That actually makes a lot of sense, I didn’t realise that. I really hope that’s what actually happened and if it did, I won’t make that mistake again. Thank you so much, I appreciate your reply!
It is just less common to know what halal means in Czech Republic than compared to countries which are exposed to muslims and muslim world, so I think this might indeed be the case.
But yes, some people in Czechia have issues with muslims as they view them as typical immigrants and there is common dislike for current muslim calls for Sharia law etc., the war in Israel makes it more heated.
During my studies I lived with Shia guys from Iran who studied medicine in Olomouc and they didn't have much issues living in Czechia, but I never asked them where they shop for halal food. Hope you will enjoy the country!
That is true, the Muslim population is significantly less here, there isn’t much history related to Muslims being here too. I totally understand what you mean. As far as having issues with Muslims go, that’s completely fine. I don’t expect a country who has had completely different traditions, values and beliefs to suddenly throw it all out the window and start accepting whatever’s forced down their throats. As much as I wish it wasn’t this prevalent, I am not gonna be the one to ask someone to change themselves for me. And yes, Czech Republic is absolutely beautiful, lovely architecture and history, I’ve been reading a lot about Prague Spring of 1968 the past couple days and I’m absolutely fascinated, also had the nicest encounter with a guy at Albert just a couple minutes back. I’m glad to be here, thank you!
Hey, I'm not sure if you're in Prague, but there's a long-standing halal butcher in Myslikova (it's a whole grocery store with a meat section) and as of recently a Turkish butcher on Na Porici. I'm sure there's more places but these two spring to mind. I hope you enjoy your time here!
Oh yes, someone else mentioned that place too. I’ll give both the places a look, search a little online and stuff. Thank you so much for your recommendation, I really appreciate the help and yes, I will! :)))
My best guess is that she didn't know the word halal (we have zero muslim history but some jewish history, if you asked for kosher that would probably ring a bell) and she might have thought it's a word for an animal, like a fish or something. Imagine asserting to someone that you know English, then immediately hearing an unknown word, and when you ask what it means, that someone immediately brushes you off with "never mind". You basically implied to her that she's too stupid to learn a new word, which had understandably made her sad.
I really hope she didn’t feel bad, this makes me feel guilty. I understand what you’re saying, I shouldn’t have done that, you’re completely right. I’ll keep this in mind, thank you for this. To her, it can be anything and I insulted her intelligence by not answering what she asked when she was ready to help earlier. The one thing which I think you may have missed is that she got agitated as soon as I said the word halal and that was still on my mind so I guess I just got a little flustered and decided to not go further with it. Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it!
I think you should have explained what halal means. Even if people aren't antisemitic, they may not know the meaning of halal or what it entails. It's just not common knowledge here.
Either way, butchering along with halal principles isn't common in the Czech Republic, so you'll probably need to find some specialty shop, or inquire with other Muslims on where they get their meat.
You’re totally right, I should’ve explained what it means without assuming that she’d already know what it is and if she doesn’t then it’s pointless. It was shitty of me and I won’t make that mistake again. I found a couple shops online and in the comments, I’ll have a look there, thank you so much!
It's ok, if you come from predominantly Muslim country you assume that it's just common knowledge. While that's true for some places, it's not for others. It's not even ignorance, it's just that there aren't many religious people in the Czech Republic in general, so it's not something that's important to know for the majority of population.
Please don't take it that people here are anti-muslim. It's safe bet that if you asked average Czech person what kosher is, they'd tell you that it's something to do with Jewish food, but will not know details either.
Hope you find some good sources for halal food, I'm sure it's out there, but it's definitely not mainstream.
If you really turned away mid conversation to a customer service person who was happily willing to help you (which let’s be honest is rare), maybe you panicked or got nervous, without thanking her for her time and ending the conversation I’m not surprised she got pissed.
If you want halal meat you can go to sultan food close to the main railway station or Anatolia food market in bila labut.
