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Friday, September 26, 2008 Since Hari Raya Aidilfitri is just around the corner, this post shall be focused on the main Muslim culture which I've observed- Muslims can only consume food which is Halal. Do watch the following video for clearer illustrative purposes. A picture speaks a thousand words. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdguyMJprsA I was appalled by the conversations in the video. Clearly, the questions asked did not seem accidental. As most of us know, Muslims are forbidden from consuming pork, alcohol, blood, meat dedicated to false gods etc. The dietary laws for Muslims are very clear- Muslims can only consume food that is Halal. Still at times, questions like “What’s Halal?” will be asked. In Arabic, “Halal” simply means allowed or permissible. To make meat Halal, an animal or poultry has to be slaughtered in a ritual way known as Zibah. Apparently, the basic respect non-Muslims should have for the Muslims is to pay attention to what comes out from our mouth. After watching the video, even as a Chinese, I felt extremely ashamed of how those people in the video actually made fun of the Muslim Halal culture. Mentioning food which is forbidden for Muslims clearly showed how much respect they have for them. Not once, not twice, not thrice. It didn’t matter whether the characters in the video did it on purpose, or was it accidental. The point they brought across to the public was clear. They certainly did not show due respect for the Muslims. However, I did learn something from the video. When we live in a multi-racial/multi-culture society like Singapore, communicating with people from other races is inevitable. In order to have effective communications, we have to understand the different cultures and values of each and every racial group. Like what Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Men are respectable only as they respect”. Sources: 1) http://www.halalfoodauthority.co.uk/define.html 2) http://islam.about.com/cs/dietarylaw/a/halalfood.htm 3) http://www.youtube.com/ |
