If you’ve read any of our blog posts that mention inviting your Muslim friends over, you’ve probably seen us suggest that you ask about your friend’s dietary preferences! That is because of the Islamic concepts halal and haram.
Halal and haram extend beyond the topic of diet in Islam, but most people focus on the diet aspect.
Halal Diet
When it comes to food, there are very specific things that make an item halal.
In the case of meat, be it beef, lamb, or chicken, how the animal is killed is the most important thing. The animal must be slaughtered in the most humane way possible, with no unnecessary pain and suffering. Mohammad instructed Muslims to “slaughter well” and sharpen the knife to spare the animal pain.
In regards to haram food, it is well known that Muslims should not eat pork, but many people are unaware of the different varieties of pork: sausage, hot dogs, meatballs, or “meat" sauce can all contain pork. In addition, the main foods that are prohibited by Allah are: any pig-based products, including gelatin, all intoxicants, especially alcohol, and in some Muslim sects shellfish, which include shrimp, lobster, and crab are also prohibited.
So is halal similar to kosher meat?
Halal and kosher have many similarities, but they are not the same. There is an ongoing debate about whether or not a Muslim can use kosher standards in place of halal standards. You will get different answers depending on who you ask, but most Islamic authorities say that halal and kosher cannot be interchangeable.
How strict are halal and haram rules?
How to talk about it
- For a conservative Muslim friend, follow up with: Why is eating halal important to you?
- For the less conservative Muslim friend, ask: Why do you choose not to practice a halal diet?
In fact, God used to require a kosher diet for the Jewish people, but after Christ’s life, He gave Peter a vision to permit the consumption of any animal (Acts 10). Yet some Christians, especially those with Judaic backgrounds, had a hard time changing their diet. This is why Paul had to write in Romans 14, “One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him” (verses 2-3, NASB). You can explain to your Muslim friend that under Jesus, we are freed from arbitrary rules and each person is free to choose what diet is good for them. We can respect our friends' practices without affirming their beliefs, and we can put this into practice with our Muslim friends – respecting their diet as a way to show that we care about them.