Published by Malcolm on 05 May 2006 at 10:58 pm
Muslims looking for PORK meat?
Recently, I had dinner at a vegetarian restaurant nearby. Two Indonesians (Muslims) dropped by to buy dinner at the vegetarian restaurant. They were asking if pork was served and if the food was halal. Obviously vegetarian food is HALAL!
I told them there were no meats served although some did look like chicken and pork meats (made of flour).
Here is a guide to my non-Muslim friends:
a) Vegetarian food is halal
b) Muslims do not eat pork
c) Muslims only eat meat slaughtered according to Islamic rulings (slaughtered in the name of Allah, draining of blood, the right method of slaughtering etc)
d) Just plain sea food is halal (except those poisonous ones). Pork oil is unusual in the Malaysian Chinese kitchen these days as the price of pork has increased in recent years.
f) Muslims are allowed to eat Jewish Kosher food and as mentioned in Surah al-Maidah verse 5:
“Today, all good food is made lawful for you. The food of the people of the Scriptures (Jews & Christians) is LAWFUL (HALAL) for you……”
However, there are differences of opinion pertaining to this matter particularly food prepared by Christians who also eat pork meat. The Jewish and Muslim people share similary dietary laws until today.
The fact that consumption of pork is prohibited in Islam is well known. The following points explain various aspects of this prohibition:
1. Pork prohibited in Qur’an
The Qur’an prohibits the consumption of pork in no less than 4 different places. It is prohibited in 2:173, 5:3, 6:145 and 16:115.
“Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah.” [Al-Qur’an 5:3]
The above verses of the Holy Qur’an are sufficient to satisfy a Muslim as to why pork is forbidden.
2. Pork prohibited in the Bible - a similarity in the Old Testament
“And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you”.
“Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch, they are unclean to you.”[Leviticus 11:7-8]
Pork is also prohibited in the Bible in the book of Deuteronomy
“And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you. Ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass.” [Deuteronomy 14:8]
A similar prohibition is repeated in the Bible in the book of Isaiah chapter 65 verse 2-5.
3. Consumption of pork causes several diseases
The other non-Muslims and atheists will agree only if convinced through reason, logic and science. Eating of pork can cause no less than seventy different types of diseases. A person can have various helminthes like roundworm, pinworm, hookworm, etc. One of the most dangerous is Taenia Solium, which is in lay man’s terminology called tapeworm. It harbours in the intestine and is very long. Its ova i.e. eggs, enter the blood stream and can reach almost all the organs of the body. If it enters the brain it can cause memory loss. If it enters the heart it can cause heart attack, if it enters the eye it can cause blindness, if it enters the liver it can cause liver damage. It can damage almost all the organs of the body.
Another dangerous helminthes is Trichura Tichurasis. A common misconception about pork is that if it is cooked well, these ova die. In a research project undertaken in America, it was found that out of twenty-four people suffering from Trichura Tichurasis, twenty two had cooked the pork very well. This indicates that the ova present in the pork do not die under normal cooking temperature.
4. Pork has fat building material
Pork has very little muscle building material and contains excess of fat. This fat gets deposited in the vessels and can cause hypertension and heart attack. It is not surprising that over 50% of Americans suffer from hypertension.
5. Pig is one of the filthiest animals on earth
The pig is one of the filthiest animals on earth. It lives and thrives on muck, faeces and dirt. It is the best scavenger that I know that God has produced. In the villages they don’t have modern toilets and the villagers excrete in the open air. Very often excreta is cleared by pigs.
Some may argue that in advanced countries like Australia, pigs are bred in very clean and hygienic conditions. Even in these hygienic conditions the pigs are kept together in sties. No matter how hard you try to keep them clean they are filthy by nature. They eat and enjoy their own as well as their neighbour’s excreta.
6. Pig is the most shameless animal
The pig is the most shameless animal on the face of the earth. It is the only animal that invites its friends to have sex with its mate.
Those are among some logical reasons why Muslims do not consume pork meat.
Raine on 05 May 2006 at 11:13 pm #
My parents, sibling and his wife plus myself eat pork. You don’t see us swapping partners and what-not for the purpose of sexual pleasure. Point 5 sounds…silly to me, no offense.
