To date, many influential religious leaders from both Judaism and Islam have attempted to provide answers to the question of why both these religions prohibit eating pork. The most straightforward answer is that the Lord has prohibited the eating of pork and all unclean meat, including unclean fish, birds, mammals and other creatures. Followers of Judaism and Islam, respectively, must eat only kosher or halal food. Prohibitions on eating unclean food are written in the Torah and in the Koran: “He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah. For Allah is Oft-forgiving Most Merciful” (Surah the Cow 2: 173), and “He has only forbidden you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and any (food) over which the name of other than Allah has been invoked. For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (Surah the Bee 16: 115). In principle, the laws governing kosher food in the Torah are the similar. Their traditional prohibition on eating pork and unclean food has often been used as an excuse to spark hatred of Jews and Muslims. In this paper, we attempt to study the possible sources of the prohibition to provide evidence-based answers as to why the prohibition exists, and to counter the xenophobic misrepresentations and slurs on these subjects. As it is not possible to cover all aspects of kosher and halal food in a short paper, we focus on examining the prohibition on Jews and Muslims on eating pork, human flesh and blood from all sources and, particularly, using the blood of mammals in the preparation of food.
The domestic pig Sus scrofa domesticus (S. s. domesticus) belongs to species: S. scrofa, genus: Sus is commonly called swine, hog or, simply, pig. It is the source of pork (the meat of the pig) and other products. The wild boar, wild swine or Eurasian wild pig is an ancestor of the domestic pigs in many parts of the world. Miniature pigs (also known as micro pigs, teacup pigs and other such names) are kept as pets. It is possible that pigs are the first domesticated animals. Regardless, the archaeological evidence suggested that pigs were domesticated in the Near East, possibly in the Tigris Basin in 13,000-12,700 BC [
The wild boar (see
solanine and solasodine. Thus, they have the ability to consume a broad spectrum of vegetarian and protein-containing food.
There are well over a milliard wild and domesticated farm pigs. The production of pork is relatively cheap in comparison to the production of beef, mutton and other protein-rich foods because pigs can consume rotten products and garbage, in contrast to these other animals. Pigs can be bred for the production of pork, bacon, gammon and ham. Apart from these products, pigs are the source of intestines used for the production of natural sausages, black puddings, frankfurters and hot dogs. Pig hides, especially those from wild boars and wild pigs, are in high demand in the haberdashery and shoe industries, as well as in the furniture and cars industries. Pigs are very reproductive, with a sexual maturity age of 3 to 12 months; they have estrus every 18 to 24 days and a gestation period of only 112 to 120 days. One breed sow can farrow up to 12 piglets. Pigs are also widely used in military and clinical laboratories [
Killing boar has been considered proof of a hunter’s strength, courage and success from the Neolithic period, as depicted on pillars at Göbekli Tepe 12,000 years ago [
In Greek mythology, many famous heroes fought or killed wild boar; for instance, Herakles captured the Erymanthian Boar in his third labor and Theseus slew the wild sow, Phaea [
Of interest to our investigation is a story regarding Osiris, the oldest son of the god Geb or, according to other sources, the son of the sun god, Ra [
The fact that cannibalism was abolished in Egypt is very important, because long after Osiris persuaded the Egyptians to abolish cannibalism and to stop eating human and primate flesh, these practices persisted in many parts of the globe. Even today, cases of cannibalism are not isolated events in some regions. The habit of eating primate flesh (bushmeat) is common in Africa (among non-Muslim Negros) and, in South America, the hunting of monkey and small apes for food is common among indigenous Indians. A list of incidents of cannibalism has been presented in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [
The Canadian Veterinary Journal [
Without doubt, this type of behavior by pigs was known in ancient Egypt. As a result of such knowledge, and because he was murdered with the assistance of a black boar, Osiris persuaded the Egyptians not to eat pork.
The walls of ancient Egyptian tombs and temples are full of pictures and frescoes that indicate the lifestyles and occupations of the ancient Egyptians. The farming of birds and animals, such as donkeys, horses and cattle, are frequently depicted. However, to the author’s good knowledge, despite an extensive search, there is no evidence that pigs were farmed or hunted by the ancient Egyptians. It is well known that the death of Tutankhamun, the Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (who ruled c. 1332-1323 BC), occurred when hunting gazelles. Another pharaoh, Menes, (according to Manetho) was killed while hunting hippos. However, there are no pictures that exist of the pharaohs or other ancient Egyptians hunting boars or pigs. Nor is there any pictorial evidence that the ancient Egyptians farmed pigs.
Many of the ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses were depicted as animals or humans with animal heads. These include Am-heh, a man with the head of a hunting dog; Anubis, a canine or a man with a canine head; Apedemak, a man with a lion head or a three-headed leonine god with four arms; Apis or Hapis, a bull; Ash, a human with the head of a lion, vulture, hawk or snake; Bast, a cat or lioness; Bennu, a bird; Hatmehit, a fish, Hededet or Hedjedjet, a man with the head of a scorpion; Heryshaf, a man with the head of a ram; Horus, a falcon and Kherty, a ram [
Before the Exodus, the Semites lived in ancient Egypt for more than 400 years and they adopted many of the ancient Egyptian customs. Among these were the prohibition about eating unclean food and the custom of circumcision. Both customs persist among Semites (Arabs and Jews) today. Moses was a member of a pharaoh family (possibly an ancient Egyptian priest) and, in the Sinai desert, he was a founder of Judaism. The prohibition on eating unclean food was profoundly embedded in his mind. Islam was born among the Arabs, a Semitic people, in the tribe of the Hashemites, the tribe highest in the Arab hierarchy. Mohamed was one of the Hashemites. It is not clear whether the halal custom existed among the Arabs prior to Islam or whether it was introduced by Islam. Nevertheless, in the hot desert climate, the adoption of kosher and halal practices was vital for people’s health and well-being. Thus, it was a wise choice of the Prophets to hear the Lord’s instructions and introduce the prohibition on the eating of unclean food.
