I teach ESL classes to a group of mothers, some of who are Muslim. Yesterday they were examining the ingredients on a box of granola bars I brought in. They explained that they were looking for gelatin and whey, since they are prohibited from eating both.
I knew that Muslims do not eat pork, and although I did not know about gelatin specifically I am assuming that is because it comes from a prohibited animal. But I thought that whey was simply a byproduct of making cheese. Am I wrong about what whey is? Or is something added to whey in the process of making it that means it is prohibited? If not, is there a Muslim prohibition against eating whey? Or did I misunderstand them?
Gelatin can contain meat, and thus be prohibited. I have no idea about whey, unless it’s fermented and thus considered alcoholic? That’s just a WAG, however.
If you’re looking to bring in treats, it’s probably easier to find stuff marked kosher – a little U or K in a circle, for instance, or the word kosher. See What do K, R, and U means on food and other packages? Generally, as long as the product is not alcoholic, Muslims can eat food that’s kosher.
If by “whey” you mean the watery product that is a left over of making butter or cheese (I think) I don’t see what can be wrong about it, but i’m not familiar with how this product is made. (in fact: not familiar with the product itself and how it is obtained). So there can be something about the production itself or about additions to it.
But in my opinion such a reasoning excludes a lot of products that are the result of mass production in countries like the USA.
Maybe you could ask the women what they look for exactly.
If it can help you: discussions about what is permitted and what not are legio among Muslims themselves.
Some things are clear enough in Al Qur’an itself, some are only relying on hadieth and some are diffuse mix of what is thought to be haram and then taken as such, but have no real foundation in scripture.
I could argue with an other Muslim about the fact that I eat oisters and mussels while the other insists - and is convinced - that is not halal.
Then we don’t even talk about the horor that I drink occasionally a good wine or champagne… With my oisters .
Salaam. A
You say it can be fermented? Well yes, that can be the reason then.
About gelatin, I don’t know what it is made off but if made of meat then there can be a lot in it that is considered haram.
Although one can always bring in the rule that when you have food before you and can’t know its origin, speaking out the name of God over it makes it halal.
Salaam. A
The problem with whey may be the rennet added to the fermenting milk. Rennet is a coagulant used to give texture to the cheese-to-be. It is often an animal by-product.
Are Muslims prohibited from eating cheese in general, or only whey?
Ah, thanks, hawthorne, the rennet explains it. (My “fermentation” was purely WAG, and obviously wrong.) The website that you point to says what I had said: if you want to bring food for Muslims who observe the Islamic dietary laws, it is probably easier to find Kosher foods, which will be acceptable (so long as non-alcoholic.)
Why is rennet not halal? I read the link, but it is not clear.
I thought rennet came from the stomach of a ruminant animal. Pigs aren’t ruminants, and I thought pigs were the only prohibited animal. And I didn’t think Muslims had the “no meat and dairy” mix rule.
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