Halal Foods Become More Widely Available in US

November 2, 2005

Source: The Mercury News

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/13059052.htm

On November 2, 2005 The Mercury News reported, "Tahir Anwar [imam of the South Bay Islamic Association] has lived in San Jose [for] 23 years and eaten only foods permitted by strict Islamic guidelines. It was not so easy in the beginning... [Now he and] his observant congregants can buy meat from half a dozen markets in Silicon Valley, dine at more than 30 restaurants, eat at one of the six company cafes at Cisco Systems in San Jose.

They can buy pork-free halal pepperoni pizza and dine at white-tablecloth restaurants.

Halal meat sales have doubled or tripled in the past year at Facciola Meat of Fremont, says John Rothenberg, a buyer at the Bay Area's largest meat distributor. The bigger orders have come from workplaces like Cisco, as well as restaurants and stores, for meat across the board: chicken, lamb, beef, veal and goat.

An estimated 200,000 Muslims live in the Bay Area, says Safaa Ibrahim, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, based in Santa Clara."