Thursday, July 19, 2012

Maple Lodge Farms--Folksy, Canadian, and Blessed by Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti

Maple Lodge Farms is a company that uses its "humble beginnings" as a selling point in folksy commercials marketing its all-Canadian chicken products. For some time, though, it has had an entire halal division that's more Wahhabi than Canucki:
Our Halal Operation
Maple Lodge Farms was the first company in Canada to offer Halal products, on a large scale, for Canadian Muslim consumers. We have been Halal certified by ISNA Canada (Islamic Society of North America) since 1990. The Halal Protocol System, implemented by ISNA for Maple Lodge Farms, took several months of collaboration between ISNA and Dar-ul-Ifta, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Scholars like Sheikh Abdulla Idris from ISNA, along with other Muslim experts, including Muslim veterinary doctors, visited Maple Lodge Farms on many occasions. They performed various tests during their visits and provided their observations to Darul Ifta, in Saudi Arabia for their consideration. This entire process was reviewed thoroughly and approved by Dar-ul-Ifta, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1990. Since then, Maple Lodge Farms has been serving trusted Halal products with the full endorsement of the certifying organizations.
We have a team of several Muslim Blessers and a dedicated Muslim Product Manager to serve the Halal market. All of the Blessers are under oath to perform the duties assigned to them with honesty and integrity. ISNA’s Halal auditor visits our plant on daily basis to ensure the Halal process is followed with consistency. 
Maple Lodge Farms Zabiha Halal products are available at most major grocery retailers across Canada. Look for them in the fresh poultry counter, the deli counter and frozen food section in store. Within addition to the Canadian domestic market, Zabiha Halal product are also exported to several other countries across the world.
ISNA, FYI, has "ties to jihadists" and was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land terrorism conspiracy trial; Dar-ul-Ifta is the fatwa-issuing "affiliate of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars headed by Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Alu Al Sheikh." My question: isn't there someone who can bless the chicken who isn't affiliated with the MuBros and Wahhabis, or is that way too much to ask?

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