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Japanese food halal for muslim in Japan?

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evangelion View Drop Down
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    Posted: 12 August 2005 at 4:47pm
Salam All

This is my first post yay!


The topic id like to discuss ive researched a lot on and have been left confused as to what to do though im leaning to 2 options.


Im soon to travel to Japan and work there for atleast a year and hence this issue has been on my mind for a long time.

Would your average Japanese food been acceptable for a muslim to eat even though for eg the meat is non-zabiha and some of the foods may have been prepared with some alcoholic content?


Ill list below what my research has so far established on this topic.


In regards to the foods:

**Some scholars argue that for a muslim only ZABIHA meat is allowed/halal and that todays meat supplied by People of the book is also unacceptable. (But then this argument diverges into 2 groups. Those that state the animal must be slaughtered manually by a muslim and those that state its acceptable to do it automatically with some sort of recordings etc)



**Some scholars argue that a muslim can also eat todays people of the books meat even though it may not be slaughtered in our way as long as its fine with them and no name has been pronounced on it eg Jesus, Saints etc. (This group states so, based on the statement in the Quran that People of the books meat is allowed unto us as long as whats explicitly stated as haram to us isnt in it etc.)



**Some scholars then further argue that meat by NON PEOPLE OF THE BOOK eg Japanese etc is also permissible since the Phrase in the Quran states specifically (based on the argument above) that as long as the meat doesnt have a name other than ALLAH pronounced on it, its still acceptable as long as nothing explicitly haram is in it! (Based on my study and understanding the Japanese do not pronounce anything or perform any rituals etc. Their meats are all prepared automatically and not cross contaminated. Hence this arguement would hold ground)


**ALL SCHOLARS AGREE thats its better to just have 100% zabiha muslim meat.



Now coming to the alcohol part:

**Some scholars argue to completely avoid anything that has any remote alcoholic content. (Highly unlikely in todays world as almost everything would have some alcoholic content. Eg soft drinks, ice creams, BREAD, perfumes, creams etc. Alcohol is the next most popular solvent used in the world next to Water)

**Some scholars argue and there has been an international islamic medical conference ruling too; that as long as the total alcohol content in the END product is under a certain amount(cant remember but i think it was 2%) then its still acceptable since none of the reasons why alcohol is banned and was banned originally will manifest and that being intoxication of any sort etc. (Hence why non-alcoholic beers etc are still available in islamic countries).



Now then.

Hopefully you can see that ive done a lot of research and summarised it all here.


Considering im going to Japan and the city im going to will have probably no muslims apart from myself and worried as to what to do.

Based on the above I agree with the second opinion on the Alcohol matter. As long as it doesnt intoxicate you and is under that percentage then youll be fine.

So now comes the issue of the Japanese food. Yes some of their foods have a high alcholic content and i definately wont be touching them. However some of their foods have a low alcoholic content eg Soy Sauce, Sushi(most use Mirin to get the rice to stick).

Then theres the issue of which opinion i should follow in regards to whats acceptable. Im tempted to follow the 3rd opinion and stay the hell away from all that is explicitly haram eg pork etc.


Oh whoas me
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Community Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 August 2005 at 7:59pm

What it is really about is do you have the fear of Allah?

If the answer is yes and remains yes then eat with the blessing of Allah.

And Allah will certainly reward the thankful.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote evangelion Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 August 2005 at 5:27pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote beloved Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 August 2005 at 6:50am
meaningless restriction
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nausheen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 August 2005 at 7:58am

Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem,

Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim,

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah,

I hope you find your stay very meaningful, exciting and enjoyable in Japan.

I and my family lived in Japan for 8.5 years. I did my PhD from there, had a baby, made lots of friends, and had lots of fun, alhamdulillah. Given another chance I would certainly go and live for a couple more years  - we like Japan so much

The people are very kind and helpful. They like to learn much and interact with foreign people.

There are two major concerns for every foreigner (gijin) in Japan. One is the language and the other is food. You can learn japanese within 3 months, if you want to. In many "shimin centres" they run free courses for foreigners.

I am very strict about what I eat or feed my family, and followed all regulations of Islam, alhamdulillah to best of my knowledge. The only mistakes we made on occasions were when we had no idea that the food could be non-halal.

Depending on where you live, you can get hold of halal food products, and in an appreciable supply, if you are particular not to touch anything prohibited.

There are plenty of muslims, at least one mosque, an islamic centers, and few halal food stores in almost every big city. Furhter, there are several grocery stores in Tokyo which can parcel all kind of food (including frozen halal meat), within two days of your placing the order (by fax or even phone). There is also a japanese foodstore chain called "sato shokai". They can provide halal meat, on request.

Any food which even has trace amounts of alcohol should be avoided, and it was not impossible in Japan. There are brands of soy sauce and miso which do not contain alcohol - one needs to research the supermarkets and identify them. It is very easy never to touch mirin, which is a kind of brown sauce used on some mochi etc, but not all. You can easily avoid food that has mirin on it. Plain boiled rice is absolutely halal

btw, be very careful, dont trust any food that you see in conveniece stores, coz mostly everything contians something or the other that is not halal. eg, nyukazai is an ingredient, am still not able to figure its geletin or shortening or their sister, but is not halal. It is present in almost all brands of cakes, pastries, biscuits, breads, icecreams, margerine, butter, and yogurts. I am not trying to scare you, coz there are brands of all these things that are halal, but one needs to pick from the shelves carefully.

