Posted: 5/5/06
by John Gessner
Thisweek Newspapers
Don’t be fooled by the large candy displays or the boxes of King Vitaman cereal. Dakota Halal Market isn’t a typical American store.
It’s a distinct addition even to the growing number of ethnic groceries south of the river.
The store sells meats that are halal, an Arabic word meaning “permissible.” To be halal, meat must have been processed according to Islamic law, similar to the Jewish faith’s kosher foods.
Dakota Halal Market opened in March at 13725 Nicollet Ave. S. in the Colonial Ridge Shopping Center in Burnsville.
The proprietors are four Somali-born men: Ahmed Mohamed, Abdirizak Nur and Trabi Jama of Burnsville; and Ahmed Muhumud of Apple Valley.
“This is a preferred way of eating, halal, if you can,” said Mohamed, 66, who was watching the store Tuesday morning. “I would rather have halal than nonhalal.”
He and his partners are all related, said Mohamed, who came to the United States in 1966 and retired from a career as a boiler engineer in 2002.
“I was the one who came up with the idea” of opening a halal market, Mohamed said. “We were all looking to get into a small business. I suggested there are a lot of immigrants moving into this area, and they may need a grocery.”
Customers have included natives of India, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, and possibly Palestine and Iran, Mohamed said.
Their faith, he said, transcends national boundaries.
“It’s like brothers, believe me,” he said. “No other religions do that. … Islam is like your brothers and sisters.”
Mohamed learned the lessons of halal growing up in a nomadic Somali family that grazed camels, cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys and horses.
Some animal products are forbidden, including pork, blood and carnivorous animals except most fish and sea animals.
The method of animal slaughter is also proscribed by halal. Animals except fish and sea animals are cut across the neck and drained of blood. The words “Bismillah, Allahu Akbar,” which praise God, must be spoken as part of the ritual, Ahmed said.
Dakota Halal Market has a butcher shop stocked with lamb, goat and sheep meat, along with kingfish steaks, chicken and Uruguayan beef. The meats and other non-American products are purchased from suppliers in Chicago, and the meats are cut on the premises, Ahmed said.
Alongside American foods, the store includes a Middle Eastern and African aisle of products including breads, spices, flour, fruits, rice, beans, soups and beverages.
Hours are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. For more information, call (952) 707-1260.
John Gessner is at burnsville.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.
Source: Thisweek Newspapers, May 5, 2006
