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Yeah, some actual growth numbers and customer numbers would have been nice, but I don't see The Economist overselling the popularity at all; instead, I just see

Yeah, some actual growth numbers and customer numbers would have been nice, but I don't see The Economist overselling the popularity at all; instead, I just see them saying that it is growing (based on my reading of the first paragraph). Edit: fix typo

n4r9 8y ago
I agree, actual figures would help a lot. The cynic in me suspects their absence is because they don't support the hypothesis. The claim that halal restaurants have an "almost religious following" among non-Muslims raises my eyebrows almost as much as the claims that e.g. there are "no-go areas" in Muslim parts of Birmingham. I've lived in various parts of the UK all my life, I've been involved in Muslim communities and I've been to a lot of restaurants, both halal and otherwise. Basically the only reason a restaurant will advertise its halal status is to indicate this fact to Muslims. It might be the case that e.g. Lebanese or Indian cuisine is popular among non-Muslim Brits, but that's because of the taste of the food. If anything, there are ethical concerns about halal meat in my peer groups due to the controversies over stunning, and undercover videos showing cruelty in some halal slaughterhouses. Honestly, the first paragraph reads to me like a string of inflated claims that's been shivved in there to exaggerate the significance of the article's content.
- ioewjfowe 8y ago
  > It might be the case that e.g. Lebanese or Indian cuisine is popular among non-Muslim Brits Umm.. Majority of indians are hindus not muslims.
  - dsfyu404ed 8y ago
    I think the point was that it's "ethnic food from somewhere in southern Asia that's further west than Myanmar or so" not that it conforms to any particular religious requirement.
    - n4r9 8y ago
      It's not even that! It's only that so-called "Indian" restaurants in the UK are halal more often than average. From my understanding most dishes you get in those restaurants in the UK are different to what you would actually get served anywhere in south-east Asia.
      - tareqak 8y ago
        Oh! Your comment reminded me of something my dad told me (my country of origin is Bangladesh): https://www.quora.com/Why-are-almost-all-Indian-restaurants-in-the-UK-owned-by-Bangladeshis https://www.quora.com/Why-are-almost-all-Indian-restaurants-... . I wouldn’t say that that’s the only reason either. Even if a non-Muslim Indian does set up an Indian restaurant, they have a high chance of attracting recurring customers that happen to be Muslims that observe a keeping a halal diet.
- boomboomsubban 8y ago
  My experience is limited, but in America I've seen a few Muslim run restaurants use the word halal in their name, and have heard the term being used similarly to "Chinese food." The author may come from where that happens, and is referring to things like Pakistani cuisine.
  - tareqak 8y ago
    To add some data, in San Francisco, you can find “The Halal Guys” (https://thehalalguys.com https://thehalalguys.com) and “Halal Wings Plus” (http://halalwingsplus.com http://halalwingsplus.com).

n4r9 8y ago

I agree, actual figures would help a lot. The cynic in me suspects their absence is because they don't support the hypothesis. The claim that halal restaurants have an "almost religious following" among non-Muslims raises my eyebrows almost as much as the claims that e.g. there are "no-go areas" in Muslim parts of Birmingham. I've lived in various parts of the UK all my life, I've been involved in Muslim communities and I've been to a lot of restaurants, both halal and otherwise. Basically the only reason a restaurant will advertise its halal status is to indicate this fact to Muslims. It might be the case that e.g. Lebanese or Indian cuisine is popular among non-Muslim Brits, but that's because of the taste of the food. If anything, there are ethical concerns about halal meat in my peer groups due to the controversies over stunning, and undercover videos showing cruelty in some halal slaughterhouses. Honestly, the first paragraph reads to me like a string of inflated claims that's been shivved in there to exaggerate the significance of the article's content.

ioewjfowe 8y ago
> It might be the case that e.g. Lebanese or Indian cuisine is popular among non-Muslim Brits Umm.. Majority of indians are hindus not muslims.
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago
  I think the point was that it's "ethnic food from somewhere in southern Asia that's further west than Myanmar or so" not that it conforms to any particular religious requirement.
  - n4r9 8y ago
    It's not even that! It's only that so-called "Indian" restaurants in the UK are halal more often than average. From my understanding most dishes you get in those restaurants in the UK are different to what you would actually get served anywhere in south-east Asia.
    - tareqak 8y ago
      Oh! Your comment reminded me of something my dad told me (my country of origin is Bangladesh): https://www.quora.com/Why-are-almost-all-Indian-restaurants-in-the-UK-owned-by-Bangladeshis https://www.quora.com/Why-are-almost-all-Indian-restaurants-... . I wouldn’t say that that’s the only reason either. Even if a non-Muslim Indian does set up an Indian restaurant, they have a high chance of attracting recurring customers that happen to be Muslims that observe a keeping a halal diet.
boomboomsubban 8y ago
My experience is limited, but in America I've seen a few Muslim run restaurants use the word halal in their name, and have heard the term being used similarly to "Chinese food." The author may come from where that happens, and is referring to things like Pakistani cuisine.
- tareqak 8y ago
  To add some data, in San Francisco, you can find “The Halal Guys” (https://thehalalguys.com https://thehalalguys.com) and “Halal Wings Plus” (http://halalwingsplus.com http://halalwingsplus.com).