Birmingham's Muslim community has voiced fury at the organisers of a prestigious business dinner after nearly 200 guests were unwittingly fed non-halal meat.
The mistake happened during the Institute of Asian Businesses' annual dinner organised by the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and held at the International Convention Centre.
Last night the Chamber admitted there had been confusion over menus that resulted in Muslim guests being misled over what they were eating. It promised to ensure tighter controls were put in place in the future.
Mohammed Zulfiquar, vice-chairman of the IAB, said: "I am disgusted. I will be writing to the chief executive of the ICC for an explanation."
Under Islamic law, Muslims are prohibited from eating meat that is not halal - ritually slaughtered.
The IAB dinner, one of the most prestigious events in the city's Asian community, was held last month. About a quarter of the 750 who attended were Muslims.
Guests claim they were assured by ITV Central presenter Sameena Ali Khan, who introduced the evening, that food served would be halal. But confusion emerged because the ICC had produced menus that did not state the meat as halal.
The Chamber had also printed a menu inside a brochure stating halal in brackets beside some dishes.
"On the night I looked on the table and I couldn't find a menu," said Mr Zulfiquar.
"When the dinner was served, people said they were concerned about the meat and I said I would find out.
"I asked the chair of the dinner committee and he said it was halal. I also asked the waitress and she said everything was halal. But this week I was in a meeting at the Chamber and was told only the chicken was halal and not the lamb and beef.
"People ate it because they were told it was halal. The Muslim community is deeply, deeply offended."
Maz Iqbal, chairman of the Sparkbrook Traders' Association, who was at the event, said: "No one should make these mistakes. It was a brilliant event but it was spoiled by this which is a very serious mistake to make."
Mr Iqbal said if organisers were unable to meet halal requirements they should in future restrict meals to vegetarian and fish dishes to avoid causing offence.
Naved Syed, chairman of certifying body the UK Halal Corporation, claimed he offered to advise the dinner committee over its menu prior to the event, but the offer was not taken up. "After building mosques, eating halal meat is the next most important thing in Muslim faith. The Chamber is not taking the Muslim views seriously and this illustrates it," he said.
A spokesman for the Chamber said it was "extremely conscious" all "religious sensitivities" were respected.
The NEC Group, which runs the ICC, said it had provided both halal and non-halal meat, as instructed.
A spokesman added: "Organisers of the event did not request dietary information to be included on menus. Should this be required at future events, the ICC would will-ingly accommodate their request."
