MANCHESTER – Recently, my eldest daughter and I were shopping at a store on the outskirts of Manchester. At a blood-spattered counter, three men chopped grey, deadness into chunks.

The un-appetizing flesh was flung onto a chopping board reminiscent of something from the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’. The flesh, which may once have been related to ‘chicken’ lay there sweating, to be purchased by uncaring, in-a-rush Muslims, like us.

I reluctantly placed an order. At which point a machete wielding man with dirty finger nails was so jaw droopingly rude and uncommunicative it was the final straw, in a broken process.

The whole encounter was utterly devoid of any of the beautiful Islamic ethics related to cleanliness, kindness to animals, business etiquette or even basic good manners.

On our way home, my daughter said: ‘If we have to buy meat like that then I will become vegetarian.’

We stopped at a red light right in front of a traditional English butchers. We couldn’t help but admire the spotless, attractive window display, the smiling vendor in fresh striped overalls, the selection of organic meat on offer.

This is not a solitary buying experience, just the worst in a series of similar episodes which must give non-Muslims who accidentally wander into halal stores UK wide a greater feeling of dislike for Islam than they had before they entered.

But now, there may be light at the end of this particular tunnel.

Wednesday saw the world’s first e-marketplace dedicated to quality Halal and Tayyiban products announced as a global partner to Manchester United.

A press conference held at the premiership club’s Carrolton Training Academy, was attended by aladdinstreet.com founders, team captain Wayne Rooney, and Malay and Singapore dignitaries.

The Malaysian based company prides itself on providing its customers with authentic compliant products sourced globally and delivered locally. Importantly, only fully registered and certified companies are invited by AladdinStreet to trade on the site.

So, what does this ‘registration’ and ‘certification’ entail?

Aladdin Group Senior Vice President, Lawrence Chooi, spoke exclusively to Aboutislam.net about the companies mission to introduce high ethics and standards to the global Muslim online marketplace.

“Muslim don’t even know themselves sometimes the extra ethics related to halal and Tayyib. Some Muslims are not behaving in the way they should (e.g.in business) and probably that is related to ignorance or lack of emphasis on the greater part of halal.”

Changing the Market

There are two parts to the Aladdin Street shopping platform: everyday products from washing machines to fashion and products which require the halal certification.

This a wide area covering biochemical, agricultural and food ingredients, beverages and cosmetics, health care and pharmaceuticals. Areas, which will be governed by a particular level of quality control and safety standards, are currently being drafted in cooperation with Education Partnerships UK (EPUK). The potentially positive effects this could have upon Muslim trading is unlike anything tried on such a scale in the internet age to date.

Saeeda Ahmed of EPUK tells Aboutislam, “The opportunity for Aladdin Street is to change the market place. They will be the first enterprise of this kind, that is ethics, social and environmentally driven.”

“Every merchant who signs up (to distribute halal items) will have to abide by the principles of Tayibban not just ‘halal’. We are changing and revolutionizing the way business operates so that we all start thinking about ethics, sustainability, social responsibility as part of the business model.”

The Holy Qur’an mentions ‘Trade’ nine times; among them this verse:

“{O you who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves unjustly except it be a trade amongst you, by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allâh is Most Merciful to you} [Surat An-Nisâ` 4:29]”

In just over 18 months, aladdinstreet.com has become a world leader in online trading, they have offices located in 30 countries worldwide and a reach of more than 4 billion consumers, in largely non-Muslim trading regions including China, Singapore, India and now, Europe.

At the press launch this week, Head of Partnerships and Operations at Manchester United, Tom Hill, read the club’s statement:

“As a vibrant, up-and-coming young company, Aladdin Street is at the forefront of the industry, providing consumers with the ability to purchase quality, premium and compliant goods from reputable merchants who have been invited to sell on the site. Its partnership with Manchester United demonstrates the company’s dedication to global expansion.”

The assembled company executives included Aladdin Group co-founder and Malaysia’s first and only astronaut, the humble and charming Dato Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukar. An orthopaedic surgeon and a model, his manners shone through as he smiled for photographs, signed autographs and gave interviews despite jet-lag.

I couldn’t help but contrast the manners of the visitors to the short, sullen and sulky appearance offered by Manchester United Captain, Wayne Rooney.

Here was a perfect reminder that traditional values, both Muslim and Far Eastern in general have a great deal of benefit to offer the social as well as the financial Western systems.

To find out more about Aladdinstreetcom go to: https://aladdinstreet.com/index.php/home/index

Other online shopping sites, aladdinstreet.net does not accept traders merely based on a business criteria.