"Pork prohibited?" were the first words uttered by my new American friend, accompanied by a strange look on his face, when I told him that I can't eat the pepperoni pizza which he had offered me so generously. Having grown up in a Muslim society and accepting most of the teachings of Islam without questioning, I had never thought of investigating this rather trivial issue. So, there I was speechless, looking at his face, as if that would solve the matter. Finally, after a brief interval, as a face saving move I told him that it's a religious thing. Later on when the whole ordeal was over, I found myself asking the same question. Therefore I decided to scrutinize this topic. The findings were shocking, both to me and to my friend.
Now a days, people are not as much "religious conscious " as they are "medical conscious". In other words if you tell them that its forbidden in your religion, you are labeled as a wet blanket. But if you explain how this can ruin their health and figure (especially ladies) or how harmful and in some cases fatal it can be to them, only then will they pay any attention. What I am about to present is both from the religious as well as medical point of view. The idea is to cater to the needs of both types of audiences.
God wants us to be clean and pure both physically as well as spiritually. Science lays great emphasis on hygiene but neglects the importance of the cultivation of human nature in its purest form. The abstention from eating pork is just one of the steps taken by Islam to practice hygiene and to attain "purity of human nature". The nature of a pig is a very disgusting one. The pig is naturally lazy and indulgent in sex. It dislikes sun-light and lacks the spirit and will to 'fight'. The older it grows, the lazier it gets. It eats almost anything, be it faeces or anything dirty. It prefers dirty places to clean ones. It eats and sleeps only and hates to move around. It is the most avaricious of all domestic animals. Some people argue that the 'modern pig' is given only clean food and therefore its flesh should be consumable. The answer to this argument is this: you feed the pig with wholesome mash but you cannot change its nature. It is still a pig. A pig is not a plant that you can change by bud-grafting.
Islam is not the only religion in which pork is prohibited but other religions teach the same message also. For example; In Judaism, pork consumption is forbidden. The Jews believe in the Old Testament. It is clearly stated "And the swine, though he divided the hoof, and be clovenfooted,yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you. Leviticus (11:7-8). Also,"And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass. Deuteronomy(14:8). In Hinduism, the same principle is applied according to their teachings. In fact most of the Hindus are pure vegetarians especially the Brahmins (the highest cast of Hindus). In Buddhism, there are five principal commandments on which the religion is based and these are the prohibition of killing, adultery, stealing, telling lies and drinking intoxicants. This is extreme form of Buddhism and encourages vegetarianism only. In Christianity, it is also required of the followers to not consume pork. This makes sense as Christians believe unconditionally in the Old and New Testament. Some Christians however, claim that they are Christians now and no longer Jews. The answer to this is that the fundamental teachings of the church are based on the Old Testament. Also, the Ten Commandments, which are from the Old Testament, are strictly practiced and the Old and New Testament are bound into one which is called the Holy Bible.
In Islam, The Holy Quran mentions the prohibition of the flesh of swine is at three different places; in chapter 2 verse 173, chapter 6:145 and in chapter 16 verse 115 where God says, "Allah (God) has forbidden you only what dies of itself and blood and the flesh of swine and that over which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked; but whoever is driven to(it), not desiring nor exceeding the limit, then surely Allah is forgiving, merciful." The phrase 'driven to need' also deserves some explanation. In instances such as a famine, when there is nothing else to eat, pork may be eaten just enough to save a life. If a man threatens to kill a Muslim and forces him to eat pork he can eat pork. This may sound strange but numerous incidents involving the above mentioned situations do take place.
In 1992, in the notorious 'Smith' decision, the Supreme Court ruled that freedom of religion MAY be bridged even in the absence of compelling state interest, provided the law apply to all groups and not just the members of a certain religion. Thus it is now legal to offer Muslim prisoners a diet of pork provided it is what is offered to other prisoners. This, by the way, was the issue that sparked the bloody Attica prison riot in the mid-Seventies. During the 'cultural revolution' in 1966, Muslims in China were subjected to varied and sadistic methods of humiliation, one of them was that they were forced to eat pork. During the down fall of Spain, the Christian government set up border stations outside former Muslim strongholds like Granada where any traveler passing through was forced to drink alcohol and eat pork. One may ask,"why Muslims only". The answer is that they are the only nation in the world today that observe this teaching strictly.
Blood is virtually our life and what we consume not just enters the intestines and become excreta but also ultimately affects the circulation system, it is therefore necessary to exercise choice in the selection of our food and drink. That is why people are very careful in matters such as selecting the right kind of mushrooms or oysters but when it comes to pork, they don't even give it a second thought. This is because pork is not so poisonous as to kill on the spot. It should be clearly understood that the flesh of any animal or even vegetables, contains infectious germs but pork is the greatest cradle of harmful germs and parasites among all meats which are known to human beings. The more scientists study pork, the more they dread it.
The following list shows just a few kinds of germs and parasites that are found in pork and the diseases that they are responsible for.
Fasciolopsis Buski, remain latent for a long time in the pig's small intestines. When people eat the infected meat they suffer from digestive disorders, then persistent diarrhea. The whole body then swells, due to the oedema of the tissues under the skin. Round Worms are 9 to 10" long also known as "travelling worm" cause pneumonia if present in the lungs of man, suffocation if in the air-tubes and jaundice if in the intestines by creating intestinal obstruction. Hook Worms enter the human body by piercing the skin or through any wound causing a peculiar itch. Diarrhea is the chief complain. In children, their development and growth is checked and they become easy prey for other infectious diseases.
Paragonimus, discovered by Dr. Masson in 1880, live in the lungs of the pig causing pneumonia. There is still no means of killing this parasite in the tissues, neither has anyone found a method of expelling it. Patients having this infection suffer from cough with rusty sputum and have repeated attacks of profuse bleeding of the lungs.
Metastrongylus Apri, is a short and slender parasite whose presence in man's lungs leads to bronchitis and pneumonia. Swine Erysipelas are found in the skin of the pig; always ready to pierce the skin of anyone in close contact with pigs through handling them. This results in fever and inflammation of the human skin.
Tubercle Bacillis, are parasites in pigs that are conveyed to the man via infected pork. The above information is extracted from an article written by Dr. Muhammad Ja'afar in the "Islamic Review of London " of January 1957 and from "Essential Review on Agriculture-Veterinary", No.12 vol 2(1959) of Taiwan. According to the following table from "A Study of Nutrition", published by Chung Ch'eng Press of Taiwan, the fat content in pork is the highest among all meats. MEAT PERCENTAGE OF FAT Fat pork 91% Fat beef 35% Lean pork 29% Lean beef 6% If you take two pieces of flesh pork and beef both of the same age and put them in the sun; the pork will rot first and then beef, but if the same meats are cooked, pork will be the last to be cooked. According to medical research, beef requires three hours to be digested but pork needs four hours.
I think that I have shed enough light on this topic to convince any type of audience that all pork products may they be lard, pepperoni, bacon or ham are equally harmful and should not be consumed in any shape or form. I don't know about you but my ' friend' has not touched pork since he read this.
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