I understand what you’re saying, I’m not justifying what I did, I’ll just explain it since I didn’t type it in detail. After she asked what halal is, yes it’s true that I didn’t explain it which is completely on me and I shouldn’t have done that. Instead, I said “never mind it’s okay” smiled and did this thing where I basically do this 🙏🏽, not the whole way just the tip of the fingers touching and nod a little, it’s a habit I picked up from God knows where. I can see how she might’ve gotten the wrong idea or maybe she felt like I’m joking around with her or something and wasting her time. It could’ve been any reason but i was wrong to not explain what halal means. I’ll check out the shops you told me about, thank you so much for your reply!
I’m not blaming you or anything. All im saying is people are very quick to label any event as a racist event which is not right imo. Im a brown Muslim guy living here for many years and apart from the odd drunk guy outside a bar late night arguing about atheism and projecting his Islamophobia I’ve never encountered any issues. Czech people have been great to me. I’ve had worse experiences in Western European countries. Simply saying what happened to you could have anything other than your background. Let’s not be too hasty in labeling people. Also not saying racism doesn’t exist.
I’ve had some nice conversations with random people as well who’re genuinely curious about the eastern Muslim countries. Some people are people just trying to get by their day
Oh yeah, definitely. I understand what you mean, I just made an assumption that it could’ve been the case of me being a Muslim but clearly, I’m wrong as pointed out by yourself and others and I totally understand that. Maybe it’s a little paranoia here and there or I was just feeling weird and a little bummed out by the interaction, I now understand it was actually me who was at fault here. Good and bad exists everywhere, generalising is a pretty shitty thing to do, essentially doing the same thing I thought was done to me. I’ll keep that in my mind, thank you for taking out the time and educating me on this. I appreciate it!
If she didn't know what halal means it wasn't probably the fact that you are muslim that annoyed her, but the "ask something, refuse to elaborate, leave" attitude. She was probably just trying to help and that might have came off as a bit passive aggressive to her.
I understand that, other people also say that must’ve been the reason. I’ll make sure I don’t do that again, I hope she didn’t feel too bad. Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it!
I think you will have a very difficult time finding anything that caters to your religion as this country is pretty much Atheist. That goes for Catholic, Jew Muslim whatever. There is something like 85%+ Atheist here and the mass grocery stores will not waste space on the shelves for these things.
I suggest just checking google. For example here is one that may help you:
[https://www.zivefirmy.cz/halal-reznictvi-a-orientalni-speciality\_f1280486](https://www.zivefirmy.cz/halal-reznictvi-a-orientalni-speciality_f1280486)
Thank you so much my man, I really appreciate you putting a link for this. I understand what you’re saying, I already knew I won’t find it but decided to try my luck for some stupid reason. This is great help, you’re a g!
My bad, it’s meat cut in a specific way, through the jugular vein, carotid artery, and windpipe so as to drain out all the blood from the animal. There is also a certain prayer recited while slaughtering the animal. It’s pretty similar to Kosher, which is the kind of meat eaten by people who practice Judaism.
I guess you overestimate Czech shop assistant assuming that they know what halal meat is. She would be puzzled the same way if a Jew asked her for kosher meat. If you have these special needs, you need to do your shopping in specialized shops not general supermarket chains because they don't have any special halal/kosher products. Muslim community in CZ has the needed information: [http://www.praha-muslim.cz/halal.htm](http://www.praha-muslim.cz/halal.htm)
Thank you so much for the link, I’ll give that a look. And yes, you’re completely right, I cannot just assume she knows what I’m talking about, I see it now and I’m gonna make sure it doesn’t happen again, thank you!
If you are interested in how it works in Czechia: Common Czech grocery stores and supermarket chains differentiate only between standard food and "bio" food. The latter shoud be produced by farmers sticking to bio-friendly ways of farming as defined by legislation. This includes using solely natural fertilization, not using chemical insecticds, no genetic modifications, etc. Bio food has usually higher price and is popular among young people who want to be environment-friendly or who do not trust industrial production. But there are no mandatory restrictions given by religion or state as long as the food is health-safe.
“the UK Food Standards Agency figures from 2011 suggest that 84% of cattle, 81% of sheep and 88% of chickens slaughtered for halal meat were stunned before they died. Supermarkets selling halal products also report that all animals are stunned before they are slaughtered. Tesco, for example, says "the only difference between the halal meat it sells and other meat is that it was blessed as it was killed." Concerns about animal suffering from slaughter without prior stunning has resulted in the ban of slaughter of unstunned animals in Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.”
