Something about Haram

In the big brouhaha about the 2 casi...er integrated resorts to open in Singapore by 2009, I noticed something that was highlighted - the fact that Islam treats gambling as a Haram (forbidden). Now, I've never heard that term before, which kinda made me curious. So in the interest of racial and religious harmony, and to further my quest to understand other religions, I went online to check it out.

Before I begin I would like to state that whatever I put in this post comes from my very shallow understanding of Islam (and Haram) through the sites I visited. So if I make any mistakes, please forgive my ignorance and correct me. Thank you.

Ok, back to haram. As far as I understand its part of the basic guiding principles of Islam, which are as follows:

Fardhu: that which is obligatory, like the daily prayers and fasting in Ramadhan;
Halal: that which is clearly permissible;
Haram: that which is clearly prohibited, like eating of pork;
Mubah: that which should be done in times of need, danger or emergency, such as the saving of lives by whatever means, mass donations or offering help for people of any race or religion afflicted by calamities;
Sunnat: that which is not obligatory to do but praise worthy to do, like the performance of the tarawih prayers during Ramadhan or blood donation; and
Makruh: that which is not haram, but good to avoid, like consuming too much sugar or salt or even smoking because of their obvious dangers to health.

So after finding out what is the meaning of haram, I set out to find what exactly is haram (or prohibited) in Islam, which includes the following:

1. The Pig
2. Blood of any animal
3. Carnivorous animals
4. Almost all reptiles and insects
5. The bodies of dead animals
6. Halal animals which are not slaughtered according to the Islamic Law.
7. Wine, Ethyl Alcohol, and Spirits
8. Gambling (which explains the casino view)

When I saw the list above, it brought to mind a question that I had about Islam, which I never asked any of my muslim friends before - why can't muslims eat pork? This is something, that as a Chinese, I've never been able to understand. So I read further into that and found some interesting snippets.

First and foremost, muslims don't eat pork because "in Islam, eating pork is sinful because God prohibits it. However, the Qur’an does not give the exact reason or reasons for the prohibition." This prohibitation is mentioned in the Qur'an in 4 chapters and, according to Muslim scholars, pork is bad for the soul. Coincidentally, the Old Testament of the Bible also has some verses that prohibit the consumption of pork. "The prohibition is mentioned in two books in the Old Testament, in Leviticus: Chapter 11, Verses 7 and 8 and in Deuteronomy: Chapter 14, Verse 8."

However, being more of a scientific person than a religious one, I read further to find the reason as to why people of the past could possibly have refrained from eating pork. Apparently the pig is a major carrier of many diseases and parasites. Eating of unclean pork can cause about 70 different types of diseases, although quite a number of those can be contracted through eating other meats as well. In addition, here's an interesting quote I found about pork.

Explaining that pork eating can transmit germs, Dr. Rizvi in his booklet on pork says, “In short, the pig, the supreme germ carrier, is the cause of many serious and fatal diseases, among them dysentery, trichinosis, tape worms, jaundice, pneumonia, suffocation, intestinal obstruction, acute pancreatitis, enlargement of the liver, diarrhea, high fever, hindering the growth development in children, typhoid, lameness, heart trouble, sterility and sudden death.”

Note the highlighted word. As this quote was taken from a non-scientific and non-medical website, I would not get too worried over what the good Dr. Rizvi has mentioned and still eat pork.

Other than the above 2 reasons, there are a few more reasons why the pig could have been less than a desirable food source. However, I don't think I have the time or space to go on, so I'll end it here. But, I must say that after reading up a little more about Islam, I have gained a new understanding of what being a muslim really means, and with that a new respect for muslims and Islam as a whole.

If you wish to know more about Islam or haram, you can visit this site or this site.