Many Muslims who travel to non-Muslim countries say that getting Halal food is a major concern and that they are reluctant to eat in restaurants that serve pork.
Some say this has been such an obstacle that ruined their trips.
Others say that they prefer not to travel to non-Muslim countries.
They also say that people who frequently travel to a country know where to get Halal food more easily than people who are on their first trip.
“When we visited for the first time a non-Muslim Asian country, we were not concerned about food but about the trip, sightseeing and other travel-related matters,” Rehma Moutlaq, a Saudi housewife said.
“But naturally soon we were hungry and when we looked at the menu we saw that they were serving pork. My husband and I felt we just could not order, because we were worried that the same knife and spoon used in cooking the pork could have been used in preparing other food.”
Shocking display
Moutlaq said they went to the local market for food.
“We were shocked to see little puppies, cats and snakes on sale for eating. Every restaurant served pork and some had large fridges with cut-up body parts of pigs on display for customers to choose what they would like to order; there was everything of the animal, from its hooves to its ears and intestines,” she said.
“How could we eat at such restaurants? I bought some cakes and biscuits from a shop, but I threw them away because when I opened the packet it smelled as if it had pork fat. I think people who eat pork are taking risks with their health.”
Some locals whom they had befriended invited Moutlaq and her husband to a restaurant. The restaurant served pork, but not to be rude to their new friends, they did not refuse the invitation.
Still they were worried sick about what they would order.
“My husband and I looked carefully at the menu and decided to order barbecued fish and prawns. For the rest of the trip we survived on bread, boiled eggs and fruits,” Moutlaq said.
Alcohol content
Muslim travellers are also concerned over the use of alcohol in cooking and whether the meat has been slaughtered in accordance to Shariah, which they say is most unlikely in non-Muslim countries.
“When I go abroad, if I cannot find a restaurant run by Muslims, I order only vegetarian food or seafood because I do not think meat served in non-Muslim restaurants is Halal,” businessman Abdul Aziz Al Ghamdi said.
Homemaker Nadia Sulaiman said she preferred not to travel to non-Muslim countries as she feels uncomfortable eating food in restaurants that serve pork.
“I used to feel uncomfortable to eat food off plates in such restaurants because I know that at some point pork must have been served in these plates. It used to bother me so much that I asked a Sheikh if it was all right to eat in plates that had pork served in them previously. He said it did not matter since the plates were washed thoroughly,” she said.
The above article, which appeared in Arab News (Riyadh), has been reproduced here with the permission of its Editor-in-Chief Khaled Al Maeena.
