Arabeyes: Halal Pork?

Islam, like Judaism, bans its adherents from consuming pork. But what happens when rumours about ‘Halal’ or religiously sanctioned pork appear in the market? Here's what some bloggers and participants in an online forum from Bahrain have to say.

Halal Pork Photo from: SubZero Blue

Lebanese blogger Mark, who lives in Kuwait, comments on the product with a one-liner:

Yeah, I don’t think so.

The post has a good 20 comments on it and there are also more comments on an online forum which Mark operates here. One of the readers writes:

Strong oxymoron.

After hearing about the product via Mark's blog, Subzero Blue, from Tunisia, wonders what other food is labelled as Halal.

“Very interesting. Some Australians have managed to find a way to make pork halal for Muslims.
Really great job; given that pork is one of the ultimate non-halal items on earth.
Kind of makes you wonder how halal the other labeled stuff is…” he writes.

The issue was also brought up on Bahrain Online, an Arabic-language forum, from Bahrain.

متوفر في الاسواق
لحم خنزير حلال
مذبوح بالشريعة الاسلامية !!!

“Available in the markets. Halal pork and slaughtered according to Islamic Shariah (law),” said the announcement which tagged the picture above.

Readers were torn between those who believed the product was really available in the local markets and those who quickly came up with a ‘logical’ explanation.

Free Writer falls in the latter group and writes:

يبين ان كلمة حلال موجودة على ملصق … يعني ممكن اذا عندي هالملصق ألصقه و اصور …
او انها مركبة بدليل أن كلمة حلال مغطية على الحجي المكتوب بالإنجليزي
في الحالتين اله ناشر الصورة فاضي

It is obvious that the word Halal is on a sticker. This means that someone may have had this sticker and stuck it on the product and took a picture or it could have been fabricated. This is obvious because the word Halal is covering what is written in English. Whatever the case, the person who published this picture has nothing better to do.

Araby agrees with Free Writer and adds:

أعتقد انه مُجرد ملصق تم وضعه على المُنتَج …
و لا داعي لتكبير المسألة …
العملية مفبركة … و لا تدخل العقل أنه مجلس “إسلامي” يقوم بذلك …
خصوصاً انه أكل لحم الخنزير من الكبائر و ليس بأمر عادي ..

I believe it is just a sticker which was stuck on the product and there is no reason to exaggerate the issue. It is fabricated as it is illogical for an Islamic council to sanction pork since its consumption falls among the bigger sins and isn't something acceptable.

In comparison, another reader laments:

يتم تصدير هذه اللحوم الى بعض دول الخليج
ومن ضمنها البحرين
لا رقابة ولاهم يحزنون
الخمور واللحوم المحرمة تباع علناً في البحرين

Such products are exported to some countries in the Arabian Gulf, including Bahrain. There is no monitoring. Alcohol and banned meats are also being sold openly in Bahrain.