Prohibition on Consuming Blood as a FoodIt should be noted that the consumption of all types of blood, even that from clean creatures, is defined as unclean and prohibited in Islam: “He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah. For Allah is Oft-forgiving Most Merciful” (Surah the Cow 2: 173). The prohibition on consuming blood is embedded in Judaism, as described in detail by the kashrut rules (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashrut#Permitted_and_forbidden_animals), such as the following: “When an animal is ritually slaughtered (shechted) the raw meat is traditionally cut, rinsed and salted, prior to cooking. Salting of raw meat draws out the blood that lodges on the inner surface of the meat”. In the Bible, it is stated very clearly that “Only be steadfast in not eating the blood; for the blood is the life; and thou shalt not eat the life with the flesh” (Deuteronomy 12: 23) דְּבָרִים (http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0512.htm#21). In the original language, it is stated that “כג. רַק חֲזַק, לְבִלְתִּי אֲכֹל הַדָּם, כִּי הַדָּם, הוּא הַנָּפֶשׁ; וְלֹא-תֹאכַל הַנֶּפֶשׁ, עִם-הַבָּשָׂר”, that is, “Blood from slaughtered animals may not be consumed, and it must be drained out of the animal and covered with earth” (Leviticus 17: 12-13). There is no doubt that, based on the Lord’s words, Islam and Judaism strongly prohibit their followers consuming carrion, unclean food and blood from any sources.
During the dark middle ages, Christians frequently accused Jews, Muslims, heretics and members of other religions of using blood from Christian children for rituals. Later, the blood libel against Jews and Muslims was recognized by the Holy Church as an unfounded lie; indeed, such accusations had earlier been used against Christians during the time of the Roman Empire. The Papacy (the Roman Catholic Church) generally contradicted and opposed these accusations. For instance, Pope Innocent IV took action against the blood libel against Jews and Arabs in his “5 July 1247 Mandate to the prelates of Germany and France to annul all measures adopted against the Jews on account of the ritual murder libel, and to prevent accusation of Arabs on similar charges” http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08017a.htm. Pope Gregory X (1271-1276) wrote on the same topic, in his “Letter on Jews (1271-76)―Against the Blood Libel” https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/halsall/source/g10-jews.asp. Later, Pope Paul III, in a bull dated 12 May 1540, made clear his displeasure with the Hungarian, Bohemian and Polish enemies of the Jews, who had spread false accusations of Jews killing children and drinking their blood as a pretext to seize Jewish property.
Interestingly, the Muslim Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman the Magnificent, also denounced the blood libel against the Jews in a royal decree dated 1553-1554 [
In the Russian Empire, the blood libel accusations against the Jews were spread by the members of the Black Squadrons, also known as the Black Hundred/s (in Russian: Чёрная сотня, Chornaya sotnya), an ultranationalist movement that staunchly supported the Royal House of Romanov. The Black Hundreds were known for their extremism and incitement of pogroms and their various xenophobic beliefs, including Ukrainophobia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia [
In this paper, we have discussed two opposing religious ideological concepts, on which two cultural civilizations are based. One culture is relaxed about the consumption of pork and blood as a food (and its members consume food such as black puddings, frankfurters and hot dogs). The other cultures are based on a religious ideology that strongly prohibits the consumption of pork and of blood as a food: “He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah. For Allah is Oft-forgiving Most Merciful” (Surah the Cow 2: 173) and “Only be steadfast in not eating the blood; for the blood is the life; and thou shalt not eat the life with the flesh” (The Bible, Deuteronomy Chapter 12: 23 דְּבָרִים).
Today, racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and Ukrainophobia have influenced millions of people in all parts of the world. Racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia prevail generally. However, it should be noted that, historically, in the same countries these have been deep-rooted in anti-Semitism where Islamophobia also has been and is widespread. In Poland and the former Baltic Republics of the Soviet Union, deep-rooted anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have existed historically and continue to do so. For instance, Poland and the Baltic Republics have actively prevented Turkey joining the Europe Union because of its predominantly Muslim population and, during the 2016-2017 refugee crisis. They did not permit the entry of a single refugee from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan or Africa because the refugees were Muslims.
The Russian Federation has adopted the traditions of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Russian politician and right-wing extremist Vladimir Mitrofanovich Purishkevich (1870-1920) was one of the founders of the Union of the Russian People (a branch of the Black Squadrons). He was the deputy to the Russian state Dumas (parliaments) (1906-1917) and a very active xenophobe, Ukrainophobe, anti-Semite and Islamophobe. He was a leader of one faction in the Duma (in reality, he represented the thoughts of Tsar Nicolai II, who was also a staunch anti-Semite and Islamophobe). In 1990th, during the first and second Chechnya war, the most active xenophobe and Islamophobe was the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir Vulvovich Zhirinovsky (Эйдельште́йн) [
Brondz, I. (2018) Why Judaism and Islam Prohibit Eating Pork and Consuming Blood as a Food? Voice of the Publisher, 4, 22-31. https://doi.org/10.4236/vp.2018.42003