 |
As Salam Aleykum |
 | ||
| Sultan Ahmet Masjid ( Blue Mosque) Istanbul, Turkey |
On the authority of Abu 'Abdullah al-Nu'man bin
Bashir, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah,
sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, say:
"Truly, what is lawful is evident, and what is unlawful is evident, and in between the two are matters which are doubtful which many people do not know. He who guards against doubtful things keeps his religion and honour blameless, and he who indulges in doubtful things indulges in fact in unlawful things, just as a shepherd who pastures his flock round a preserve will soon pasture them in it. Beware, every king has a preserve, and the things Allah has declared unlawful are His preserves. Beware, in the body there is a flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt, and behold, it is the heart."
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]
"Truly, what is lawful is evident, and what is unlawful is evident, and in between the two are matters which are doubtful which many people do not know. He who guards against doubtful things keeps his religion and honour blameless, and he who indulges in doubtful things indulges in fact in unlawful things, just as a shepherd who pastures his flock round a preserve will soon pasture them in it. Beware, every king has a preserve, and the things Allah has declared unlawful are His preserves. Beware, in the body there is a flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt, and behold, it is the heart."
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]
We have just made it back from a trip visiting Turkey. The two cities we vistited were Ankara, the capital and Istanbul. We made it just before their peak travel time but it was still relatively busy for the beginning of June. It was our first time there and it was such a beautiful trip full of modern culture mixed with rich Islamic history; just simply amazing sights masha'Allah.
Eating out was an food lovers dream. There were such an array of different flavors and restaurants to cater to any one who wants a traditional Turkish cuisine experience. The sweets and bakery shops were simply amazing and the traditional Turkish baklava and Turkish delights were in every window.
What struck me the hardest though was the struggle with eating halal food. I mistakenly made the assumption that since we were traveling to Turkey that we would have no problem eating halal food. But just a little history research before I embarked on our trip led me to understand the struggles the Turkish muslims have been through this past decade and how they are slowly renewing the Muslim identity .
Although Turkey has a Muslim population of 99.8% it is actually a secular based government based from the Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Ataturk) regime and therefore made it extremely difficult to enforce compliance with halal certification of all food. Hence it is up to the individual to verify if the food they are consuming is in fact halal. Insha'Allah reform is being made slowly and emergence of halal governing bodies such as
Gimdes and they have relative information regarding halal food guidelines in Turkey. Actually this Research Institute is hosting the 5th International Halal Council Conference in Istanbul which shows the growing concern for finding solutions to the development of trading halal and healthy food.
Although Turkey has a Muslim population of 99.8% it is actually a secular based government based from the Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Ataturk) regime and therefore made it extremely difficult to enforce compliance with halal certification of all food. Hence it is up to the individual to verify if the food they are consuming is in fact halal. Insha'Allah reform is being made slowly and emergence of halal governing bodies such as
Gimdes and they have relative information regarding halal food guidelines in Turkey. Actually this Research Institute is hosting the 5th International Halal Council Conference in Istanbul which shows the growing concern for finding solutions to the development of trading halal and healthy food.
One must ensure the halal food is in fact halal by asking questions since this is what is mandatory for us as muslims alhamdulillah. Insha'Allah Turkey can once again become a center for Islamic discourse and renewal. In fact while we were there my husband had the honor of attending and chairing at the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) and KOSGEB workshop "Enhancing the Competitiveness of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the Member States" masha'Allah. These small steps are all leading in the right direction. These obstacles can and will be overcome if we all use our voices and speak up. You should feel strongly about providing your family with halal food and be proud when supporting muslim businesses that feel the same.
So based on our dining out experiences I can give the following recomendations:
Istanbul- Most restaurants in Istanbul were assuring that their food was halal, but then again most sit down restaurants also had a bar serving alcohol. Avoiding these scenes with children was a bit of an obstacle but alhamdulillah our kids are not old enough yet to know what 'alchohol' is but I tried my best to not support these businesses that serve alcohol. The best course of action is to always ask and if you still feel uncertain then order vegetarian or seafood.
Ankara- Well I seen some butcher shops carrying pork products such as sausage and ham in butcher shops in Ankara, I would have to say that Istanbul was more of a tourist hotspot and therefore catered to the needs of the many muslim tourist by using halal meat. Even the hotel in Ankara that we stayed in served pork bacon on their breakfast menu. So the possibility of cross contamination is very likely and is a choice I wasn't willing to take. All in all I felt Ankara to be more of a difficulty in choosing halal meals. Needless to say we bought alot of fresh fruits and packaged foods and I prepared most of food myself.
Allah (Most Exalted
is He), Who created us and gave us sustenance, has also given us
guidance. He said:
"Verily We have created man into toil and struggle… Have
We not made for him a pair of eyes; and a tongue, and a pair of
lips; and shown him the two ways (obedience and disobedience)?"
(Qur'an, Al-Balad 90:4-10)
May we all seek the truth and what is halal for us in this life
and never cease in seeking knowledge.
Ameen
