Parties, Home Food, & Restaurant Food
“Can parents send food for other students”
At no point is any parent permitted to send food for any student other than their own child without express permission from CJIIS. This includes regular food items, drinks, candies, sweets, desserts, food cooked at home, and food cooked at a restaurant.
Guidelines for all food intended for other students or staff
The concept of halal and haram has become quite blurred in the past few decades. Muslims live in a multi-cultural society where people from all backgrounds meet each other and share their ideas.
Because this is the case, the definition of halal differs between them, some of those definitions being:
- Any and all food is halal except pig and alcohol, even if it is slaughtered by non-Muslims or is not slaughtered at all, but just killed.
- All food is halal if bismillah is blown over it.
- All food is halal if it’s coming from a Muslim, Jew (read: kosher), or Christian.
- Only food slaughtered by a Muslim is halal, even if it was slaughtered using mechanical means (i.e., automatic mechanical knife). The same rule applies for Jews and true Christians.
- Only food slaughtered by a Muslim is halal if it was hand-slaughtered. The same rule applies for Jews and true Christians.
In order to make sure that there is no difference of opinion and everyone feels happy and safe about the food they eat, CJIIS only allows food items that either:
- Do not contain any meat, animal parts, or alcohol. Fish items may be considered.
- Contains meat items that are certified by one of the Halal Monitoring organizations approved by CJIIS.
All other food or drink items do not qualify to be sent to the school for any individual except one’s own children. If the food does qualify, parents must gain express permission from the school first.
Approved Halal-Monitoring Organizations
The organizations approved by CJIIS do not simply certify meat as halal; they actively monitor and perform random checks of the meat through all supply chains. From the farm to the slaughterhouse, to the wholesaler, to the supplier, and finally to the butcher and the restaurant. Further, all (if not most) members of these organizations are `Ulama’ (scholars).
The following halal-monitoring organizations have been approved by CJIIS.
- Halal Monitoring Services (HMS): Please see https://hmsusa.org/certified-listing.html for their certified listings of halal meat processors and restaurants.
- Halal Advocates (HFSAA): Please see https://www.halaladvocates.org/ and go to “Certified Entities” for their certified listings of halal meat processors and restaurants.
Please note that this does not mean we are disallowing any individual from following their own halal criteria at home. The protocol above is to ensure that we follow guidelines that take everyone’s opinion into consideration.
Food Approval Form
Anyone wanting to serve food at any of CJIIS’s locations or at any of its events must submit the form below and gain approval before serving any food. Once the form is filled out, you will receive a reply from CJIIS administration. If your request is denied, we’ll try our best and work with you by providing alternatives that suit your plans. If you do not receive a reply within 48 hours of submitting the form, please email [email protected]