Does the food of the Jews, which

Q: There is a large abattoir in our area whose owner is a Jew. Muslims from everywhere buy meat from this abattoir because of the acknowledgment granted to it by the Islamic society, which takes the form of a stamp placed on the flesh indicating that it is Halal (lawful) meat. There are three stages to describe slaughtered meat as Halal:1. The slaughterhouse: A Muslim whom we fully trust slaughters the animals and places a special label on the flesh to indicate that it is slaughtered by a Muslim.2. The place for veterinary examination: A veterinarian, who is from the People of the Book, examines the animal and stamps it using either the stamp for slaughtered animals or the stamp for strangled ones.3. The place where cutting, weighing, and selling the meat takes place: The people working in this place are from (Part No. 22; Page No. 409) the people of the Book and there are no Muslims to supervise those in charge of cutting the meat.We, the members of the Islamic society, asked the Jew to slaughter sheep and improve the stages required for rendering meat Halal so that Muslims would be certain of that. However, he told us that he would dedicate a Muslim worker to carry out the task of cutting, weighing, and selling the meat, but not on an official basis, just for two days of the week.The owner of the abattoir, on the other hand, pays two thousand French franks every month as a gift and aid to the Masjid (mosque). In fact, this money is compensation for the acknowledgment granted to him. Is it permissible to withdraw this acknowledgment or not?Note: It is worth mentioning that Muslims in Orléans have no experience in slaughtering the cattle except in the abattoir. They can only slaughter chickens. Moreover, there is no Muslim abattoir in our area where more than five thousand Muslims live and are, thus, forced to buy meat.The Islamic society wants to take back the acknowledgment and the stamp it has granted the Jew because of our knowledge of the detailed tricks mentioned above.However, we fear that if we take back the acknowledgment from him, he would strangle all the animals (Part No. 22; Page No. 410) and sell strangled meat as he used to do and Muslims might be forced to buy strangled meat because there would be no slaughtered meat. This is the problem we are facing.

A: You are required to obligate the owner of the abattoir to slaughter the animals by cutting the throat and esophagus using a sharp knife or the like. There is no objection if the butcher is a Jew or a Christian. As for strangled animals, they are not lawful to eat and are considered carrion. You should not grant him the stamp if he strangles the cattle and does not slaughter them, because granting it to him is a testimony that he slaughters animals according to Shari`ah (Islamic law). Since he strangles the cattle and does not slaughter them, it would be a false testimony which is Haram (prohibited).May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.