My Uncle who lives in Germany is over visiting for two weeks and we all went out to dinner last night. I sat between him and my grandmother and as we were munching on the appetizers, waiting for our food my Uncle suddenly says out of nowhere, we weren't even talking about religion or anything like that:
"It's a good thing you guys aren't Muslim or you'd have to get rid of the grill."
And I'm sort of left just staring at him with this totally confused look on my face. Because sure, we had hot dogs and bratwurst the night before for dinner (he and my grandmother had come over) and we'd grilled them so I got the whole pork - grill - Muslim connection but where did the comment even come from?
But I just say, "No, we'd just have to clean it really thoroughly."
And he's arguing with me, telling me that no, you'd have to get rid of anything that had had pork or alcohol on it and replace it. Which I know is not true because I'd asked about this years ago when I was first thinking about converting to Islam and I was told that of course you weren't expected or required to do that because the cost would be prohibitive. It would be an unnecessary burden.
Finally he concedes that well maybe we wouldn't have to get rid of the grill but that we'd have to get it blessed. Which...I don't know. I don't think so, but I could see that maybe. But not a blessing so much as maybe praying over the items? But it just sounds odd to me.
So that's my question, such as it is.
Does it make sense or is it even a done thing to pray over or have blessed items in your house that might have touched non-halal food? I've been trying to find something using the all knowing Google but so far nothing has come up.
My Uncle swears that you would have to have the local imam come out and bless things but like I told him, in my understanding of Islam there's not supposed to be anyone between you and God. The imam doesn't hold the same function as say, a priest. So assuming that you wanted or needed to have a prayer said over something in your house you could just do it yourself.
I admit, I had a bit of a LOL moment reading this. The way, waaaaaaay out there super-strict kind of Muslims might replace the whole deal (think like the vegans who keep two sets of pots and pans if they live with non-vegan/vegetarians). There's no rule on it, though, and tossing the whole kit and kaboodle would be wasteful, which is a definite Qur'anic no-no. The majority of people I know would just scrub everything really well, rinse it really well, and call it good. There's nothing against touching pork (how do you think those mosque members cleaned up the bacon that was thrown on the lawn of their mosque? Put on gloves and pick it up.). The Qur'an only restricts us from consuming it.
ReplyDeleteMy Uncle is kind of a way out there kind of guy and I have no idea where he's getting his information from. :)
DeleteWhat you're saying lines up with what I was told years ago and that was by super-strict Muslims.
Maybe some (ignorant) people think pork is like the Muslim equivalent to kryptonite?
I guess. "Growing...weaker...must...buy...new...grill..." :P
Delete"PORK!" *gasps for air* "My one weakness...." *crawls away*
DeleteAnd I've never heard of anyone praying over any object. You can pray over people, for instance, someone who is ill or injured, but objects? Nope. That idea seems to have a strong Catholic influence.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm....not necessarily Catholic per say. I think other denominations bless objects as well.
DeleteThat's funny that your uncle brought this up out of the blue. Does he know Muslims in Germany? Have an opinion of them from where he lives?
ReplyDeleteI think Jews have two sets of dishes - one for meat, one for milk products - to avoid cross-contamination (or whatever.) Not sure about Muslims though I think what Heather says makes the most sense.
I have no idea. My uncle is an atheist but I don't know much about his friends. We live so far apart and we speak so rarely it's hard to tell, you know?
DeleteI can't think of anyone praying over objects either. If I remember, I'll ask Samer about this tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to hear Samer's opinion if you remember to ask him. But now I have a question for you!
DeleteDo people in other Christian denominations, in your experience, have the practice of blessing or praying over objects? I think that there are some, at least, that do, but most of my experience comes from the high church kind of churches, so my sample is limited.
The only thing I could think of is, say, a church gets a new van, and they pray for God to protect the people as they travel. Or they get a new church building and they dedicate it. They may pray with the van or church in mind - so that God would use them for His glory, etc. Maybe this is what you mean. But anyone could do this not only a pastor/priest. And I don't know that I've seen it done though it might have happened in my past. :)
DeleteI read the post to Samer this afternoon, and then he told me I was the Islamic expert so what did I tell you. Quite the joker, that one. He said it wouldn't really bother him to use the grill, but it might make some people "a little uncomfortable." And he's never heard of an imam blessing a grill so that part doesn't ring true for him.
Hmmm...kind of. Like there's two different kinds of praying over/on/about objects in my mind.
DeleteOne, the one you're describing, is still more related to the people. Asking God to protect the people, allow them to use whatever for his glory. That sort of thing.
The other is more like an actual setting apart. The item becomes sacrosanct and is only used for religious purposes. Like the chalice during Mass.
*laughs* You are an expert Susanne! :D
Well the uncomfortableness is, I think, where the *really* thorough scrubbing comes in. So that there's no chance of there being any pork related remnants left.
I think he might be thinking about orthodox Jews.....cause this sounds a little extreme to me for a Muslim.
ReplyDeleteOr he could just be making it up from things he hears. I honestly don't know. It seems extreme to me too.
Delete"Does it make sense or is it even a done thing to pray over or have blessed items in your house that might have touched non-halal food?"
ReplyDeleteNO!
Why?
Because "in my understanding of Islam there's not supposed to be anyone between you and God."
You already answered your question :)
As in any other religion, culture ALWAYS blends with the religion and many times people start to believe that what they do is good because they follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad. But the truth is many of the things Muslim do are based on culture not religion. So, you will see some differences between Muslims in Arabia, Uzbekistan, Africa... Some of these behaviors might not be harmful like Arabs stand up when they shake hands while in Sunnah they should not. Other catastrophic cultural behaviors are against Islam like Taliban believing that women should be illiterate.
Now, going back to your uncle’s comment. I have seen something similar when I was in Malaysia. Malaysia is a Muslim country but it has other minorities like the Chinese and Indians. I and my Arab friends went to a tourist attraction that was on top of a mountain. Our Jeep driver (no one is allowed to drive beside the tour guides) dropped us at a lonely house. Of course the goal here is that tourists would enjoy being in a house at the top of the mountain with no communication with the rest of the world (a scene very similar to American horror movies). Our driver came with us inside the house to give us a tour. He was a Malaysian and when he knew that we were Muslims he pointed at the big glass cabinet near the dining table and told us which set of china to use. We knew that the china, pots, silverware on the left were not Halal and the set on the right were Halal. We looked at each other but preferred not to ask more questions because we wanted to have fun. Their reason for doing so is because non-Muslims eat pork. Being a big group of Arab men who like to cook and eat we ended up using everything they have in the cabinet.
Now, how many comments I need to write on your blog to get added to your speed-dial? :)
Jerry got ‘07’ after two dates (we will replace this with comments) only- http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/TheMillennium.html
*sighs with relief* Okay, good. :) That's what I thought and that's what makes the most sense to me.
DeleteI'm wondering, honestly, where he got his information from. He's not really the kind to, I think, hang around with religious people and discuss the finer points of faith. So I think he got his information second hand, or misunderstood something.
I'm glad you survived your American horror movie set-up vacation! :D
Hmmm...*counts comments* *checks her Muslim speed-dial arrangements*
I can put you at #4.
:D