New York: Halal on the menu in school canteens, a political decision that is unanimous

If, in France, the mere prospect of displaying Halal on the menus of our dear little ones inevitably triggers collective hysteria, on the other side of the Atlantic, things are quite different… Seen from America, it is the dogmatic and liberticidal secularism of the French style that seems indigestible.

Thus, in New York, Mayor Eric Adams’ decision to extend the Halal option to all public school cafeterias did not sit on anyone’s stomach, did not infuriate any administrator or politician to the point of madness, and was not exploited by any gutter demagogy. Quite the contrary, it was greeted with applause by all.

Concerned primarily by this measure in favor of living together, taken within the framework of the program “Cafeteria Enhancement Experience” developed by the Office of the Mayor and the Council of New York, the Muslim community is delighted that halal is being invited onto the plates of its children during the shared moment that is the meal in the canteen.

A political will that delights more than one person in the Big Apple, including Afaf Nasher, the New York director of CAIR, the leading organization defending the rights of American Muslims and the fight against Islamophobia.

” Every student, regardless of religion, deserves a lunch that is religiously appropriate. For too long, Muslim primary and secondary school students have been forced to skip lunch or eat a lunch that is not religiously authorized. ” she lamented, before emphasizing: ” As a product of New York City public schools myself, I have never been able to eat halal in the cafeteria. So I am pleased that the tremendous efforts of our Muslim community to demand equal access to basic needs, such as food for our schoolchildren, are being recognized, and I extend all the more warmest congratulations to the Mayor and his team for granting our request. “.

The decision of the mayor of New York to “halalize” school meals is so unanimous that the shrill cries of outrage that such a measure would inevitably have provoked in France seem to have been lost in the immensity of the Atlantic…