Norway: Proposal to offer only halal food in prisons

After translating, I found this article in English also on Aftenbladet.

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Muslims at Trondheim prison reported the prison when they learned that they have been served pork in their meal.  According to the prison manager and cook at the prison this happened by mistake.  Norwegian Muslims are weighing in on the meals at Norwegian prisons.

Liberal Party politician Abid Raja worked with many immigrants in Norway and has seen that there is a great demand for halal food among Muslims who sit in Norwegian prisons.

"What happened in Trondheim is terrible.  For many Muslims, both practicing and non-practicing, ingesting pork is particularly violating.  For some Muslims this will be seen as an attack, and a very strong violation of integrity," says Raja.

"The most practical will be if the prisons only offer halal food, since then the kitchen avoids having to deal with so many different types of meals.  Norwegians have no problems eating halal meat and if they wanted pork they could get that in addition.  It will solve many problems," thinks Abid Raja.

Raja says that this isn't about satisfying a special group, since Muslims make up such a large group in the prisons.  He adds that it won't be a problem, either, since the Gilde brand offers halal meat.  For him it's a simple procedure, but it's not about capability, it's about will. 

He says the issue has been brought up at several occasions by those involved with Muslims in prisons.

Raja says that pork is shameful for many Muslims and that when Muslim prisoners in addition again have the feeling that they were tricked into eating pork, this will feel like an extra attack.

"Even if the prisoners ingested pork by mistake, it's one mistake too many.  Such mistakes should as a starting point never happen," he says.

Raja thinks the Correctional Service should take responsibility.

"The prisoners are subject to government control and it's up to the correctional service to arrange for the different needs of the prisoners," he says.

Norwegian prisons house a large proportion of Muslims.  More than a third of prisoners are Muslims.  Dagsavisen.no learned that there is no prison in Norway which offers halal food to prisoners.

According to the cook at Drammen prison halal food is difficult to prepare.

"Our cook says he doesn't manage to prepare this.  It's quite simply too difficult.  It must be prepared in a special way and can't come into contact with other meat.  And so it's difficult to obtain," says Audun Tjore, head of the prison.

According to Basin Gozlan, head of the Muslim organization islam.no, that's incorrect.

"Halal meat should just be slaughtered in a special way, and today it can be gotten everywhere.  When the meat itself is halal, it doesn't matter if it comes into contact with another meat.  The meat only stops being halal when it's mixed together with another meat in a way that makes it inseparable."

Calling up Norwegian prison managers shows that they have little oversight of what is served in prison.  Communication between the manager and kitchen is poor.

"We have to have a diet that corresponds to different meal selections, but it's the cook who oversees whether the selection is halal meat," says Roy Hørgøien at Trondheim prison.

Also at Illseng and Hamar prisons the answer was similar.

Synne Bekkelund, cook at Ilseng prison, says that they have framework agreements for most things and it's the Correctional Service who sets them up.  Their whole region has the same purchases and it doesn't include halal slaughter.

The alternative meals which are offered at Norwegian prisons are turkey, beef, fish, lamb and chicken.  None are slaughtered in a special way.

Source: Dagsavisen (Norwegian)

See also: Norway: Prisoners convert to Islam to protest lack of halal food