# Why Do Muslim Fundies Hate Mayo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2006, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848 "2006-05-31T08:50:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/1 "2006-05-31T08:50:03Z")
According to a news report I heard, whackjob fundamentalist muslims in Iraq have threatened to kill people who buy mayonnaise. I can understand why some people might find mayo objectionable, but murdering someone just because they bought a jar of it seems a bit extreme. Is there some prohibition in the Koran about this? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/2 "2006-05-31T09:19:51Z")
“Damn, we’ve run out of unreasonable things to kill people about. Got any ideas?” - “I dunno. Look in the fridge. What’s the first thing you can see?” “Mayo.” - “OK, let’s go with that.” In seriousness, it seems there’s a [fatwa](http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/KeshtoPatel50324.htm) against it because of its tallow contnent. But bear in mind, contrary to popular belief, that “fatwa” just means “edict”: > [@](#): > > On the other hand there are million of Muslims who receive benign Fatwas day in day out and seek the Islamic tenets as laid down by their warrior prophet Muhammad to live a life as per those guidelines as lived by Prophet as described in Kuran and Hadeeths (Sunna) and as interpreted by Grand Muftis of Islam who are the Professors of allegedly true Islam who oversee Madarsas and Umma in connivance with political big wigs of Jeddah and or Islamabad. > > Imams issue Fatwas, as for example, that Muslims must eat with their right hand, they should not mingle with Kafars because it would dilute Islam, that they should encourage Dawa to bring forth Kafars under Islam’s big roof and try to convert them, that they should not eat Mayonnaise because it contains tallow which is of swine origin. ---
**Author:** ![Dusty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@Dusty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/3 "2006-05-31T10:03:52Z")
What mayonnaise contain tallow? No recipe I’ve ever seen for homemade mayonnaise calls for it, and from a cursory glance at ingredients online, major brand names don’t use any either. ---
**Author:** ![tygerbryght](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/4 "2006-05-31T10:19:51Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > In seriousness, it seems there’s a [fatwa](http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/KeshtoPatel50324.htm) against it because of its tallow contnent. But bear in mind, contrary to popular belief, that “fatwa” just means “edict”: Uh, hate ta tellya, but there ain’t no fat from swine in [tallow](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=tallow). Fat from pigs/swine is called lard. It’s not hard to tell the difference from the scent. AAMOF, it’s not hard to tell the difference between tallow from cattle (called suet before rendering) and tallow from sheep; the scents are distinctive. Of course, it might be hard to tell any of that, once mixed up in something where it’s a minor ingredient. OTOH, if tallow or lard is used in ordinary cooking, the discerning palate can nearly always tell which, and sometimes even whether it’s fat from beef or mutton. In a number of different ethnic cuisines, it’s common to use fat from swine to cut the “wild” flavor of venison and other game (especially bear and other game less popular in the U.S.). when that’s done, sometimes it’s via strips of bacon, but more commonly, it is strings (sometimes called laces) of pure, unrendered hog fat stuffed into or pulled through roasts or other thick cuts via a needle of the sort once used for sewing up poultry after stuffing. Lard is probably less hydrogenated than tallow, as it remains soft to semi-liquid at room temperatures, while tallow is very hard at those same temperatures. I can’t check a mayo label, because I don’t keep it on hand; I use Miracle Whip because it has less egg in it, and once upon a time, had none. I’ve never seen a recipe for mayonnaise that contained animal fat. You need a liquid fat (oil), because otherwise it would be wayyy too thick to blend. Ya gotta whip the ingredients to emulsify it all - egg yolks, oil and vinegar/lemon juice, plus seasonings. [Here](http://www.hugs.org/Mayonnaise.shtml) [are](http://homecooking.about.com/od/saladrecipes/r/blcon64.htm) some [mayonnaise](http://tinyurl.com/qwuou) [recipes](http://www.dianaskitchen.com/page/sauce/mayo.htm). (The preceding sentence - with links - would have been all run together without [TinyURL](http://tinyurl.com/). Two of the original URLs were ridiculously long; 84 characters in one.) In any case, the FDA would have unpleasant things to say to any manufacturer selling stuff mislabeled in that fashion in the U.S. Where was this, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/5 "2006-05-31T10:26:19Z")
Hey, it ain’t me saying this, it’s some uninformed imams. I was aware that tallow is beef. IIRC, it was cattle tallow that caused the Hindu McDonald’s riots in Delhi a few years ago. I have Hellmans and two kinds of French mayo (Maille and Bénédicta) in my fridge. The only animal products any of them contain is egg. ---
**Author:** ![Mayo\_Speaks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/6 "2006-05-31T13:17:18Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > **Why Do Muslim Fundies Hate Mayo?** What did I ever do to Muslim fundies??? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/7 "2006-05-31T13:24:50Z")
> [@Mayo Speaks!](#): > > What did I ever do to Muslim fundies??? You owe them $5. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/8 "2006-05-31T13:56:50Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > According to a news report I heard, whackjob fundamentalist muslims in Iraq have threatened to kill people who buy mayonnaise. I can understand why some people might find mayo objectionable, but murdering someone just because they bought a jar of it seems a bit extreme. Is there some prohibition in the Koran about this? Can you give us a cite here? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/9 "2006-05-31T14:16:07Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > they should not mingle with Kafars because it would dilute Islam, that they should encourage Dawa to bring forth Kafars under Islam’s big roof and try to convert them I hope it wasn’t the same Imam who issued those two, kind of hard to talk to people without mingling with them. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/10 "2006-05-31T14:30:51Z")
