Turkey & Halal Food

[muminah]

Is the food Halal in Turkish hotels, resturants and street food?

In hotels, in particular Hilton, Shearaton or Intercontinental. Is the food likely to be halal if they say it is?

[ENIGMA]

On a related note,how are the airport officials towards men in thawbs and women in niqab? Any hassle? What are good muslim friendly places to stay which have ameneties like genuine halal food. Is a woman(from another country) wearing a scarf going to stop her from entering certain public places like museums etc? Where are main places of attraction(not the club and booze scene)?

Ive been to turkey before but that was in a previous life where I was a little bit different

The Blue Mosque is in Istanbul,right? so what other things are there to do there/visit? Any gardens/walks? museums?

[muminah]

On a related note,how are the airport officials towards men in thawbs and women in niqab? Any hassle? What are good muslim friendly places to stay which have ameneties like genuine halal food. Is a woman(from another country) wearing a scarf going to stop her from entering certain public places like museums etc?

Women in niqab arent generally harassed in Turkey. You may get funny looks, actually they stare a lot, maybe in their culture its not rude to stare? But anyhow, people and officials are fine with it, because we are foreigners. Well thats my experience anyways.

[London786]

good question...try and stay in the area of istanbul which has the mureeds of shaykh mahmud effendi...its called carsamba...with regards to turkey...ask umar from italy...his the official turkish patriot on this forum

[muminah]

good question...try and stay in the area of istanbul which has the mureeds of shaykh mahmud effendi...its called carsamba...with regards to turkey...ask umar from italy...his the official turkish patriot on this forum

I thought the area was called fatih?

[daywalk3r]

Asalaamww, In mid 2008 i emailed a type of Turkish 'halal body' to query the meat sold in Istanbul. Below was the response received. Allahualam...

Wa Alaykum Salam Warahmatullah,

Dear brother Mr. XXX XXX, our kind greetings to you.

Turkey is unique in a sense of halal of meat, certification and consumption. Although 99% of Turkey population is considered Muslim, the country is established on secular basis so the halal certification or Islamic regulations on food is considered against secularism. As a result, we can't really promise the meat that you'd be consuming is halal or not. The halal meat point is solely based on the owner of the place. If they are religious and care about Islamic rules, they will use %100 halal meat.

However the slaughter of the animal is widely the same and Islamically acceptable only difference would be reciting Allah Akbar or Allah's names before slaughter. Otherwise the way animal slaughtered by knife to the neck of the animal will be the same.

Regulation wise, import meat is not allowed in Turkey. Unless it is imported unlawfully through the borders.

If you provide us where you will be visiting mostly, I can see if I can provide you a list of places that you can go and eat freely.

Thank you for contacting us.
Wassalam

[muminah]

^ Isn't that a contradictory statement?

[daywalk3r]

yes, i emailed him back a good few times to clarify a few things but no response.

[daywalk3r]

You'd never guess what...?!! Alhumdolillah a response below just an hour ago after 2 years! (though i did send him a reminder yesterday to my email to him on 30/9/08)

Wa Alaikum Salam Wa Rahmatullah,

Dear brother, sorry for my late response. Turkiye doesn't use any sort of shock or pre-stunning tools. Our biggest struggle is to make sure hygene in place and shariah compliance (saying Bismillah before slaughter, treating animals right etc.) is followed but shock,pre-stunning tool is not common practice.

I am part of Gimdes Halal Certification Body based in Istanbul. (http://www.gimdes.org - http://www.halalcertificationturkey.com/ irtibat@gimdes.org)

As far as the hotels, I would recommend Golden Horn (http://www.goldenhornhotel.com/eng/) and Grand Cevahir (http://www.grandcevahirhotel.com/) The hotels you listed are European based, secular hotels. If you'd like to enjoy the adhan in the mornings, you definitely want to check Golden Horn, it is very close to Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace.

[muminah]

You'd never guess what...?!! Alhumdolillah a response below just an hour ago after 2 years! (though i didnt send him a reminder yesterday to my email to him on 30/9/08)

Wa Alaikum Salam Wa Rahmatullah,

Dear brother, sorry for my late response. Turkiye doesn't use any sort of shock or pre-stunning tools. Our biggest struggle is to make sure hygene in place and shariah compliance (saying Bismillah before slaughter, treating animals right etc.) is followed but shock,pre-stunning tool is not common practice.

I am part of Gimdes Halal Certification Body based in Istanbul. (http://www.gimdes.org - http://www.halalcertificationturkey.com/ irtibat@gimdes.org)

As far as the hotels, I would recommend Golden Horn (http://www.goldenhornhotel.com/eng/) and Grand Cevahir (http://www.grandcevahirhotel.com/) The hotels you listed are European based, secular hotels. If you'd like to enjoy the adhan in the mornings, you definitely want to check Golden Horn, it is very close to Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace.

JazakAllah. Could you possibly ask him about these hotels please: Sheraton and Hilton?