Invalid 'halal' certificate: Fatwa issued against eating chicken at KFC

Bareilly, Aug 16: The senior mufti of the Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat in Bareilly has issued a fatwa, or an Islamic edict, against popular food outlet Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), terming it a sin' to eat there.

The development comes amidst allegations that the KFC is serving non-halal chicken to its customers with invalid halal certificates.

“It came to my notice that the chicken served in KFC outlets is not halal (food that adheres to Islamic law) and thus it is forbidden to consume it according to Islam,” Salim Noori, who issued the fatwa, said.

“People at KFC process the meat away from the eyes of Muslims and such meat has been termed haram in Islam,” he added.

The mufti further said that the halal certificates displayed at these stores have no relevance if the owners and workers could not give details about the procedure that they follow to process the meat.

“Halal is not only about killing the animal it is also about the way its meat is processed and cooked. The KFC stores do not process or cook the meat in an Islamic way which makes it haram,” the mufti said.

He also claimed that the halal certificate displayed at these stores were old and illegitimate.

The fatwa was issued verbally after several people called the mufti to ask him whether it was allowed in Islam to consume meat at KFC.

“This is a verbal fatwa and we will soon issue a written fatwa on the issue,” Noori said.