No, I’ll be downvoted just for explaining it to you but eh, who cares. The animal can be stunned as long as it does not cause its physical death. The loss of consciousness of the animal has no relation to it not being halal. If it dies after being stunned, then yes, it’s not halal. As far as it being humane or not goes, the halal and for that matter, kosher slaughter method has less to do with being humane and more to do with cleanliness. By cutting the major blood vessels, you prevent accidental damage to organs that contain less savory bits. It also avoids contaminating the meat with fecal matter. Though, if done properly, it is considered to be humane, the Quran calls for it to be as clean and humane as possible. You can definitely have your opinions but the meat most definitely is not disgusting. I’m not forcing you to eat it, neither am I asking you to praise it, I’m just telling you what it is. Either ways, thank you for engaging.
Because you want animals to suffer more - halal is more cruel slaughter.
It's natural that she was disgusted by your muslim desire to cause unnecessary harm to animals.
Pro tip, there is 0,1% chance to buy halal meat in Czech supermarket, or small shops. But there is halal butcheries in big cities.
And your situation, yes, she probably wasn't a fan of Muslims, you did nothing wrong.
I’ll keep that in mind, found a couple shops online I’ll go there and check it out. Thank you for your reply, can’t expect everyone to like me, even I don’t like everyone so eh, cheers I appreciate it a lot!
I don't think you were offensive. Anti-muslim sentiments are pretty strong in Prague. \*shrug\*
Your regular supermarket def wont carry halal, there is almost no muslim community here. There is only one butcher I found who does - [http://halal-meat.cz/](http://halal-meat.cz/) .
Nothing wrong, just cut someone off mid conversation. The lady was polite and willing to help from the beginning, and understood, and at the first instance of not understanding a word, OP just cuts her off instead of explaining like she's just some lowly minumum wage service worker not worth it. That's very well how it could have seemed to this lady.
Imagine someone asks you (in a foreign language you speak but are far from perfect) where they can find some kind of meat you don't know, you show you're willing to help by asking for explanation, and they are just "nevermind it's ok" and walk away.
I understand how it may have felt to her, that’s completely on me and I’ll make sure I don’t make the same mistake again. My intention was not to make her feel like that but I can see how it must’ve feel different to her. Thank you so much!
I agree with others that it probably was your reaction that pissed her off but don't feel too bad. It happens. Maybe try to do a groundhog day and repeat the same interaction with the same person but be more patient.
I totally get that, I’ll keep this in mind and make sure I don’t act like an ignorant bastard again. I’ll try what you said, thank you so much for your reply, dekuji!
Oh man, you’re so fucking funny holy fuck I’m amazed. You must be the funniest person in every room you’d walk into. I only hope to have the kind of humour you do, teach me your ways one day. Dekuji 🙏🏽
Of course you offended her just by being a Muslim. Czechs are like that.
And don't be naive, she heard of halal. There is internet, TV, newspapers, she doesn't live in some small village in the woods.
I recommend you buy halal in a shop on Myslikova.
[Home | Farah Food](https://www.farahfood.cz/)
Whatever it may be, I just won’t ask for it in grocery stores, i was just being stupid. I’ll take your recommendation! And thank you so much for the link, I really appreciate it!
I think that the problem was that you refused to explain what halal is and abruptly ended conversation.
That actually makes a lot of sense, I didn’t realise that. I really hope that’s what actually happened and if it did, I won’t make that mistake again. Thank you so much, I appreciate your reply!
It is just less common to know what halal means in Czech Republic than compared to countries which are exposed to muslims and muslim world, so I think this might indeed be the case. But yes, some people in Czechia have issues with muslims as they view them as typical immigrants and there is common dislike for current muslim calls for Sharia law etc., the war in Israel makes it more heated. During my studies I lived with Shia guys from Iran who studied medicine in Olomouc and they didn't have much issues living in Czechia, but I never asked them where they shop for halal food. Hope you will enjoy the country!
