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Halal Diets

turkish-food

If you are thinking of relocating to or visiting a Muslim country, be aware of the Halal diet. One fifth of the world is Muslim, and over fifty countries have a majority or high Muslim population. Some Muslim-majority and highly Muslim populated countries include Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, India, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Iran, China, Iraq, and Ethiopia. The Halal diet is based on the words of the Quaran, and also focused on maintaining a healthy diet. There are no restrictions on vegetarian or vegan diets, but it might be hard in certain countries to find a meat-free meal.

Halal refers to food that is allowed by Sharia, or Islamic law, and about 70% of Muslims follow these dietary rules. Haraam refers to the forbidden practices of these laws. For instance, eating pork is prohibited, and pork products such as gelatin in deserts is also not allowed. Muslims cannot consume blood, meats that have not been drained of blood, carnivores or birds of prey. All meat you eat had to be slaughtered in accordance with Allah, the Muslim God. You are forbidden to eat an animal that had been beaten or strangled to death. Fish can be consumed but must die out of water. Alcohol is not allowed, and it is very difficult to get in certain Muslim countries. Wine must not be used in cooking, and strict Muslims will not use vanilla extract or soy sauce that have trace amounts of alcohol.

upside-down-chickens

Animals must be slaughtered in the dhabiha fashion. Animals are to be slaughtered swiftly, with a deep incision by a sharp knife in back of the neck. The spinal cord is to be left intact, but the jugular veins and carotid arteries are meant to be penetrated. This method does not apply to fish or other seafood, camels or locusts. The slaughter must also be completed by an adult Muslim (or sometimes a Jew or Christian). The knife must be very sharp, but not sharpened in front of the animal. To make sure the animal is healthy, one must check its eyes and ears, and then given water to drink. One must mention the name of Allah before slaughtering the animal. Animals that have died of electrocution, drowning, fire or being boiled alive are not considered Halal. Some commonly served halal meats include chicken, beef, lamb and goat.

Comments

One thought on “Halal Diets

  1. good info, but It really isn’t a biggie when traveling, you just get what the locals eat in fact I often get halal meat from the Indian store it tastes great. I lived with a Muslim Girl before and went to halal butcher for her. Not really one of the stricter of diets in the world.

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