Dr Austin on 06 May 2006 at 4:39 pm #
1.some vegetarian food got use chinese wine to cook ya?
2.some seafood(mistaken as one) like mudcrab lives in water and land
3.pork is ‘alternative’ white meat in most european countries/aust/nz
4.how about those animals being shot to death? any ritual during slaughtering?
HALAL my FOOT!
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Dear reader,
Thank you for your comment and questions.
Concerning your first point, we do agree that some Chinese vegetarian food use wine like ginger wine to cook. As the wine has evaporated while being cooked at such high temperature, vegetarian food are generally permissible for Muslims. This is similar to the use of yeast in the preparation of bread.
About number 2, what we meant is seafood and not amphibious organisme. However, I have not come across any verse in the Quran or sayings of Prophet Muhammad which forbids eating of amphibious animals.
Interestingly, more and more rubbish, human waste and chemicals are discharged and these reaches the mangrove swamps and river mouth first where the mud is.
Regarding point number 3, we would like to point out that not every European are Christians or Jews. Besides, some are nominal Christians. Most European countries practised separation of Church and state.
As for number 4, we have answered in the post. According to Al-Qur’an 5:3 Muslims are forbidden to eat dead meat.
The animal should be slaughtered according to Islamic laws quickly before it dies.
We hope these answers satisfy your concern. Thank you.
Regards,
Fellow Blogger
bottle on 19 May 2006 at 2:23 am #
at Chinese vegetarian restaurants, you have dishes made to look like pork, taste like pork, feel like pork in the mouth…
are Muslims allowed to eat that?
A Muslim is not suppose to taste pork, but what if that dish taste like it? Sure, a Muslim eating fake pork is not eating pork at all, but he’s tasting it, he’s tasting pork…
Is that haram?
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Dear reader,
Thank you for your question. Due to my busy schedule, I was not able to reply to your comment promptly. Apologies.
It is true that at Chinese vegetarian restaurants, some dishes made of flour do taste like pork, fish or chicken meat.
You are right that a Muslim eating artificial pork meat (made of flour) is NOT eating pork at all. Therefore it is not forbidden for Muslims to consume such food as it contains nothing which is forbidden by Allah. The Quran only mentions not to eat pork meat (refer to the Quranic references given in the post).
While the common Muslims or non-Muslims may feel as if they are tasting pork meat, but the truth is it is not pork meat at all.
The vegetarians know well that no animal is sacrificed to produce those dishes.
I hope I have answered your questions. Thank you.
PS: I came across your blog not long ago. I believe this is the website.
saimma on 21 May 2006 at 11:55 pm #
I’m a muslim and i don’t eat pork because it is forbidden by god. I understand that some people may need more reason than that and i think you were making some good arguments until you got to point 6 - how do you know the pig invites its friends to its mate? some animals have more than one mate. no reason to call it shameless.
bottle on 08 Jul 2006 at 12:18 am #
cool. so i can inivite my Muslim to taste pork now since they have been asking me how pork taste like. I told them that pork’s the sweetest meat ever and they really wonder how it will taste. I’ll refer them to your blog here for explanation.
bottle on 08 Jul 2006 at 12:26 am #
i don’t understand your motivation as to why you posted my blog link here. are u trying to dismiss my point-of-view by letting others read what i write in my blog? look, it doesn’t matter what i write in my blog, what i raised here is pretty valid as far as i’m concerned. please address that only.
and also, i’ve raised doubt about your previous post. how come you responded to this post and not the previous?
i used to have a neutral view of your blog, now, it’s a the brink of falling into the ‘nonsense’ and ‘no-need-for-reading-and-respect’ category. good for you. good night, and good luck.
Dear Reader,
I only link to your blog, not to any of your post. Even if you posted anything about us here, what is wrong if somoene reads your post? Don’t you have the right to your opinions? After all, you did link to us here and here.
This blog is operated by a number of bloggers. The blogger incharge of any post will reply when he or she feels it is necessary.
Best regards,
Fellow Blogger