Assalamu alaikum, Brother Hamza, I would agree with you in general regarding meat of Christians; however, kosher meat that is slaughtered according to the Judaic law surely falls under the allowed food of People of the Book. The food of the People of the Book is lawful unto you and yours is lawful unto them. Quran 5:5 Meat of Christians should be avoided as there are no guidelines on slaughtering and they eat lots of swine flesh. They even put ham, bacon and sausage (pig meat) into their vegetables such as green beans, turnip greens, peas, lima beans, cabbage, and salad.
When my wife and I go out to eat, we always buy fish, seafood or vegetarian meals. We do not eat beef of chicken from restaurants, nor do we buy it from local grocery stores and markets. However, my wife recently learned that Butterball brand turkeys are certified halal. A prominent Islamophope, Pamella Gellar, heavily criticized Butterball for their halal turkeys. I travel 150 miles to buy certified halal beef and chicken from a store run by Muslims. I also raise chickens and slaughter them Islamically.
I agree that it is most certainly best to be cautious in this regard.
:wa:
Regarding Jewish kosher meat then again the Jews of today are not similar to the Jews at the time of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wasallam) but they are certainly more strict than the Christians of today. But to be really certain that the way they slaughter the animal is in accordance with the correct Islamic dhabiha method then one will need to ask them their particular method of slaughter and what they recite at the time of slaughter in order to ascertain whether or not the meat would be considered halal or not.
Consider the following:
Are Kosher products Halal?
This is a question that comes up once in a while. Let us take the time to provide a thorough analysis. In Islam, Halal means ‘lawful’ or ‘permitted’ and refers to all matters of life, not just food. In the same way, haram means ‘unlawful’ or 'prohibited' and refers to all matters of life, not just food. So it is proper to refer to pure foods, marriage to a cousin, having marital relations during the nights of Ramadan, etc. as being Halal. In the same light, it is proper to refer to pork, marriage to your sister or brother, hunting while in the Sacred Precincts or in Pilgrim garb (for Haj or Umrah), shameful deeds, etc. as being haram.
When it comes to meat and poultry, Muslims also use the term Zabiha (Dhabiha) to refer to meat from a Halal animal slaughtered by a Muslim in the prescribed Islamic way. (Meat from haram animals does not become Halal, even if it is slaughtered in the prescribed Islamic way. And a Muslim would never slaughter a haram animal.)
Kosher is a term
◦Islam prohibits all intoxicants, including alcohols, liquors and wines, whereas Judaism regards alcohol and wines as Kosher. Hence Kosher foods may contain alcohol. If they do, they are haram.
◦Gelatin is considered Kosher by many Jews regardless of its source of origin. For Muslims, if gelatin is prepared from swine it is haram. Even if gelatin is prepared from cows that are not Zabiha, many scholars consider it haram.
◦Kosher practice does not require Jews to pronounce the name of God on the animals while slaughtering, but Muslims must pronounce the name of ALLAH on all animals while slaughtering.
There may be other differences between Halal and Kosher that make the Kosher questionable for Muslims to consume.
These differences may seem minor to some. However, indulging in haram is a very serious offense against ALLAH and the punishment may be severe. Consuming alcohol or pork is a clear violation of ALLAH’s commandments and should not be taken lightly. The pronouncement of the name of ALLAH at the time of slaughter is also a major act of worship and obedience. Remembering and pronouncing the name of ALLAH is very dear to Muslims and it is required at the time of slaughter.
And ALLAH, Subhanahu wa ta'ala, knows best.
Source: http://www.ifanca.org/faq/kosher.htm
Is Kosher Meat Halal? Not Really
There are several issues with Kosher:
1. In Judaism, the rules and methods of slaughtering are not open and published. Unlike in Islam, where any adult sane Muslim can slaughter an animal by following the rules prescribed by Shariah, in Judaism only one kind of Rabbi, known as the Sachet, may slaughter Kosher animals. The Sachet is specially trained for this purpose and no other Jew can slaughter an animal.
Although Jews say that they slaughter in the name of God, we do not know what else they say in Hebrew while slaughtering. Their prayers and methods of slaughtering are in the hands of a few people and are not generally known.
2. The Sachet does not say prayers on all animals he slaughters at a time. Instead, he only says prayers on the first and last animals he slaughters. For example, if a Sachet has to slaughter ten cows, he will only say the prayer on the first and tenth cow while slaughtering, saying nothing on the cows in between.
This method of slaughtering is not similar to the method prescribed by Sharia for Hanafi sect, nor is it similar to the practice of Ahle-kitab at the time of our beloved Prophet Mohammed Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallum. Meat slaughtered by Ahlekitab was considered halal because of similarity in the slaughtering method and in the Niya at that time.
These are the reasons why most Ulama do not consider Kosher meat halal.
If a Muslim is not in danger of death, he must avoid eating haram food at any cost. If halal meat is not available, one can eat fish or vegetables or can even go to the slaughter house to slaughter an animal himself. There are many halal food stores online who can ship frozen Zabiha meat or Zabiha meat food products overnight. There is no excuse to eat non-zabiha meat or kosher meat in USA.
Zabiha products can easily be found in a big city like New York City. In addition, there are many Muslim-owned restaurants that serve zabiha meat and there is no excuse to eat Kosher.
Source: http://www.albalagh.net/halal/kosher_meat.shtml
. Research the positions and stick to the one you feel comfortable with.