Another caution I would like to run bye you is for onigiri - the rice balls wraped in nori. Even when the label says "tuna onigri", do check the contents, coz sometimes they mix pork with tuna.

The best for you would be to learn a few kanjis, as they will help you identify the non-halal ingredients on food labels.

Life can be extremly convenient in Japan, given that one knows how to access that and is ready to spend on it. It is an asumption in the world that cost of living in Japan is very high ... which is true if one converts the price of everything in another currecy, but the situation is very comfortable if one takes the ratio between the salaries and cost of individual items.

My advice to anyone going to Japan would be to concentrate less on saving for a rainy day, rather spend on yourself and enjoy Japan, insha allah.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask, insha allah I will help as much as I can.

Maa salaama,

Nausheen

<font color=purple>Wanu nazzilu minal Qurani ma huwa

Shafaa un wa rahmatun lil mo'mineena

wa la yaziduzzalimeena illa khasara.
[/COLOR]
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Angel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 August 2005 at 9:41am

mix pork with tuna, ewwwwwwww, yuk  

 

no offence to those who like it

 

~ Our feet are earthbound, but our hearts and our minds have wings ~
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote syaiyanz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 October 2009 at 6:18am

hi nausheen

im just curious if i can find any halal sushi in tokyo.coz i only noe some of the halal restaurants in tokyo thru internet but what i noe is they only sell food like kebabs n those food from other countries except japan.im going to japan in nov so i would want to try japanese food but its a matter of halal that is difficult for me n my family.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hellojapan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 February 2010 at 7:04pm
Originally posted by Nausheen Nausheen wrote:

Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem,

Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim,

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah,

I hope you find your stay very meaningful, exciting and enjoyable in Japan.

I and my family lived in Japan for 8.5 years. I did my PhD from there, had a baby, made lots of friends, and had lots of fun, alhamdulillah. Given another chance I would certainly go and live for a couple more years  - we like Japan so much

The people are very kind and helpful. They like to learn much and interact with foreign people.

There are two major concerns for every foreigner (gijin) in Japan. One is the language and the other is food. You can learn japanese within 3 months, if you want to. In many "shimin centres" they run free courses for foreigners.

I am very strict about what I eat or feed my family, and followed all regulations of Islam, alhamdulillah to best of my knowledge. The only mistakes we made on occasions were when we had no idea that the food could be non-halal.

Depending on where you live, you can get hold of halal food products, and in an appreciable supply, if you are particular not to touch anything prohibited.

There are plenty of muslims, at least one mosque, an islamic centers, and few halal food stores in almost every big city. Furhter, there are several grocery stores in Tokyo which can parcel all kind of food (including frozen halal meat), within two days of your placing the order (by fax or even phone). There is also a japanese foodstore chain called "sato shokai". They can provide halal meat, on request.

Any food which even has trace amounts of alcohol should be avoided, and it was not impossible in Japan. There are brands of soy sauce and miso which do not contain alcohol - one needs to research the supermarkets and identify them. It is very easy never to touch mirin, which is a kind of brown sauce used on some mochi etc, but not all. You can easily avoid food that has mirin on it. Plain boiled rice is absolutely halal

btw, be very careful, dont trust any food that you see in conveniece stores, coz mostly everything contians something or the other that is not halal. eg, nyukazai is an ingredient, am still not able to figure its geletin or shortening or their sister, but is not halal. It is present in almost all brands of cakes, pastries, biscuits, breads, icecreams, margerine, butter, and yogurts. I am not trying to scare you, coz there are brands of all these things that are halal, but one needs to pick from the shelves carefully.

Another caution I would like to run bye you is for onigiri - the rice balls wraped in nori. Even when the label says "tuna onigri", do check the contents, coz sometimes they mix pork with tuna.

The best for you would be to learn a few kanjis, as they will help you identify the non-halal ingredients on food labels.

Life can be extremly convenient in Japan, given that one knows how to access that and is ready to spend on it. It is an asumption in the world that cost of living in Japan is very high ... which is true if one converts the price of everything in another currecy, but the situation is very comfortable if one takes the ratio between the salaries and cost of individual items.

My advice to anyone going to Japan would be to concentrate less on saving for a rainy day, rather spend on yourself and enjoy Japan, insha allah.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask, insha allah I will help as much as I can.

Maa salaama,

Nausheen

Alasalam alykom
Can I ask you one question about alchol traces in some of the food
I have the problem with Vanilla or some of the essence we but on the Cake
In some cake or biscuits I was cheking with the seller man in the shop he said that this contain essence and this essence is having a percent of alchol aand I did not know this Kanji before in any forbbiden muslim association here
And I think no one Know about it before
So what did you do in such a situation or what do you use in preparing cake and so on in your home
I am in Matsue city Shimane prefecture
Thanks for your help and ypur reply
 
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