kosher & halal

[ANNE V. GILBERT]

Mark, David, and all:

> When we lived in Berkeley, Calif., we bought our meat from a kosher
> butcher in Oakland. We often encountered Muslims buying meat there,
> presumably because there was no halal butcher available (and
> satisfactory?) to them and they could be sure that kosher meat was not
> contaminated with pork. (Or shellfish, etc.; I don't know if halal rules
> forbid the other creatures, besides the pig, that kosher rules forbid.)

I've never observed Muslims buying meat at a kosher butcher, simply because
I've never been in a place that deals in kosher meat(that I know of).  OTOH,
I think Islamic dietary rules are fairly elastic, in that they allow for
Muslims traveling or living in places where "halal" meat may not be
available(you have to eat), as long as they don't break the dietary rules
regarding eating pigs, shellfish, or alcohol.  I could be wrong on this, and
anyway, as more Muslims become part of the social fabric of more and more
parts of the Western world, more and more halal butcher shops come into
existence.  I know of at least one in Seattle.
Anne G