Sumner slaughterhouse allows Muslims to observe dietary laws

By Phuong Le, Seattle Post-Intelligencer,  September 7, 2000

SUMNER -- When he wanted meat, Mohamed Uke often traveled to an outlying farm here to kill the animal himself. That was the only way he could ensure that the slaughter was halal, or met the dietary laws of Islam, he said.

Sharif Shenyalo, the plant manager at the Muslim-owned Crescent Custom Meats in Sumner, walks past goats and sheep that are halal -- they have been slaughtered and processed in accordance with Islamic dietary laws.
Paul Kitagaki Jr./P-I

"Everything is ready for us," said Uke, 47, an Ethiopian immigrant who lives in Seattle. "Here, they can kill (the animals), no problem. I don't worry."

Tucked at the edge of rolling hills in Sumner, the new Muslim-owned slaughterhouse is just the latest institution to sprout up to serve the region's growing Muslim community.

Seeing the need for halal meat, a group of Somali Muslims from South Seattle bought the slaughterhouse and began offering a service that's creating a buzz within the community.

"To actually have a Muslim slaughterhouse, I never thought it would happen," said Aziz Junejo, host of the public-access cable program "Focus on Islam." "It's a big deal for us."

Mohamed Aden, a 41-year-old Seattle social worker, searched for four years before finding the Sumner site. In May, when the property came up for sale, he and 12 others pooled resources and bought the facility, located several blocks from a quiet residential street at the northern tip of Pierce County.

"There is a lot of demand for halal meat for all Muslims, regardless of where they come from," said Aden, the president. "There are not many places owned by Muslims."

Muslims do not eat pork and require animals that are eaten to be killed humanely, without the use of firearms or stun guns. Under Islamic dietary laws, animals are not to be skinned, maimed, tortured or killed with a blunt instrument. The animals must be blessed, cut across the throat and their blood drained.

Aden said he wanted the slaughterhouse to be owned and run by Muslims to ensure that these procedures were met.

At Crescent, a federal agent inspects animals and ensures safe handling of meat. The slaughterhouse has been granted a religious exemption so it does not have to stun the animals before killing them.

"I feel very good because I know 100 percent sure it's done according to Allah," Aden said.