Josh Meltzer | The Roanoke Times
Jeylani Aden waits while Halal Food owner Muhsen al-Sahlin cuts frozen goat meat into cubes for him.
As his meat slicer whines, the Middle Eastern butcher cuts a frozen goat into cubes for waiting Muslim customers.
Muhsen al-Sahlin, who owns the Mediterranean Goods Market on Williamson Road, wipes his hands and walks through his tiny store.
The shelves are crammed with figs, sesame oil, green olives and fragrant spices for kebab, tandoori and masala dishes. People come for a taste of their homelands in Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia and elsewhere.
He's bracing for orders of specially butchered meat for Muslims who will celebrate a festival called Eid ul-Adha on Dec. 31. Some drive from Lynchburg, Blacksburg and Salem to pick up their meats. The business is part of a booming industry in Muslim communities across the United States, selling meats that are halal, or permissible, the Muslim equivalent of kosher.
"In the next two weeks, it'll be very busy," al-Sahlin said. "It's a big holiday for the Muslims as each family will buy a 40-pound lamb."
One of two official holidays on the Islamic calendar, the Eid ul-Adha marks of the end of the hajj, or the pilgrimage to Mecca taken each year by millions of Muslims. The hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam, and Muslims do a pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime if they're physically and financially able.
Typically, Muslims start the three-day holiday with prayers at their mosques. Families, wearing their best finery, invite friends for a meal together, share gifts and visit deceased relatives in cemeteries, said Caner Dagli, a Roanoke College religion professor.
In a similar story of faith and obedience shared by Christianity and Judaism, the holiday commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son for God. According to the Quran, the devil tempted Ibrahim by telling him to disobey Allah and spare his son. But at the last minute, Allah intervened and provided a lamb as a sacrifice instead.
Muslims are commanded to sacrifice an animal as a symbol of a willingness to make sacrifices for their faith, but they find it difficult to do so in their back yards in Roanoke and other U.S. cities.
Instead, some visit local farms and slaughter an animal there for the holiday, giving one-third of the meat to the needy, one-third to friends and family and saving the last portion for themselves.
Another option is arranging for a sacrifice in India, Turkey or another country where poverty is greater than it is locally.
Other Muslims will place orders for the halal meat from al-Sahlin or other vendors.
"Without the meat, I wouldn't have a business. The meat is what brings people in," he said. "Then they find the bread and cheese and spices."
There are rules on how to properly slaughter the animal to ensure that it doesn't suffer, said Sedki Riad, director of the Islamic Center of Blacksburg, where an estimated 1,000 Muslims live.
Dagli said before the sacrifice, a blessing is said to Allah, the Arabic word meaning God.
"Variations exist, but the name of God is essential," Dagli said. "The longer form is, 'In the name of God. God is most Great. O God, this is from Thee and for Thee. O God, accept it from me."
The animal must be healthy and taken care of properly in its life, being well-fed, watered and sheltered, said Riad. The animals should not witness the slaughtering of other animals nor be excessively restrained.
Then, with a sharp knife to minimize its suffering, the throat is cut and the animal is free to move about. It expires as the blood drains from its body.
Riad said this year about a dozen Muslim families will visit Blacksburg farmers to do the ritual slaughter.
In Roanoke, Imam Muhammad pushes her granddaughter in a stroller and takes a bus from her Southwest home to the shop for halal meat.
"I'm a Muslim," she said. "I come here often because the meat is fresh and is blessed before it is slaughtered. We like his lamb chops, chicken and hamburgers."
Ghazal Usmani, a Muslim from Pakistan who lives in Botetourt County, said she visits the shop twice a month and buys meat, couscous, lentils and specialty spices. Her sons especially enjoy the halal frankfurters and chicken.
"We're very thankful to him," she said. "It is very hectic to go and come back on the same day to D.C." for halal meat.
Al-Sahlin, a slightly built man who listens to satellite broadcasts of Iraqi soccer games inside his store, arranges the dates, lavosh and hefty blocks of cheese during quiet moments between customers.
For sale on the wall are prepaid telephone cards to Pakistan, India, Egypt and other countries. Jars of fig jam, pickled onions and halva candy line the shelves.
He drives to the American Halal Meats in Alexandria twice a month in his green van, putting about 200,000 miles on it since he opened the shop four years ago.
He leaves Roanoke at 3 a.m. and collects the meat, cheese, spices and other items in Fairfax and Arlington before heading south at about 5 p.m.
He staffs his store by himself, seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
"The driving is the hardest part," he said.
Last week, a competitor left Roanoke and will relocate on North Main Street in Blacksburg, where many Muslims live or have ties to Virginia Tech.
The owner travels to North Carolina to buy his halal meat.
"Two Arabic grocery stores is too much for a city the size of Roanoke," said Neadal Kanan, owner of Al Barakah, or All Blessings.
Feast
1 1/2 fillet steak, cut into thick strips
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 Tbsp. oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 onion, cut into thick wedges
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
1 red chili, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. curry paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 Tbsp. oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 pnion, cut into thick wedges
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
1 red chili, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. curry paste
1/2 teaspoon salt