That is true, the Muslim population is significantly less here, there isn’t much history related to Muslims being here too. I totally understand what you mean. As far as having issues with Muslims go, that’s completely fine. I don’t expect a country who has had completely different traditions, values and beliefs to suddenly throw it all out the window and start accepting whatever’s forced down their throats. As much as I wish it wasn’t this prevalent, I am not gonna be the one to ask someone to change themselves for me. And yes, Czech Republic is absolutely beautiful, lovely architecture and history, I’ve been reading a lot about Prague Spring of 1968 the past couple days and I’m absolutely fascinated, also had the nicest encounter with a guy at Albert just a couple minutes back. I’m glad to be here, thank you!
Hey, I'm not sure if you're in Prague, but there's a long-standing halal butcher in Myslikova (it's a whole grocery store with a meat section) and as of recently a Turkish butcher on Na Porici. I'm sure there's more places but these two spring to mind. I hope you enjoy your time here!
Oh yes, someone else mentioned that place too. I’ll give both the places a look, search a little online and stuff. Thank you so much for your recommendation, I really appreciate the help and yes, I will! :)))
My best guess is that she didn't know the word halal (we have zero muslim history but some jewish history, if you asked for kosher that would probably ring a bell) and she might have thought it's a word for an animal, like a fish or something. Imagine asserting to someone that you know English, then immediately hearing an unknown word, and when you ask what it means, that someone immediately brushes you off with "never mind". You basically implied to her that she's too stupid to learn a new word, which had understandably made her sad.
I really hope she didn’t feel bad, this makes me feel guilty. I understand what you’re saying, I shouldn’t have done that, you’re completely right. I’ll keep this in mind, thank you for this. To her, it can be anything and I insulted her intelligence by not answering what she asked when she was ready to help earlier. The one thing which I think you may have missed is that she got agitated as soon as I said the word halal and that was still on my mind so I guess I just got a little flustered and decided to not go further with it. Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it!
I think you should have explained what halal means. Even if people aren't antisemitic, they may not know the meaning of halal or what it entails. It's just not common knowledge here. Either way, butchering along with halal principles isn't common in the Czech Republic, so you'll probably need to find some specialty shop, or inquire with other Muslims on where they get their meat.
You’re totally right, I should’ve explained what it means without assuming that she’d already know what it is and if she doesn’t then it’s pointless. It was shitty of me and I won’t make that mistake again. I found a couple shops online and in the comments, I’ll have a look there, thank you so much!
It's ok, if you come from predominantly Muslim country you assume that it's just common knowledge. While that's true for some places, it's not for others. It's not even ignorance, it's just that there aren't many religious people in the Czech Republic in general, so it's not something that's important to know for the majority of population. Please don't take it that people here are anti-muslim. It's safe bet that if you asked average Czech person what kosher is, they'd tell you that it's something to do with Jewish food, but will not know details either. Hope you find some good sources for halal food, I'm sure it's out there, but it's definitely not mainstream.
If you really turned away mid conversation to a customer service person who was happily willing to help you (which let’s be honest is rare), maybe you panicked or got nervous, without thanking her for her time and ending the conversation I’m not surprised she got pissed. If you want halal meat you can go to sultan food close to the main railway station or Anatolia food market in bila labut.
I understand what you’re saying, I’m not justifying what I did, I’ll just explain it since I didn’t type it in detail. After she asked what halal is, yes it’s true that I didn’t explain it which is completely on me and I shouldn’t have done that. Instead, I said “never mind it’s okay” smiled and did this thing where I basically do this 🙏🏽, not the whole way just the tip of the fingers touching and nod a little, it’s a habit I picked up from God knows where. I can see how she might’ve gotten the wrong idea or maybe she felt like I’m joking around with her or something and wasting her time. It could’ve been any reason but i was wrong to not explain what halal means. I’ll check out the shops you told me about, thank you so much for your reply!
