Jan 08
Oh wait, hang on, that's a load of b*%$£"ks isn't it?
Trevtt, BFD says...
9:43pm Sun 6 Jan 08
What the hell is racist about what the parents have said. I think you need to read up what the word 'racist' actually means. IDIOT
john, says...
10:24pm Sun 6 Jan 08
M wrote:Can you describe to me how Christians are treated (or any other relegion for that matter) in any country where Muslims are the majority?
Oh My Word! Halal Meat?! Don\'t they know that\'s where Islam comes from, if they let this continue the kids will come home in headscarves praising Allah.
Oh wait, hang on, that\'s a load of b*%$£\"ks isn\'t it?
Trevtt, BFD says...
9:53am Mon 7 Jan 08
john wrote:In Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country and one traditionally renowned for its religious toleration, terrorists bombed churches in 18 cities, killing scores and wounding hundreds. Violence against the Christian minority has steadily continued over the past decade." As an example, he cited the beheadings of three Christian teenage girls in Sulawesi in late October. International Christian Concern's Jeff King brought photos of the incident; the girls' heads were left at a church, each with a note that vowed, "We will murder 100 more Christian teenagers and their heads will be presented as presents."
M wrote:Can you describe to me how Christians are treated (or any other relegion for that matter) in any country where Muslims are the majority?
Oh My Word! Halal Meat?! Don\'t they know that\'s where Islam comes from, if they let this continue the kids will come home in headscarves praising Allah.
Oh wait, hang on, that\'s a load of b*%$£\"ks isn\'t it?
In Egypt Christians are treated as "second-class citizens" under state-sponsored discrimination and actively persecuted by Islamic militants apart from the government. He cited the week-long riot in October against St. George's Coptic Church in Alexandria by a 10,000-strong mob incensed by rumors of blasphemy.
Christians face repression in Iran. Tehran's tyrannical President Ahmadinejad met with 30 provincial governors and reportedly declared, "I will stop Christianity in this country," avowing to shut down the country's growing house-church movement.
In Saudi Arabia, Christians, a large percentage of the foreign workers making up a quarter of the population, will not be able to find any churches whatsoever to worship in. Churches are forbidden. Dozens of those who pray together in private houses were arrested and jailed earlier this year. This fanatically intolerant kingdom even forbids Muslims, under threat of death, to wish a Christian "Happy Holidays," much less "Merry Christmas."
Last Christmas in Iraq, St. John's Church near Mosul was attacked. Assyrian cultural expert Eden Naby described the scene: "The Mass begins. It is cold inside the stone church. Suddenly you hear automatic fire. The doors fly open. The Christian guards are shot, and in march armed Kurdish Peshmarga who shoot up the church, beat up the priest and drive the parishioners cowering home." In prior months, other churches in southern Iraq had been bombed by Islamic militants, some during worship services. Though the terror came from two different sources, in each case the purpose was the same to intimidate and force out the ancient Chaldo Assyrian Christian community.
Yousaf Masih, a 60-year-old illiterate janitor from northwestern Pakistan, is among those under arrest for "blasphemy" because he allegedly burned a Koran. As Paul Marshall of the Center for Religious Freedom recounted, three weeks ago in Sangala Hill, after word of his case got out, mobs destroyed three churches, a convent, a Christian school, and Christian homes. Last week a militant mob rallied to demand Masih's public hanging and the eradication of the entire Christian community there.
sim, oxon says...
2:00pm Tue 8 Jan 08
Mel wrote:no no no, my children are not racist and never will be. because i am totally against that.
with parents attitude like that it will teach their kids to be racist. I guess they would'nt complain if the school started adding alcohol into the food though
but if any school was serving Pork to the asian families there would be up roar..dont you think?
we are just stating a fact that there was no consultation nor communication for the parents to decide what our children should want to eat..choice for all
and as for alcohol..how stupid can such comment be?
Unhappy: Mothers gather outside Rose Hill Primary School
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Roger, London says...
9:14am Sat 5 Jan 08