The answer
Halal in Arabic means lawful in English. The meat slaughtered by the Muslims according to their rules must be lawful, i.e., “halal.” With the least amount of pain, the slaughtered animal's jugular vein is slit and the blood is drained. The Jewish faith's Kosher laws are similar regarding the slaughtering of animals and also list many of the same restricted items below, including shellfish, etc. However, the New Testament liberated the believers from these restrictions (Acts 10:9-16). For many health reasons, some Christians still observe some of these similar limitations, but with a completely different perspective. Other restrictions are basically driven from our own canons regarding fasting. We still encourage people to avoid eating bloody meat. Nonetheless, you are permitted to share in the consumption of food products from other religions because we are not under restrictions of their laws. In regards to meat products, the following are considered unlawful:- any kind of pork
- animals that were dead prior to slaughtering
- animals not slaughtered properly
- animals not slaughtered in the name of Allah
- any kind of blood by products
- carnivorous animals
- birds of prey
- land animals without external ears
Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)