Description
Book SynopsisSacred Rituals and Humane Death critically analyzes the civilizing nature of the underlying fundamental concept of humaneness in contemporary discourses around modern meat and animal ethics. As religious methods of animal slaughter, such as the halal method in Islam, as well as the practice of religious animal sacrifice, are sometimes categorized as barbaric in recent debates, the civilizing narrative of progress leads supposedly to more humane adaptation of methods and practices of animal curation and slaughter. This volume argues that the shift toward modern meat does not constitute a shift toward less pain and suffering as purported by supporters of contemporary methods, particularly mass agriculture. Rather, it is a shift in what is considered as acceptable versus unacceptable pain and suffering. In this work, the author analyzes the concealment and distancing that characterize modern meat production, uncovering the acceptable pain and suffering involved in these procedures heralde
Trade ReviewDahlan contests the commodification that impels secular meat consumption as well as the assumption that halal status depends on the slaughter method alone. She challenges her fellow Muslims to take farm animal diets, housing and flourishing just as seriously while also calling into question the poor animal welfare in so much modern farming. This book launches a two-way critical dialogue that must continue. -- David Grumett, Senior Lecturer in Theology and Ethics, University of Edinburgh
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1 Humane Death: the Making of Modern Meat Chapter 2 Halal Meat: from Permissible Food to Ritual Slaughter Chapter 3 Ethical Vegetarianism: Civilizing Religion Chapter 4 Un-Civilizing Meat: Modern Human-Animal Relationship Chapter 5 The Act of Witnessing: Proximity in Food System Chapter 6 Animal Sacrifice: Meat and Food Justice Conclusion Bibliography About the Author