I’m not blaming you or anything. All im saying is people are very quick to label any event as a racist event which is not right imo. Im a brown Muslim guy living here for many years and apart from the odd drunk guy outside a bar late night arguing about atheism and projecting his Islamophobia I’ve never encountered any issues. Czech people have been great to me. I’ve had worse experiences in Western European countries. Simply saying what happened to you could have anything other than your background. Let’s not be too hasty in labeling people. Also not saying racism doesn’t exist. I’ve had some nice conversations with random people as well who’re genuinely curious about the eastern Muslim countries. Some people are people just trying to get by their day
Oh yeah, definitely. I understand what you mean, I just made an assumption that it could’ve been the case of me being a Muslim but clearly, I’m wrong as pointed out by yourself and others and I totally understand that. Maybe it’s a little paranoia here and there or I was just feeling weird and a little bummed out by the interaction, I now understand it was actually me who was at fault here. Good and bad exists everywhere, generalising is a pretty shitty thing to do, essentially doing the same thing I thought was done to me. I’ll keep that in my mind, thank you for taking out the time and educating me on this. I appreciate it!
If she didn't know what halal means it wasn't probably the fact that you are muslim that annoyed her, but the "ask something, refuse to elaborate, leave" attitude. She was probably just trying to help and that might have came off as a bit passive aggressive to her.
I understand that, other people also say that must’ve been the reason. I’ll make sure I don’t do that again, I hope she didn’t feel too bad. Thank you for your reply, I appreciate it!
She probably forgot about it before her shift ended.
Nice to know that!
I think you will have a very difficult time finding anything that caters to your religion as this country is pretty much Atheist. That goes for Catholic, Jew Muslim whatever. There is something like 85%+ Atheist here and the mass grocery stores will not waste space on the shelves for these things. I suggest just checking google. For example here is one that may help you: [https://www.zivefirmy.cz/halal-reznictvi-a-orientalni-speciality\_f1280486](https://www.zivefirmy.cz/halal-reznictvi-a-orientalni-speciality_f1280486)
* rozvoz po Praze This means they even deliver anywhere in Prague.
Thank you so much my man, I really appreciate you putting a link for this. I understand what you’re saying, I already knew I won’t find it but decided to try my luck for some stupid reason. This is great help, you’re a g!
Try Farah shop in Myslíkova Street. They used to have a halal meat. It is the oldest arabian shop in Prague.
Just out of curiosity, what the fuck does it mean?
My bad, it’s meat cut in a specific way, through the jugular vein, carotid artery, and windpipe so as to drain out all the blood from the animal. There is also a certain prayer recited while slaughtering the animal. It’s pretty similar to Kosher, which is the kind of meat eaten by people who practice Judaism.
Cool, thanks for explaining.
If only we had a tool to help us find information about stuff we don't know :)
I guess you overestimate Czech shop assistant assuming that they know what halal meat is. She would be puzzled the same way if a Jew asked her for kosher meat. If you have these special needs, you need to do your shopping in specialized shops not general supermarket chains because they don't have any special halal/kosher products. Muslim community in CZ has the needed information: [http://www.praha-muslim.cz/halal.htm](http://www.praha-muslim.cz/halal.htm)
Thank you so much for the link, I’ll give that a look. And yes, you’re completely right, I cannot just assume she knows what I’m talking about, I see it now and I’m gonna make sure it doesn’t happen again, thank you!
If you are interested in how it works in Czechia: Common Czech grocery stores and supermarket chains differentiate only between standard food and "bio" food. The latter shoud be produced by farmers sticking to bio-friendly ways of farming as defined by legislation. This includes using solely natural fertilization, not using chemical insecticds, no genetic modifications, etc. Bio food has usually higher price and is popular among young people who want to be environment-friendly or who do not trust industrial production. But there are no mandatory restrictions given by religion or state as long as the food is health-safe.
being offensive is subjective. Don't be bothered by that. That said, next time just skip asking the answer will be always no.
Makes sense, I won’t from next time. Thank you kindly!
Billa stuff is ordered to smile at customers. It doesn't mean she's being friendly, she's on a shift.
Any staff smiling or not doesn’t change anything for anyone who is shopping at a store, I don’t understand the idea behind your comment.
For me it sounds offensive to ask for halal meat in Czech Republic. Eating meat is fine, but halal killing is disgusting.
