Within the U.S. Muslim community, suspicion has grown in recent years about meat sold under the halal label as the number of suppliers expands and standards of animal slaughter get new, modern interpretation. Generally speaking, after a short prayer, animals are to be killed with a sharp blade drawn across the throat. "The slaughtering of the animal is a pretty simple practice," said Zain Abdullah, an associate professor of religion at Temple. "But there is a cadre of scholars that Muslims will follow. They interpret the religion for the community, but there are usually multiple interpretations."