Muslim dietary taboos

Usually, what we call "Muslims" refers to Muslims who believe in Islam. "Halal" is my country's unique expression for Islamic-related religious customs. The core of Muslim dietary taboos originate from the provisions of Islamic law. The core taboo categories include pork, self-dead animals, animal blood, edible animals slaughtered without reciting the name of Allah, and all intoxicating drinks. ； However, due to the influence of different sects, regional cultures, and degrees of secularization, the specific implementation standards of different groups and different individuals vary greatly. There is no unified set of dietary taboo standards that applies to all Muslims.

Many people's first impression of this taboo is "you cannot eat pork", which is correct. This is a taboo rule recognized by all mainstream sects. I traveled to Xining a few years ago and ate at a hand restaurant next to Dongguan Temple. My Hui friend who was traveling with me reminded me to put away the pork breasts in my bag. It wasn’t that the store owner would lose his temper, but it was just so as not to disturb other believers who came to eat. Everyone should respect each other. But don't think that all Muslims have "zero tolerance" for pork. I know a Hui guy who works on the Internet in Beijing. He never touches pork at home. But when he goes out to make skewers with friends, he won't stop others from ordering roasted pig skin.

Speaking of which, many people think that these taboos are religious regulations that come out of thin air. In fact, if you look at the historical materials of the Arabian Peninsula in the early days of Islam, you will know that many of the rules were originally life experiences adapted to the local living environment. The climate of the peninsula is dry and rainless. Raising pigs requires a lot of water and clean feed. Free-range pigs are prone to carrying parasites. The probability of getting sick is much higher when eating them than eating cattle and sheep. Over time, it became a common rule and was later included in the official regulations of Islamic law. Nowadays, many enlightened religious scholars have mentioned that there is a principle of "accommodation in emergencies" in the Islamic law. If you encounter a survival crisis and have nothing else to eat, you can eat even pork without sticking to the rules. In fact, many people who do not understand Islam do not know this.

Compared with the taboo on pork that everyone has an impression of, what is actually more complicated and has greater differences among different sects is the slaughter standard of legal meat. According to the requirements of mainstream religious law, when slaughtering edible cattle, sheep, poultry and other animals, devout Muslims must recite "In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Merciful" (also commonly known as "Tasmi"), and the animal's blood vessels must be cut as quickly as possible to drain the blood to reduce the animal's suffering. Don't tell me, when I was chatting with friends who were involved in halal food certification, I actually heard a lot of interesting stories about people who were denied certification due to workmanship issues. Last year, a mainland meat product factory approached them for certification because the assembly line used a process of stunning with electric shock before slaughtering. It took almost three months to negotiate with an imam from a certain sect in the northwest - conservative Pai felt that if the electric shock directly electrocuted the animal, even if it was a "suicide", it could not be eaten. The more enlightened people believed that as long as the animal was stunned, the subsequent slaughtering process met the requirements, and the blood was drained, it would be fine. No one on either side could convince the other. In the end, the manufacturer adjusted the voltage of the electric shock to ensure that it would only stun but not kill, and then successfully obtained the certification.

As for the taboos on blood and self-dead animals, most sects have no controversy. No matter whether it is an animal that died of illness, a fall or other reasons, the blood of any animal cannot be eaten. Previously, a friend from out of town went shopping in Xi'an Huimin Street and accidentally ordered a portion of Xuewang. The boss smiled and waved his hand and said, "We don't sell this here." This is the reason.

There are more controversies remaining, such as aquatic products. Most Shia believers believe that only fish with scales can be eaten. Aquatic products without scales or shells such as catfish, eels, and crabs are within the taboo. Many branches of Sunnis believe that anything alive in the water can be eaten. I went to Kashgar before, and a local Uyghur friend even took me to eat grilled crabs, saying that they are not so particular about it. There are also alcohol taboos. Mainstream Islamic law stipulates that all intoxicating drinks are prohibited, whether it is liquor, beer or fruit wine. However, some Berber Muslims in North Africa will drink homemade low-alcohol fruit wine. They feel that as long as they are not drunk, it is not a violation of the rules. Even some young Muslims in China will occasionally take a sip of non-alcoholic beer. This is absolutely unacceptable in the eyes of conservatives, but it is not a big deal in areas with a high degree of secularization.

In fact, to put it bluntly, these dietary taboos are ultimately individual belief choices, and there is really no need to apply stereotypes to all Muslims. If you have friends who believe in Islam, asking in advance if there are any taboos before eating together will be more effective than checking up any information. After all, everyone has different levels of faith. Respecting each other when getting along is better than anything else.