In the name of Allah

By Liz Barry

Published: November 8, 2008

When Adil Ilyas, 30, balked at a job opportunity with a tech company in Lynchburg, it had nothing to do with the job.

“My most important concern was, ‘Will I get halal meat?’” says Ilyas, a Muslim and native of India.

“Halal,” Arabic for “permissible,” is a term used to describe meat and food products sanctioned by Islamic law. To be considered halal, the animal must be killed in the name of Allah, using a special technique that drains all of the animal’s blood.

It wasn’t until Ilyas learned of the International Halal Market that he decided to leave New York City for a promotion within Genpact, an India-based company that manages business processes for companies around the world.

Now, he pays weekly visits to the store to pick up fresh chicken and goat meat. Tonight, he chats with the owner in Urdu, a language commonly spoken in India and Pakistan, as he waits on his order.
The market is the lone outpost for halal meat in a city aptly nicknamed “City of Churches.” The small, whitewashed building on 12th Street is surrounded by a chainlink fence lined with more than a dozen flags: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and others. Inside, the shelves are stocked with food from those same countries.

Shahnawaz Khan, a native of Pakistan, opened the market in June to meet a growing demand for halal meat. The store attracts customers from about a 100-mile radius, including Salem, Farmville and Altavista, Khan says.

“It was a big need for Muslim families,” he says.

Before, area Muslims would make trips to Washington, D.C., Richmond or even New York City to buy halal meat, spices and other products from their native countries. Now, it’s available downtown.

Soon, Lynchburg will also be home to its first mosque, which is under construction on Airport Road. The Greater Lynchburg Islamic Association (GLIA) President Maqsud Ahmad says the mosque is in its final stages of construction.

The Muslim population has grown exponentially in recent years, says Ahmad, who has lived in Lynchburg for 33 years. For decades, it hovered between about five and 10 families; now there are more than 60, plus other individuals, scattered throughout the region.

For Khan, the United States meant better business opportunities. When he moved to Lynchburg six years ago, he bought a gas station in Appomattox. Now, he owns two gas stations, a restaurant, an ice cream shop and the Halal Market. He named the ice cream shop and restaurant after his daughter Aimna.

“I see a better future here more than in Pakistan,” says Khan.

“Anybody who works hard, they have more opportunity to go up and up.”

Despite the area’s small Muslim population and the country’s strained relations with parts of the Muslim world, Khan has not encountered hostility toward his religion.

“Nobody is bothering anybody on the basis of religion. We have had no problems so far,” he says.

The evenings are peak time at the shop. Customers trickle in after work to pick up their meat orders and scan the aisles. Khan knows most of them and greets them by name.

The majority of the products are not available at local grocery stores. There are spice mixes from Pakistan; fig preserves from the Middle East; “dul” or lentils from India; mirgral fish from the Ganges River. Some have unfamiliar labels, like “foule mudammas” or small fava beans, and “tinda” or Indian baby pumpkin.

But meat is the main draw. Fresh lamb, chicken, goat and beef is delivered each week, whole, and butchered by Khan and his staff into choice cuts.

“You don’t have to be a very strict Muslim to eat halal. This is a basic thing,” Khan says.

Allison Qureshi, 23, is a regular customer. Today, she buys chicken for her family. Before, her family would drive to D.C. every three to four months to buy halal meat in bulk — a precarious task in the summer when meat is prone to spoiling.

“Otherwise we would eat a lot of beans,” she says.

Right now, customers are beginning to place orders for Eid al-Adha, a Muslim festival of sacrifice celebrated in December. It honors Abrahams willingness to sacrifice his son for God.

“We sacrifice goat, lamb, camel and cows in remembrance of prophet Ishmael, son of prophet Abraham,” Khan says.

Halal meat has an appeal beyond Muslims. Some prefer it for reason of taste or health.

Uday Mukherjee is a regular customer at the Halal Market. The native of Calcutta owns the Hot & Cold Café on Ninth Street, an Indian-Mediterranean Fusion restaurant.

Today, he buys an order of goat meat for his Saturday buffet at the café, featuring goat curry. Though Mukherjee is not a Muslim (he was raised Hindu and is now a Christian), he prefers to serve halal meat at his restaurant because he believes it is tastier and healthier, even though it is more expensive.

“I’m willing to pay more for a good thing,” Mukherjee says.