Dietary rules — I suspect these have always been around as our earliest ancestors learned what foods made them feel good, what foods made them sick and what foods made them well. The ancient world and the Islamic era have bequeathed a wealth of herbal remedies and food recipes that continue to have relevance. Then there are the taboos, the kosher and halal rules that go beyond any scientific rationale to diet by revelatory fiat. The kosher laws in Leviticus, as anthropologist Mary Douglas showed many years ago, are not really about health, but symbolic for the community that applies them. Tainted beef will get you sick just as quickly as tainted pork. But as long as there is no harm, then eating kosher or halal is not a problem. It may be an inconvenience, but it is not going to harm your health.
It is one thing to eat halal and another to turn the idea of halal food into something that is more about consuming than eating as a religious preference. Devout Christians complain that Christ has been x’d out of Christmas and they are right: Santa Claus, Christmas trees and oligatory gifts define Christmas as it is currently consumed in the United States. I suspect there is a danger that the same thing can happen to halal food and to the fasting month of Ramadan. Let’s take Ramadan first: the original intent was for religious reflection at a time when both Jews and Christians also observed fasting as a reflective rite. Going without food and water, no matter what the exact time dimension, is a powerful symbol pointing to those less fortunate who may have no food or water or barely enough to survive. It can also cleanse your body. But if you simply abstain during the day, then gorge after sunset and spend half the night celebrating, what exactly is the point of fasting? Continue reading Consuming halal or letting halal consume you
