Comparison of Islamic and Jewish dietary laws

The Islamic dietary laws (halal) and the Jewish dietary laws (kashrut; in English, kosher) are both quite detailed, and contain both points of similarity and discord. Both are the dietary laws and described in distinct religious texts: an explanation of the Islamic code of law found in the Quran and Sunnah and a Jewish code of laws found in the Torah and explained in the Talmud.

As a rule of thumb, most Kosher foods not containing alcohol are also Halal. However, there are some exceptions, and this article lists the similarities and differences between the two laws.

Substance classification

Similarities

• Swine is prohibited by both sets of beliefs.
• Almost all animals permitted in kashrut are also halal, such as bovines.
• To be kosher, aquatic animals must have scales and fins. Most Sunni schools of thought adhere to the interpretation that all creatures from the ocean or the sea or lake are considered halal (except Hanfi school that require it to be fish). Twelver Shia Muslims however consider that only sea creatures that have scales are halal, but make an exception with some crustaceans; shrimp and prawns, but not lobsters. This is similar to the Jewish law with the exception of fins.
• 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). Judaism finds that only gelatin made from kosher animals and/or kosher fish are in essence "kosher gelatins."
• Almost all insects are prohibited by both sets of law, although of the Maliki school of Sunni Islam permits eating insects, with the condition of it being dead by any means. The few kosher insects are specific types of locusts and grasshoppers (see Kosher locust) which are not eaten today in most Jewish communities and it is unknown which species is permitted (the exception being the Yemenite Jews, who claim to have preserved this knowledge); however all types of locusts are considered halal in sharia.

Differences

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, and the small quantities that naturally become present – such as orange juice. Except for 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).

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. Thus some animals such as the camel and rabbits are halal, but not kosher.

Kashrut requires strict separation of dairy and meat products, even when they are kosher separately

According to Jewish dietary laws, cooking equipment cannot come into contact with both meat and dairy. The utensils used must be designated to either one or the other.

Jewish religion also prohibits the consumption of birds of prey and scavenging birds. Some of the birds that are acceptable for consumption include chicken, ducks, and turkeys. If an animal is deemed forbidden, all parts of it are not allowed to be consumed including its milk and eggs.

According to Islamic dietary practices all pork products, no matter the amount, are forbidden. Many animal shortenings are made from pork, therefore, most foods containing animal shortening are likely forbidden; as an alternative many Muslims will use vegetable shortening in their foods instead. Also, lots of gelatin is produced using pork which also is forbidden. Because gelatin is in more food then we realize, there are many alternatives that are made for Muslims like halal gummy bears.

For foods to be considered halal, anything that had contact with alcohol or raw meat/blood must be thoroughly washed before being used to prepare or serve food. Also, a person must wash his or her hands before and after eating and teeth must be brushed frequently. For example, a Muslim who eats onions will pray at home instead of going to the mosque in order to avoid offending others or the angels at the mosque.

Wine was very important in early Judaism. The Talmud stated that wine is an alternative to other medicines.  Wine is permitted by all Jews as long as it is kosher. In order for wine to be kosher, it has to be made with all kosher ingredients and the entirety of the process from the picking of the grapes to the process of bottling the wine has to be supervised or created by other Jews. It is also a part of the Sabbath dinner and many rituals, especially the Passover seder. Part of the ritual for Jewish tradition is for each person to drink four cups of wine. Grape juice is also an acceptable substitute for wine. Meanwhile, in Islam alcohol is morally and socially unacceptable and is not used in any religious processes.

Slaughter

Shechita is the ritual slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish law. Dhabihah is the method used to slaughter an animal in Islamic tradition. Shechita requires that an animal be conscious and this is taken to mean the modern practice of electrical, gas, or percussive stunning before slaughter is forbidden. Most Muslim authorities also forbid the use of electrical, gas, or percussive stunning. However, other authorities state that stunning is permissible so long as it is not the direct cause of the animal's death.

Similarities

• Both shechita and dhabihah involve cutting across the neck of the animal with a sharp blade in one clean attempt in order to sever the main blood vessels.
• Both require draining the blood of the animal.
• Both Islamic and Jewish culinary practices enforce that the meat and poultry must be examined thoroughly by a member of its religion prior to consumption.
• Also, both religions emphasize that the meat has to be ritually slaughtered and not just found.

