 It is for these reasons that there are ongoing questions and conversations within the North American Muslim community as to whether meat processed in these slaughterhouses meets the standard of "halal" (as opposed to dhabīḥah).At the center of this debate is the doubt as to whether this meat could qualify under the allowed category of the food of the People of the Book (Jewish and Christians).The first consideration being that standard slaughtering methods could cause the animal to die in a way other than slaughter (death through exsanguination).