After seeing a lot of hate posts on Halal, especially with what’s going on in Gaza, Hamas and ISIS taking the headlines I decided to do my own research to see what exactly Halal is. I looked online and also admittedly found Wikipedia to be an invaluable resource, as almost everything that is of value is properly sourced.
I even had this proof-read with corrections made by a Rabbi as well as a devout Muslims where I work to ensure the accuracy. My hope is that in reading this post, peace and understanding between the two religions will be promoted.
Slaughter
After slaughter
Kashrut says that the animal’s internal organs must be examined “to make certain the animal was not diseased”
Dhabiha guidelines generally say that the carcass should be inspected, (http://www.shariahprogram.ca/eat-halal-foods/islamic-guidelines-slaughtering-animals.shtml)
Unified Opinion?
Non-Kosher/Halal Restaurants
Who to eat Kosher/Halal From
Only if no such meat is available, Muslims will as a last resort eat meat slaughtered via dhabiha guidelines by any sane, Gd-fearing person that knows the proper technique as prescribed by Sharia law, save for any that has a trace of alcohol in it. However, if for example there is a piece of Kosher meat and Hallal sea-food, a Muslim must eat the sea food as he has that choice.
How to Clean from Blood
The draining and release of blood makes all the toxins and arsenic out of animal body rendering meat very clean.
The draining and release of blood makes all the toxins and arsenic out of animal body rendering meat very clean.
Holiday-Induced Restrictions
Mixing of Milk and Meat
Secondary Factors Influencing the Foods’ Permissibility
Treating an Animal Prior to Slaughter
Washing
Slaughtering in Front of Other Animals
Sharpness of the Knife
The knife should be razor-sharp and the neck stretched. After each slaughter the knife needs to be re-checked so that there are no nicks in the blade that might cause the slightest amount of pain.
The knife should be very sharp and the neck stretched. There’s no specification on re-checking the blade after each time.
Speed and Number of Knife Motions
The action should be very quick and in one clean attempt for the non-serrated knife to reach the spinal cord, severing jugular veins, carotid arteries, trachea, oesophagus. This results in very quick flow of all blood to brain leaving animal unconscious and feeling-less. At the same time the spinal cord needs to be avoided.
The action should be very quick and in one clean attempt for the non-serrated knife to reach the spinal cord, severing jugular veins, carotid arteries, trachea, oesophagus. This results in very quick flow of all blood to brain leaving animal unconscious and feeling-less. At the same time the spinal cord needs to be avoided.
Number of Blessing Prior to Slaughter
A Berachah is only recited on the first slaughter a shochet does in that day or that sitting. As a result, some Muslims only consider the first animal slaughtered in a particular sitting to be Halal, because the Berachah is recited only over the first animal. Some Torah authorities discuss (and permit) reciting “Allah Hu Akbar” over each shechitah to make it Halal for Muslims as well, as Jews and Christians who speak Arabic also call God by the Name Allah when speaking in Arabic.
Name of Allah must be spoken before each individual slaughter and can be in any language as well as a prayer/blessing of any monotheistic religion. Muslims therefore accept a Jewish berachah to be good enough to make an animal Halal, but only where it’s said in God’s/Allah’s name.
Forbidden Parts of the Animal
Kashrut prohibits eating the chelev (certain types of fat) and gid hanosheh (the sciatic nerve), and thus the hindquarters of a kosher animal must undergo a process called nikkur (or, in Yiddish, treyberen) in order to be fit for consumption by Jews. As nikkur is an expensive, time-consuming process, it is rarely practiced outside of Israel, and the hindquarters of kosher-slaughtered animals in the rest of the world are generally sold on the non-kosher market.
There are no restrictions on what organs or parts of the carcass may be eaten from a Halal-slaughtered and -dressed animal; as long as it was slaughtered and prepared according to the rules of Halal, the entire animal, with the exception of[citation needed] blood, bones, fat not attached to meat, and wounded parts, is fit for consumption by Muslims.
Foods
Kosher
Halal
Forbidden Animals
Swine is prohibited.
Kashrut forbids the consumption of amphibians such as frogs.
Swine is prohibited.
Halal forbids the consumption of amphibians such as frogs.
Animals that are Kosher/Halal
Many animals permitted in kashrut are also halal, such as animals with split hooves that chew their cuds (multiple stomachs).
The list of animals forbidden by kashrut is more restrictive, as kashrut requires that, to be kosher, mammals must chew cud and must have cloven hooves. (http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm)
Animals that are halal aren’t necessarily Kosher. Halal requires animals to graze the fields. Hence, camels may be consumed by Muslims.
Halal requires that an animal survive on grass and leaves. Thus some animals such as the camel are permissible under halal. (http://www.central-mosque.com/index.php/General-Fiqh/the-fiqh-of-halal-and-haram-animals.html)
Insects
Practically all insects are not kosher. The few kosher insects are specific types of locusts and grasshoppers (see Kosher locust) which are not eaten today in most communities, since it is unknown which species is permitted (the exception being the Yemenite Jews, who claim to have preserved this knowledge).
Practically all insects are not kosher. (more research required on this).
Sea Creatures
To be kosher, aquatic animals must have scales and fins. According to Jewish oral law all fish that have scales have fins, thus making all fish with scales kosher and rendering the law essentially the same as the more restrictive interpretations of halal. Kashrut prohibits shellfish, such as crab, lobster, shrimp, clams, and oysters.
Most Muslim schools of thought adhere to the interpretation that all creatures from the ocean or the sea or lake are considered halal.
Hence all kinds of food from the sea are permissible, whether they are plants or animals, alive or dead. (I need to take a look about crocodiles, etc…)
Shi’ites also follow this, but make an exception with some crustaceans; shrimps and prawns are halal.
Gelatin
Gelatin is only permissible if it comes from a permissible animal (usually kosher gelatin comes from the bones of kosher fish, or is a vegan substitute, such as Agar). As well, home-made kosher gelatin from cow hooves is an old Jewish delicacy known as Ptcha or Galaretta/Gala (this is actually also eaten in some Sephardic communities, but it is primarily an Eastern European food, today mainly eaten among Hasidic communities)
Gelatin is only permissible if it comes from a permissible animal.
Grape Juice/Wine and Alcohol
Except for “cooked” grape wine and grape juice (which must be manufactured under Jewish supervision), kashrut allows the consumption of any sort of alcohol, as long as it has kosher ingredients (excluding any unsupervised grape extracts).
For a substance to be halal, it must not contain alcohol of any kind. However, there is a difference drawn between the addition of alcohol to foods which is absolutely forbidden. (see http://www.food-management.com/article/13386/ and http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_101_150/contemporary_world.htm)