Description and comparative analysis of the dietary rules of different religions and confessions
Dietary Rules
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5. Islam
In Islam, there are rules on diet like many other faiths. The forbidden foods in Islam are animals and birds that have died a natural death, animals killed without invoking the name of Allah, animals strangled to death, the meat of pork, animals of which wild beast has eaten, blood. There is also strick ban on alcohol as well. The food prohibited in Islam is called haram and the food that is free to eat is called halal.
Since it is widely consumed in the non-Muslim world, pork becomes quite an issue for a Muslim travelling or living in a non-Muslim country. With the increase in numbers of Muslims living in Europe, it became quite normal to have a sign indicating that the food served is “halal” on the windows of restaurants or fast-food places.
While people enjoy food in their daily life, faith dictates certain rules like fasting during certain times of the year. This encourages the Christians to abstain from certain foods during the week or the Lent, Islam dictates a total fasting from sunrise to sunset during a whole month of Ramadan. The whole month becomes a period of spiritual cleansing while hold day fasting is rewarded with a quite rich dinner.
Food signifies certain points and the tenth day of the first month of lunar Islamic calendar is celebrated by a certain pudding named Ashura, which is prepared with grain, sugar, dried fruits and nuts. It becomes a sign of social solidarity by distributing the cups of it to the neighbours, relatives but the meaning changes according to different sects of Islam.
Interview
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