"It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we
eat. We don’t miss out on anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain
anything if we do." I Corinthians 8:8
“Does the cake have any pork in it?” Sima cautiously
asked. One of the first things we will
encounter with certain Muslims will be talk surrounding food. Perhaps
we have invited them for a meal and they wrestled with accepting the invitation
and we could not understand why. Maybe they actually refused our invitation and
we felt hurt. There are times when our Muslim friends do accept an invitation
but barely touch the food. What is going
on, we wonder?
Not all Muslim
women have concerns about what we offer them. In fact many of them feel honored
and delighted to be given cookies or invited for a meal. But, in this
posting, I want to refer to those who do manifest food concerns. They
experience genuine fear, discomfort, and anxiety.
The Qur’an
commands Muslims to refrain from eating pork products and the Hadith discourages consumption of alcohol. In Islam
both are either forbidden(haram) or discouraged. To digest either of those things would
make them feel like they are disobeying Allah which could bring about his
displeasure or even judgment. Devoted ones will not want to eat beef or chicken
that were not slaughtered according to Islamic requirements. They try hard not to displease Allah. A vast majority of them look at Christians as
people who drink alcohol and eat pig. So, when we invite them for a meal they
will be concerned about being served alcohol or pig or anything else which may
contain an ingredient of them. Vanilla is made with alcohol. Cake, cookies, or
chocolates will be assumed to be haram because vanilla is in them. They are
afraid of anything which may have gelatin in them because that may come from
pig bones such as marshmallows, yogurt, ice cream, etc. Then, of course, there
is the fear of being served alcoholic drinks or eating any form of pork whether
on pizza or a roast. With this in mind, it will be helpful when we offer them
cake or cookies that we inform them that we
made them without vanilla or animal shortening. If we invite them for a meal we can assure
them, right at the time when we are extending the invitation, that we will not
serve any alcohol or pork. Then they will be relieved and thankful. They will
feel safe with Allah and us. Often this reassurance will open the way to
further friendship. Don’t get bogged down and vexed about their fears and these
food issues. When we understand where they are coming from and how we can
manage it we will be able to move forward in friendship. That is what we really desire. I usually start
with inviting them for tea and serve them vanilla-free cake, fruit, nuts, and
sometimes samosas. In the initial stages
of relating it is not necessary to make a big deal about dietary religious laws.
The time will come when we can talk about God and faith issues. In the meantime keep loving them, praying for
them, and extending hospitality.
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for the freedom we
have in Christ!
