Muslim Australians - Religion Cultural Diversity Resource Manual

FOOD AND DRINK
Many people have heard
of halal food these days.
There are halal butchers,
halal restaurants and halal takeaways.
‘Halal’ is an Arabic word which
means ‘permissible’. In the context
of food it means what Muslims are
allowed to consume.
In general, Muslims are allowed
to consume all foods (e.g. grains,
vegetables, fish and meat), except
those that are explicitly prohibited in
Islam. Prohibited foods are very few
but include:
» Alcoholic drinks such as beer and
wine.
» Pig meat (eg. ham, pork, bacon)
and by-products of the pig such
as pig fat.
» Meat of an animal that has died
of natural causes, or as a result of
strangling or beating.
» Blood that is in liquid
(‘drinkable’) form.
Islamic method of slaughter
This applies to all animals that
Muslims may consume such as cows,
sheep, goats and birds (e.g. chickens,
turkeys and ducks). The animal or
bird should be:
» Free from disease which is likely
to cause harm to consumers.
» Handled with kindness.
Desensitisers and restraining
methods can be used but should
not lead to the death of the
animal before slaughter.
» Killed quickly, with a sharp object
such as a knife, to minimise pain
and suffering. After that, the
blood must be drained.
Many believe that God’s name
should be pronounced at the time of
slaughtering the animal.
It is very important to treat animals
well because they are God’s creatures.
If someone treats them with cruelty
or kills them unjustly, then that
person will have to answer to God
on the Day of Judgment. Muslims
should also be thankful to God when
they eat of the meat of animals which
have been provided for their benefit.
Can a Muslim eat beef, lamb
and chicken from local
supermarkets and butchers?
Some Muslims believe (following
traditional Islamic law and Qur’anic
instructions) that animals and birds
slaughtered by Christians and Jews
may be consumed by Muslims. This
means that meat from a normal
abattoir and bought from any
supermarket or butcher is acceptable.
Other Muslims are stricter on this.
For them, only meat slaughtered by a
Muslim may be eaten, so they will go
to a halal butcher to buy their meat.
Many Muslims also avoid
» Cakes, biscuits or ice cream
containing animal-based products
such as lard, gelatine or enzymes.
» Packaged foods that contain
‘animal fat’ in case the fat comes
from pigs.
» Restaurants and take away shops
that serve pig meat, as the utensils
used to prepare such meat might
also be used with other foods.
Many other Muslims view the matter
differently. While they avoid pig
meat or alcohol, they do not have
any objections to eating at an average
restaurant or take away.
52 Muslim Australians:THEIR BELIEFS, PRACTICES AND INSTITUTIONS