help from muslims about pork

[readytobedone]

so we're throwing DD's 2nd b-day party and were thinking of having it catered w/BBQ (pulled pork). DD's DCP is coming with her DH. they're muslim and do not eat pork...so if we had BBQ, we would also have something they can eat (like beef ribs).

but my question is, is it rude to have pork there, even if they aren't expected to eat it and they have other options??

i have experience with vegetarians/vegans friends, who are fine being around meat as long as they have other options to eat. is it the same way for people who don't eat a particular food for religious reasons?

forgive me if this is an ignorant question; i just want to make everyone at the party feel comfortable and certainly wouldn't want this family to feel disrespected in any way.

[Liquesce]

It's not rude ... Muslims in America (or wherever similar), like vegetarians, are pretty accustomed to the realities of eating around people who eat what we don't. I will say that some people are more sensitive to it than others though ... like there are some people who might be happy to come, but might prefer not eat due to concerns about cross-contamination, etc. (Of course there are others who just don't care ... it's not something that anyone can say "Muslims broadly will act like ______." I just mean to say that if they don't eat a lot, they're probably not trying to be rude or comment on your food or anything like that. )

Beef ... if they eat halal they might not be entirely comfortable with that either; a lot of Muslims in America don't though, so again I can't really speak for people I don't know. They might shop at regular grocery stores themselves, they might not. Fish is always a safe bet, vegetarian is always safe, any meat bought at a halal butcher is always safe.

[readytobedone]

Originally Posted by Liquesce

It's not rude ... Muslims in America (or wherever similar), like vegetarians, are pretty accustomed to the realities of eating around people who eat what we don't. I will say that some people are more sensitive to it than others though ... like there are some people who might be happy to come, but might prefer not eat due to concerns about cross-contamination, etc. (Of course there are others who just don't care ... it's not something that anyone can say "Muslims broadly will act like ______." I just mean to say that if they don't eat a lot, they're probably not trying to be rude or comment on your food or anything like that. )

Beef ... if they eat halal they might not be entirely comfortable with that either; a lot of Muslims in America don't though, so again I can't really speak for people I don't know. They might shop at regular grocery stores themselves, they might not. Fish is always a safe bet, vegetarian is always safe, any meat bought at a halal butcher is always safe.

thanks for the input! i think we've decided against the BBQ for unrelated reasons. what is halal? just curious! thank you again.

[Liquesce]

Originally Posted by readytobedone

thanks for the input! i think we've decided against the BBQ for unrelated reasons. what is halal? just curious! thank you again.

Oh, sorry ... I hope people on all sides forgive me the imperfect comparison, but halal meat is to muslims sort of what kosher meat is to jews. It mostly has to do with religious guidelines for slaughter. The word more or less means "permissable."

[AutumnSunshine]

I was just going to add that in that situation, the family may feel uncomfortable about eating the beef it was cooked on the same surface and handled with the same utensils as the pork. In a grill, I would imagine that the fire would technically render the cooking surface purfied (but that's just a guess) but even if that is the case, I wouldnt necessarily think the family would know that.

In my family we order cheese and veggie pizza from Domino's but tell them NOT to cut it because we assume they use the same unwashed cutter to cut pepperoni pizzas. It doesn't bother me so much but it bothers my dh a great deal and if they accidentally cut it anyway (which happens about 50% of the time) he will refuse the pizza and make them make a new one.

So just an FYI but every family is different.

[Liquesce]

Originally Posted by UmmZaynab

In my family we order cheese and veggie pizza from Domino's but tell them NOT to cut it because we assume they use the same unwashed cutter to cut pepperoni pizzas. It doesn't bother me so much but it bothers my dh a great deal and if they accidentally cut it anyway (which happens about 50% of the time) he will refuse the pizza and make them make a new one.

We're the same way ... we only get pizza from one local pizzeria, because the people who work there know their muslim customers and wash the utensils and whatnot before prepping a pizza for us. Like you it doesn't bother me so much personally, but I definitely don't represent a majority vote among most people I know on that one.

[TzippityDoulah]

I don't eat halal or kosher (obviously) but being gluten free b/c of celiac has given me a DEEP appreciation for it! I have to go to special restaurant or make sure they wash things before cooking them etc... b/c of cross contamination.

anyhow not the same thing... but it can cause the same awkwardness at parties and what not. they don't know what to feed me, and I don't often trust what they cook...

Now I really feel for people who keep halal/kosher AND are celiac. HOW DO YOU DO IT!?

[Tradd]

On a related note, what about non-halal chicken? I've got a (moderate) Muslim coworker who WILL eat chicken when out to lunch, but won't touch beef.

[Liquesce]

Originally Posted by Tradd

On a related note, what about non-halal chicken? I've got a (moderate) Muslim coworker who WILL eat chicken when out to lunch, but won't touch beef.

I fall in that same camp, too.

It's usually one of a few things ... one, the whole commonplace-yet-rather-bizarre "but poultry isn't meat!" thing; two, a mistaken belief that the most basic conditions for being halal (live slaughter, performed by a muslim, jewish, or christian person) are more or less met by mainstream slaughterhouses; or three (as myself) just not being strict enough about eating halal, and having a totally irrational sense that it's somehow less important when being applied to birds.

Think of a muslim who eats halal but will still hit up KFC for some wings to be kind of like a vegetarian whose favorite food is sashimi. Just not holding perfectly to the dietary ideals, for whatever reason.