Christians and certified halal meat

[SummerSmiles]

I wasn’t quite sure where to post this question, so I apologize if it’s in the wrong spot.

One of my Catholic friends just brought to my attention that some of the meat sold at our local Costco is “certified halal” meat. She said that as Catholics, we should not be eating this meat since it was blessed and offered to a god other than ours. I’m not sure exactly what “certified halal” means. Is it just that the animals are raised/killed in a certain way so that Muslims are able to use it in their food preparation? (Similar to kosher meat for Jews?) Or is there actually a moral problem for Catholics to buy/consume such meat?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bobby_Jim]

My understanding is it is similar to Kosher - approved method of slaughtering, and so forth? It’s not like it’s meat sacrificed to an idol or something (and if it were, you can read what St Paul has to say about that…)

 

[ConstantineTG]

St. Paul forbade eating food sacrificed to other gods.

Also, we believe that the Muslims worship the same God of Abraham. Of course their view of the same God may be different than ours. Its not as if the thousands of Christian denominations have the same view of Jesus, it varies as well.

Also, what are we to do when we are in Muslim dominated countries? Don’t eat at all?

 

[VivienneJ]

I live and work in a Muslim country, and freely worship at the local Catholic church. Everything we buy foodwise is halal (except for in a few supermarkets where there is a non-Muslim section, where we may buy pork). The only restriction on meat that I have ever heard any of our priests mention is to refrain from eating meat on Wednesdays. Similar to Catholics in the UK on Fridays.

 

[Bezant]

Anything goes nowadays. Eat the meat.

 

[Dale_M]

One of my Catholic friends just brought to my attention that some of the meat sold at our local Costco is “certified halal” meat. She said that as Catholics, we should not be eating this meat since it was blessed and offered to a god other than ours. I’m not sure exactly what “certified halal” means. Is it just that the animals are raised/killed in a certain way so that Muslims are able to use it in their food preparation? (Similar to kosher meat for Jews?) Or is there actually a moral problem for Catholics to buy/consume such meat?

Halal and Kosher meat are similar. One difference is the halal requirement that the name of Allah be mentioned either before the slaughter or during it. It is an acknowledgment that God is the creator and taker of life, and I am not sure it is a blessing so much as a statement of humility.
meat.tamu.edu/kosher.html

I think your friend is being a touch scrupulous. The word “Allah” is the word which Christians use for God, from Morocco to Indonesia. And as others have pointed out, Muslims worship the God of Abraham, the same God which Christians worship.

 

[SummerSmiles]

Thank you for the replies, everyone. My first thought was that my friend was just being a bit scrupulous, but I wanted to check and make sure first. She found some article that was saying that all Christians should avoid this meat, and her first reaction was to go “eew” at the thought of eating food sacrificed to a false god. Thanks for all the information!