Help with Muslim student - esp food help!

[Welshmaenad]

Hi,

My in-laws have been hosting international students for some time, mainly Italian and Portuguese, for varying lengths of time from 2-6 months. They supply all food and do laundry etc and the students are welcomed as part of the family, eat and socialise with us when they choose to. They are about to take their first student post covid and have been informed that the young man is Muslim.

Obviously they want to make sure they are adhering to the requirements of his religion with regard to food etc and MIL is a bit lost as the agency haven't supplied her with much information.

Can anyone help with regards to what foods are forbidden, if there are any rules with regard to storage etc (like should his halal meat not be kept in the same fridge as pork for example or dishes washed separately?)

Sorry if this sounds stupid but she just wants it all straight in her head before he arrives so she doesn't feel like she has to nag him for information, and we are not sure how well he speaks English in order to explain.

It varies with different people, I've come across muslims who drink alcohol and swear pepperoni pizza is halal and at the other end of the scale some people are really strict.

I'd probably put the bacon in tupperware in the fridge until you know him better.

He is coming to stay with a family so will be ready to see a different way of living.

Most supermarkets sell halal meat these days so it might be easier if everyone eats halal meat (and the stuff in the supermarkets are slaughtered humanely with a prayer playing on a CD).

Vegetarian food is also fine as is fish and chips (as long as the chip shop doesn't fry sausages in the same fat).

Depending on how religious he is some space where he can pray would be appreciated, if you parents can mark out the direction of mecca or provide a qibla compass (You can get them for about £2 on ebay) it would be a nice gesture.

Halal meat, all fish and vegetables. No gelatine/lard and no alcohol in the cooking too. Pot washed if used to cook pork or non halal food.if take away check they re not frying pork and other stuff together. Same fridge is fine. Qibla he can find himself easily.

We've hosted a lot of Muslim international students. We would get the only instruction 'No pork' from the language school but this covered a wide variety of preferences from the students themselves,

One would only eat halal labelled meals or meat (which we could supply from the local halal supermarket). One would only eat vegetarian. Others would be happy with any home cooked meal e.g. roast chicken, as long as it didn't contain pork. Some were fairly horrified to learn that dishes often contain wine or other alcohol, whereas a couple made it a personal learning experience to sample every type of alcohol available.

They were all lovely, friendly and sociable people.

Just ask when they get there!

That's nice of them but I wouldn't worry too much, surely just ask the person in question when he arrives. I mean would your in laws really buy a whole new fridge just for a packet of bacon

Many of my Muslim students saw non-halal meat as dirty or wouldn't eat stuff made with animal products like gelatine, and the idea of eating pork or smelling it being cooked was repulsive (one guy said, imagine how you'd feel if it was dog meat which I think summed it up pretty well) so halal meat or veggie / fish and no alcohol, no gelatine is usually a safe bet. Yet a few other students were happy to eat from a burger van where they cooked pork on the same hotplate as their chicken burgers.

So everyone is different and it's best just to ask.

Just ask them. I’ve a good friend who’s Muslim who drinks like a fish, doesn’t fast, only doesn’t eat pork because he doesn’t like it… I also have a friend who is very strict, he wears traditional dress, strict prayer schedule, wouldn’t eat anything haram (and would probably initially in that situation prefer to prepare his own meals). I know several Muslims who are vegetarian also.
Just ask them, they are all individuals not a homogenous group!

@VladmirsPoutine

That's nice of them but I wouldn't worry too much, surely just ask the person in question when he arrives. I mean would your in laws really buy a whole new fridge just for a packet of bacon

No, they're not that invested, but they do already have two fridges and three freezers so could happily rearrange them and clean them so one could be allocated for halal food.

MIL is already very good with me (I'm vegan, not a fussy one at all but she keeps my food separate because it makes her happy). She just wants to know what foods to avoid so she can plan meals that don't include them. Worst case scenario she can cook him vegan food as she's very good at it now!