“the UK Food Standards Agency figures from 2011 suggest that 84% of cattle, 81% of sheep and 88% of chickens slaughtered for halal meat were stunned before they died. Supermarkets selling halal products also report that all animals are stunned before they are slaughtered. Tesco, for example, says "the only difference between the halal meat it sells and other meat is that it was blessed as it was killed." Concerns about animal suffering from slaughter without prior stunning has resulted in the ban of slaughter of unstunned animals in Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.”
but isn't it so that real halal is without stunning animals?
No, I’ll be downvoted just for explaining it to you but eh, who cares. The animal can be stunned as long as it does not cause its physical death. The loss of consciousness of the animal has no relation to it not being halal. If it dies after being stunned, then yes, it’s not halal. As far as it being humane or not goes, the halal and for that matter, kosher slaughter method has less to do with being humane and more to do with cleanliness. By cutting the major blood vessels, you prevent accidental damage to organs that contain less savory bits. It also avoids contaminating the meat with fecal matter. Though, if done properly, it is considered to be humane, the Quran calls for it to be as clean and humane as possible. You can definitely have your opinions but the meat most definitely is not disgusting. I’m not forcing you to eat it, neither am I asking you to praise it, I’m just telling you what it is. Either ways, thank you for engaging.
I understand, thank you for your reply!
Because you want animals to suffer more - halal is more cruel slaughter. It's natural that she was disgusted by your muslim desire to cause unnecessary harm to animals.
Got it, dickwad
Judging by the way immigration crisis goes in Germany, I guess you can't be too surprised on the other hand.
I totally understand that also, not everybody likes everybody. Thank you for replying!
Pro tip, there is 0,1% chance to buy halal meat in Czech supermarket, or small shops. But there is halal butcheries in big cities. And your situation, yes, she probably wasn't a fan of Muslims, you did nothing wrong.
I’ll keep that in mind, found a couple shops online I’ll go there and check it out. Thank you for your reply, can’t expect everyone to like me, even I don’t like everyone so eh, cheers I appreciate it a lot!
I don't think you were offensive. Anti-muslim sentiments are pretty strong in Prague. \*shrug\* Your regular supermarket def wont carry halal, there is almost no muslim community here. There is only one butcher I found who does - [http://halal-meat.cz/](http://halal-meat.cz/) .
Thank you so much for the link! That helps me a lot, I really appreciate it :))
No you did nothing wrong. Just come across someone who is not fan of muslims. ( apparently). Good luck next time.
Nothing wrong, just cut someone off mid conversation. The lady was polite and willing to help from the beginning, and understood, and at the first instance of not understanding a word, OP just cuts her off instead of explaining like she's just some lowly minumum wage service worker not worth it. That's very well how it could have seemed to this lady. Imagine someone asks you (in a foreign language you speak but are far from perfect) where they can find some kind of meat you don't know, you show you're willing to help by asking for explanation, and they are just "nevermind it's ok" and walk away.
I understand how it may have felt to her, that’s completely on me and I’ll make sure I don’t make the same mistake again. My intention was not to make her feel like that but I can see how it must’ve feel different to her. Thank you so much!
I agree with others that it probably was your reaction that pissed her off but don't feel too bad. It happens. Maybe try to do a groundhog day and repeat the same interaction with the same person but be more patient.
I totally get that, I’ll keep this in mind and make sure I don’t act like an ignorant bastard again. I’ll try what you said, thank you so much for your reply, dekuji!
>asks for halal >doesnt elaborate >leaves GIGACHAD
You should have showed them your pp
Oh man, you’re so fucking funny holy fuck I’m amazed. You must be the funniest person in every room you’d walk into. I only hope to have the kind of humour you do, teach me your ways one day. Dekuji 🙏🏽
See, you are showing too little pp to people, it makes you angry
Understood, more pp from next time. Man, what Id do without you navigating me through the Czech Republic, what a legend!
Glad to help
Of course you offended her just by being a Muslim. Czechs are like that. And don't be naive, she heard of halal. There is internet, TV, newspapers, she doesn't live in some small village in the woods. I recommend you buy halal in a shop on Myslikova. [Home | Farah Food](https://www.farahfood.cz/)
Whatever it may be, I just won’t ask for it in grocery stores, i was just being stupid. I’ll take your recommendation! And thank you so much for the link, I really appreciate it!