“Hold the bacon, hold the mayo, kill the infidel…”? OTOH, such hostility would be partially explainable if Muslims had been exposed to pork-lard-containing “mayonnaise” (the very thought of which is repellent). Clearly this calls for a concerted program of outreach to the Islamic world with the aim of enlightening them as to the true nature of western, infidel mayo as it is actually made. Then we can teach them how to make a decent corned-beef-on-rye. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/11 "2006-05-31T14:32:46Z")
I would understand if it were Miracle Whip they were concerned about. Blech. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/12 "2006-05-31T14:53:45Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > . . . whackjob fundamentalist muslims . . . seems a bit extreme. I think you answered your own question. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/13 "2006-05-31T15:10:13Z")
Maybe the fatwa wants to become a skinnywa? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/14 "2006-05-31T15:36:10Z")
Remember those screaming mobs burning Danish flags? This was because of those mohammed cartoons. Have the authorities given the “OK” for devout muslims to eat Danish milk,butter,cheese.etc ? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/15 "2006-05-31T16:03:26Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I hope it wasn’t the same Imam who issued those two, kind of hard to talk to people without mingling with them. It could be that mingling in the sense of the _fatwa_ meant procreating. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/16 "2006-05-31T16:21:14Z")
I have not seen any reliable references to Muslim imams issuing prohibitions about mayonnaise. (As **jjimm** points out, a “fatwa” is simply an edict, issued by somebody who thinks he’s entitled to do so but doesn’t necessarily have any recognized status as an interpreter of Islamic law. The fact that a particular ruling of this sort is called a “fatwa” doesn’t necessarily imply any death penalty for violating it.) However, I **have** seen various queries from Muslims about whether commercially packaged mayonnaise is _halal_, conforming to Muslim dietary laws. There are concerns about the possible [use of alcohol](http://shariahboard.com/fatwa/Zabiha/i.html), which is forbidden to Muslims, as a mayonnaise ingredient: > [@](#): > > (Q1168) > I bought mayonnaise in London, it has an ingredient spirit vinegar. One of my friends mentioned that spirit vinegar is not halal, like spirit wine? > > Answer 1168 > Most scholars are of the opinion that just as spirit wine is not Halal, that spirit which is made from other ingredients. But there is a group of scholars which says that the ruling for vinegar spirit or spirit made from any source other than wine is different from the ruling given on wine spirit. Anyway, it’s better to be safe; it’s closer towards taqwa. Some [mayonnaise brands do contain](http://www.ocado.net/webshop/getProductDetails.do?parentContainer=BNDL341491&sku=13959011) an ingredient called [spirit vinegar](http://www.vinegarbook.co.uk/Spirit_vinegar.shtml), which does have a small amount of alcohol. It may also be a problem if the mayonnaise producers aren’t using [halal-certified equipment](http://money.inq7.net/topstories/printable_topstories.php?yyyy=2006&mon=05&dd=29&file=15), which might possibly be contaminated with non-halal products: > [@](#): > > FOOD and personal care products maker Unilever Philippines Inc. is set on tapping the multibillion-dollar-yearly halal market through its mayonnaise products. > > “We are very keen on halal and we hope to find a solution and be able to start by next year,” said Unilever chief executive Howard D. Belton. > > Belton said, however, that the cost of factory adjustments was one of the main reasons why the company was taking its time on the matter. > > “We need about P10-million production line that would be isolated (from elements that would make the product not acceptable to the Muslim market),” Belton said. “But going into that is not just a simple issue of cost.” […] > > Unilever sells a product line of mayonnaise that comes in tuna, chicken and ham flavors–the latter prohibited among Muslims. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/17 "2006-05-31T16:29:55Z")
They plan to torpedo any ships carrying mayonnaise to Islamic countries. This will allow them to celebrate their own version of Sinko de Mayo. 😃 (well, somebody had to say it) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/18 "2006-05-31T16:37:14Z")
[Hellman’s ingredients](http://www.mayo.com/products_mayo.asp#mayo) > [@](#): > > INGREDIENTS: SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, WHOLE EGGS AND EGG YOLKS, VINEGAR, SALT, SUGAR, LEMON JUICE, NATURAL FLAVORS, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (USED TO PROTECT QUALITY ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/19 "2006-05-31T17:31:18Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > They plan to torpedo any ships carrying mayonnaise to Islamic countries. This will allow them to celebrate their own version of Sinko de Mayo. > > 😃 > > (well, somebody had to say it) Clothahump, thats gotta be the Groaner of the Week!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848/20 "2006-05-31T18:06:49Z")
> [@Dusty](#): > > What mayonnaise contain tallow? No recipe I’ve ever seen for homemade mayonnaise calls for it, and from a cursory glance at ingredients online, major brand names don’t use any either. The kind I get is certified kosher parve, so it definitely doesn’t have any ingredients that come from cows or pigs. It could very well have vinegar derived from alcohol- there’s no prohibition against alcohol in the kosher laws. I could understand a ban on Miracle Whip, too. Mayo six months past its expiration date tastes like Miracle Whip. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-muslim-fundies-hate-mayo/358848.md?page=2)