To serve these foods to muslim friends

[MissMildred]

Hi - posting here for traffic but also because I don't want to BU. I invited some new school friends and their parents for a bbq in a couple of weeks and two of the families are muslim and mentioned they only eat halal.
I want to make an effort to make them feel comfortable, and it has also been very interesting learning all about what is halal or haram. Obviously no pork will be served. However, some of the guidance on the internet is not clear, so I wondered if anyone with this diet could help me with these items and whether it would BU to serve them up:

Vinegar - if I served this in eg. a coleslaw, are all types of vinegar fine? (Eg is the vinegar not seen as alcohol anymore?)
Butter - Am I overthinking this? Would you eat butter?
Alcohol - I know you wouldn't drink this, but is it acceptable for others in the group to be drinking a glass of wine?
Halloumi - I can't figure out if this is okay or not.

Also - any tips you might have would be great, especially if there are brands of crisps, bread, butter etc....you might use.

Thank you!

Fish is ok

Honestly I think you’re overthinking. They mean they only eat halal meat. Why would butter be a problem? And if they won’t want to eat halloumi, they won’t, but you can still make it for yourself!

Hi I think vinegar might be a no no depending on how strict they are.

The link below might be useful, first recipe is halal coleslaw.

halalyou.com/portfolio/healthy-coleslaw/

I would treat them as vegetarians or pescetarians. I think fish is halal but not shellfish - you might want to check with them.
Butter will be OK. Vegetarian ingredients will be OK.
I'd warn them that there will be alcohol and make sure that there are plenty of soft drinks.

I think that all sounds fine - depending on how strict they are you may want a separate bbq for halal meats unless it’s all going to be halal chicken/beef/lamb. If you make cocktails or any drinks in jugs just make sure alcoholic/non alcoholic is clearly labelled as sometimes you can’t taste alcohol in cocktails.

Oops forgot to paste this guide!

samurai-kitchen.tokyo/en/learn/muslim-guest-tips/

all fish and seafood and veg is ok. Halloumi is a staple in many arabic countries. Some Muslims dont agree with being around alcohol but if your friends felt like that then they wouldnt have accepted the invitation imho.

Thanks everyone - will read the guides. I have no idea how strict they are and trying not to overthink, just trying to make sure they will have plenty to eat and feel comfortable tucking in the the food.
I think I'll do all the meat halal as there is a grocers with a halal butcher in town.
Butter kind of threw me because I don't understand about whether it's to do with being made from an animal that might not be halal. Just trying to make an effort!
Yes - actually I could include salmon. Great idea!

If they were really strict they probably wouldn’t be coming
Don’t be surprised or offended if they bring their own food and stick to that or don’t really eat anything at all. I have Muslim friends who prefer not to risk contamination of non halal foods so they only eat places they know well

If you do all the meat halal you need to let your non Muslim guests know.

The -for example- "5°" on vinegar isn't degrees of alcohol, it is degrees of acidity. There is no alcohol left in vinegar.

Thanks for that guide NoTeaNoShadeNoPinkLemonade it's really useful.

I prefer not to eat Halal meat if possible for welfare reasons. I'll happily tuck in to veggie instead though, nine times out of ten it's considerably nicer than a burger!

As above let your other guests know,I would never eat halal meat as I don't agree with it

“As above let your other guests know,I would never eat halal meat as I don't agree with it”

Really? What does saying prayers over meat do to make it unacceptable to you?

My experience around alcohol is that friends who choose to join you accept there will be alcohol but just don't want it themselves. You could ask them if there's anything they'd like to drink and get it in for them. Also, in the UK, something I learned very recently, we label things like ginger beer as 'containing less than 0.5% alcohol' and in some countries that's considered alcohol free. Make sure you get on the right side of that! Basically that's less alcohol than a ripe banana, and not even an over-ripe one.

I usually do fish for muslim friends, or I provide eg halal chicken nuggets' for kids if that's what the other kids are having.

In an emergency I offer veggie food.

I'm a non Muslim meat eater, wouldn't bother me in the slightest whether it was halal or not.

People who object to halal meat on welfare grounds should be vegan. It's a nonsense. Almost 90% of halal meat in the UK is from stunned animals anyway.

Vinegar, halloumi and butter are definitely ok for halal diets.

That is all fine and bollocks to letting your other guests know it’s halal, and to people “not agreeing with halal”.

Over 80% of uk halal meat is stunned first which means other than the prayer it’s EXACTLY the same slaughter method as “normal” meat you eat every day.

There is also interestingly scientific evidence non stun isn’t any more cruel/painful that stun but that’s up for debate and I personally don’t agree. So ask if it’s stunned or not and don’t be making an issue of it!

It all sounds fine to me. It’s impossible to say how a Muslim person might feel about someone drinking wine, some will feel uncomfortable, many won’t care and from some countries people might join in!

I’d say chances are the majority of Muslims integrated into uk life enough to be visiting you won’t drink, but won’t mind if your guests do. If you are unsure then maybe ask in advance.

Things that might be unexpected anything with gelatine eg some cheesecakes and desserts and harribo. You can get halal harribo for the kids, but be aware that these won’t be suitable for Hindu children! Vegetarian sweets are available from M and S are fine. Some sweets have colour in as well I think, again if in doubt buy veggie options.

Sometimes there is alcohol in vanilla extract etc, so if you are making a cake you might want to check. Again it depends on how strict the family are, there is no alcohol in the finished cake, so some say it’s fine, others not. I think Sainsbury’s have alcohol free extracts.

Halloumi and butter are fine.

I’m sure they will be touched that you went to the trouble of getting halal meat.

Can't they just bring their own meat?

I won't eat halal meat due to the treatment of the animals and if invited to a BBQ then I'd be pissed off if you cater everything to suit the few and have no options for those who don't like the cruelty.

It may be hypocritial since I'm happy to eat meat, but I don't see why they should suffer more than necessary.

You are overthinking this.

Relax, enjoy your party. If your muslim friends had problems they wouldn't have accepted your invitation.

Obvs. avoid pork and pork products, but don't fret. I'm sure they are used to being around alcohol.

Vinegar is fine, haloumi is ok.

If you were invited somewhere, would be be happy to know your host is getting into such a tizzy on your behalf? Just treat them the way you want to be treated.

I wouldn’t eat hakal meat either, so you probably should let your non Muslim friends know if that’s what you’ll be serving.

The halal welfare thing really is a red herring from the daily hate mail and others who like to stir up trouble.

UK halal meat is stunned the same as non halal.

Most of it sorry. 85%.

If you refuse to eat stunned halal meat on animal welfare grounds you aren’t making sense.