Iraq: butcher sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling pork in Najaf

An Iraqi butcher was sentenced Monday September 14 to a 10-year prison term for selling pork to customers by making them believe it was beef, in one of Islam's holy cities. The Supreme Judicial Council convicted the trader, who was arrested in possession of 75 kg of pork in Najaf, Iraq, home to one of the world's most revered Shiite shrines.

Even if Islam prohibits the consumption of pork, considered impure, Iraqi law does not explicitly prohibit its sale in this predominantly Muslim country which also has a Christian minority. The court based its judgment on a 1998 law that criminalizes the sale of meat from “dogs, donkeys or other animals (...) unfit for human consumption.”

Millions of pilgrims from all over the world gather each year in Najaf to worship at the shrine of Imam Ali, fourth caliph of Islam and first Shiite imam as well as son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. The butcher was arrested in early September after attracting attention on social networks. Iraqis had posted videos showing pigs with the caption: “This is Najaf.”

“In recent years, I have had to eat more pork than beef or lamb,” joked Ahmad al-Mansouri, a resident interviewed by AFP. After buying a kilo of meat which he found to be “excellent quality” and cheaper than elsewhere, he began to go regularly to this butcher.