Differences

• In Judaism, only one who has been specially trained and has learned on all the laws of shechita may slaughter kosher animals. However, dhabihah can be performed by any "sane adult Muslim… by following the rules prescribed by Shariah". All Islamic authorities, though, state that dhabiha can also be performed by Peoples of the Book (Jews and Nazarenes).
• Dhabiha requires that God's name be pronounced before each slaughter. There is a genuine difference of opinion regarding the mention of the name of Allah if slaughtered by a Jew or Christian. (see Islamic Concept of God).However, the Muslim will be required to mention name of Allah before consuming the dhabiha if not mentioned at the slaughter. (The matter contains detail not to be mentioned here for sake of simplicity.) Dhabiha meat by definition is meat that is slaughtered in the shariah manner and the name of Allah is said before the slaughter. In shechita, a blessing to God is recited before beginning an uninterrupted period of slaughtering; as long as the shochet does not have a lengthy pause, interrupt, or otherwise lose concentration, this blessing covers all the animals slaughtered in that period. This blessing follows the standard form for a blessing before most Jewish rituals ("Blessed are you God ... who commanded us regarding [such-and-such]", in this case, shechita). The general rule in Judaism is that for rituals which have an associated blessing, if one omitted the blessing, the ritual is still valid [see Maimonides Laws of Blessings 11:5]; as such, even if the shochet failed to recite the blessing before shechita, the slaughter is still valid and the meat is kosher.
• There are some restrictions on what organs or parts of the carcass may be eaten from a halal-slaughtered and dressed animal, as described in the Quran or Hadith. Commonly known prohibitions include blood (Qur'an 2:173), penis, testicles, vulva, glands. However, 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, traibering) 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.

Other comparisons

Similarities

• After slaughter, both require that the animal be examined to ensure that it is fit for consumption. Dhabiha guidelines generally say that the carcass should be inspected, while kashrut says that the animal's internal organs must be examined "to make certain the animal was not diseased".
• Both sets of religious rules are subject to arguments among different authorities with regional and other related differences in permissible foodstuffs.
• Strictly observant followers of either religion will not eat in restaurants not certified to follow its rules.
• Meat slaughtered and sold as kosher must still be salted to draw out excess blood and impurities. A similar practice is followed in some Muslim households, but using vinegar. This is done to remove all surface blood from the meat, in accordance with Islam's prohibition of the consumption of blood.

Differences

• During the Jewish holiday Passover, an additional set of restrictions requires that no chametz (sour-dough starter or fermented products from the five species of grains) be eaten. This requirement is specific to the holiday, and nothing to do with the laws of kashrut.
• Kashrut prohibits the mixing of meat and dairy products; consumption of such products or profiting from their sale are also forbidden. Halal has no such rules.
• In Judaism, the permissibility of food is influenced by many secondary factors. For instance, vessels and implements used to cook food must also be kept separate from non-kosher products, and not used for both dairy products and meat products. (If a vessel or implement used to cook dairy products is then used to cook meat, the food becomes non-kosher and the vessel or implement itself can no longer be used for the preparation or consumption of a kosher meal.) In general, the same policy extends to any apparatus used in the preparation of foods, such as ovens or stovetops. Laws are somewhat more lenient for certain kitchen items such as microwaves or dishwashers, although this depends greatly on tradition (minhag) or individuals' own stringent practices (chumrot). As a result of these factors, many Conservative and Orthodox Jews refuse to eat dishes prepared at any restaurant that is not specifically kosher, even if the actual dish ordered uses only kosher ingredients.
• Likewise in Islamic food preparation, the permissibility of food is also influenced by the fact if it got mixed by contact with a non-hala food or drink from the utensiles or kitchen surface. Utensils used for pork, alcoholic drinks, blood and other najsat must not be used for hala food.
• The United States houses around 40 percent of the world's Jewish population, around 6.8 million. It is home to the largest Jewish population, and therefore the largest kosher markets. The largest markets are found in popular cities like New York, California (particularly Los Angeles), Florida (Miami), and New Jersey. The kosher food fills a special niche in the food market and despite the fact that only 10–15 percent of American Jews say they buy kosher, the niche was worth more than $12.5 billion in 2013. Industries that serve kosher products estimates are that there are over 12 million kosher consumers in the United States and that around 1 in 5 Americans regularly or occasionally buy kosher products because they are kosher. Throughout United States, there are over 11,000 kosher-producing companies, plants, and more than 195,000 kosher-certified packaged products sold in the United States. It is estimated that 70 percent of the food ingredients produced and 40–50 percent of foods sold in the United States are kosher.
• The kosher market has been continuously growing. Over the past decades, kosher certification companies like the Orthodox Union and Gluten Free Certification grew to meet market satisfaction. More recently, many big corporations like Coca-Cola started turning segments of its production to kosher to meet demand (especially during Passover). There are kosher festivals like the Kosherfest, in which many kosher chefs’ compete in culinary arts.

See also

• Islamic dietary laws
• Kashrut (Jewish dietary laws)

External links

• Difference Between Kosher and Halal
• Laws of Judaism and Islam concerning food