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Pork is a food taboo among several religions, including Jews, Muslims, and some Christian denominations. Swine were prohibited in ancient Syria^[1] and Phoenicia,^[2] and the pig and its flesh represented a taboo observed, Strabo noted, at Comana in Pontus.^[3] A lost poem of Hermesianax, reported centuries later by the traveller Pausanias, reported an etiological myth of Attis destroyed by a supernatural boar to account for the fact that "in consequence of these events the Galatians who inhabit Pessinous do not touch pork".^[4] In Abrahamic religions, eating pig flesh is clearly forbidden by Jewish (kashrut), Islamic (halal) and Christian Adventist (kosher animals) dietary laws.

Although Christianity is an Abrahamic religion,^[5] most of its adherents do not follow these aspects of Mosaic law and do consume its meat. However, Seventh-day Adventists consider pork unclean according to biblical law, along with other foods forbidden by Jewish law. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Church^[6] do not prohibit pork consumption on a religious basis but generally avoid it on basis of tradition.^[7] Hebrew Roots Movement adherents do not consume pork.

The pig tended to be regarded as a dangerously liminal animal. With the feet of a cud-eater, the diet of a scavenger, the habits of a dirt-dweller and the cunning of a human, it exhibited an unsettling combination of characteristics, rendering it culturally inedible for some (but not all) southern Levantine peoples, for whom pigs were often associated with the underworld or malevolent supernatural powers.'

Stavrakopoulou, Francesca, ^[8]

Prohibition in Jewish law

The Torah (Pentateuch) contains passages in Leviticus that list the animals people are permitted to eat. According to Leviticus 11:3, animals like cows, sheep, and deer that have divided hooves and chew their cud may be consumed. Pigs should not be eaten because they do not chew their cud. The ban on the consumption of pork is repeated in Deuteronomy 14:8.

During the Roman period, Jewish abstinence from pork consumption became one of the most identifiable features of Jewish religion to outsiders of the faith. One example appears in Tacitus' Histories 5.4.1-2.

Because Jewish dietary restrictions on pork were well-known to non-Jews, foreign attempts of oppression and assimilation of Jewish populations into Hellenistic and Roman custom often involved attempting to force Jewish populations into consuming pork. According to 2 Maccabees 6:18-7:48, the Seleucid emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to force Jews in his realm to consume pork as a part of his attempted restrictions on the practice of Judaism. In addition, Philo of Alexandria records that during the Alexandrian riots (38) against Jewish communities in the city of Alexandria, some Alexandrian mobs also attempted to force Jews into consuming pork.^[9] Some forms of Jewish Christianity also adopted these restrictions on the consumption of pork, as is noted in the Didascalia Apostolorum.^[10]

Prohibition in Islamic law

One example of verses from the Quran on pig consumption:

He (Allah -God- ) has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. -- Quran, Al-Baqarah 2:173^[11]

The only things which are made unlawful for you are the flesh of dead animals, blood, pork and that which is not consecrated with the Name of God. But in an emergency, without the intention of transgression and rebellion, (it is not an offense for one to consume such things). God is certainly All-forgiving and All-merciful.^[12] (16:115)

I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything forbidden for anyone who wants to eat unless it is carrion, outpoured blood and the flesh of swine, all of which is unclean (Quran Al An'am 6:145)

There are different schools of thought^[specify] in Islam that offer different opinions^{[clarification needed]} on eating meat other than pork, which is unanimously forbidden.^{[citation needed]} Generally, so long as it was affirmed that no impurities came in contact with the meat served in western countries (which are mostly governed by the People of the Book), then it is considered Halal.^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16] However, the Islamic Cultural Centre Ireland considers meat slaughtered by non-Muslims to be forbidden.^[17] Another school of thought such as the Hanafi Madhhab require that the meat be certified as Halal only by ensuring Islamic slaughtering of the animals.^[18] Most South Asian Muslims follow that.^{[citation needed]}

According to Sozomen, some Arabs in pre-Islamic Arabia who traced their ancestry to Ishmael abstained from the consumption of pork.^[19]

Other

In Tyre during the Persian period, women, foreigners, and pork were not allowed in the sanctuary of the temple of the deity Melqart.^[20]

According to Herodotus, the Scythians had a taboo against the pig, which was never offered in sacrifice, and apparently the Scythians loathed so much as to even keep swine within their lands.^[21]

Scottish pork taboo was Donald Alexander Mackenzie's phrase for discussing an aversion to pork among Scots, particularly Highlanders, which he believed stemmed from an ancient taboo.^{[citation needed]} Several writers^[who?] who confirm that there was a prejudice against pork, or a superstitious attitude toward pigs, do not see it in terms of a taboo related to an ancient cult.^{[citation needed]} Any prejudice is generally agreed to have disappeared by 1800.^{[citation needed]}

Interpretations of restrictions

The cultural materialistic anthropologist Marvin Harris thought that the main reason for prohibiting consumption of pork was ecological-economical.^[22] Pigs require water and shady woods with seeds,^{[citation needed]} but those conditions are scarce in the Middle East. Unlike many other forms of livestock, pigs are omnivorous scavengers, eating virtually anything they come across, including carrion and refuse, which was deemed unclean. Furthermore, a Middle Eastern society keeping large stocks of pigs could destroy their ecosystem.^{[citation needed]}

It is speculated that chickens supplanted pigs as a more portable and efficient source of meat, and these practical concerns led to the religious restrictions.^[23]

Maimonides, the Jewish philosopher, legal codifier, and court physician to the Muslim sultan Saladin in the 12th century, understood the dietary laws chiefly as a means of keeping the body healthy. He argued that the meat of the forbidden animals, birds, and fish is unwholesome and indigestible. According to Maimonides, at first glance, this does not apply to pork, which does not appear to be harmful. Yet, Maimonides observes, the pig is a filthy animal, and if swine were used for food, marketplaces and even houses would be dirtier than latrines.^[24]

Rashi (the primary Jewish commentator on the Bible and Talmud) lists the prohibition of pig as a law whose reason is not known, and may therefore be derided by others as making no sense.^[25]

The Sefer HaChinuch^[26] (an early work of Halachah) gives a general overview of the Jewish dietary laws. He writes "And if there are any reasons for the dietary laws which are unknown to us or those knowledgeable in the health field, do not wonder about them, for the true Healer that warns us against them is smarter than us, and smarter than the doctors."

References

^ Lucian of Samosata notes that they do indeed eat pork for followers of the Dea Syria (Atargatis, the 'Syrian goddess') in De dea Syria, noted in Jan N. Bremmer, "Attis: A Greek God in Anatolian Pessinous and Catullan Rome", Mnemosyne, Fourth Series, 57.5, (2004:534–573) p. 538.
^ As the pagan Porphyry of Tyre noted in De abstinentia ab esu animalium, late third century CE.
^ Strabo, xii.8.9.
^ Noted in Bremmer 2004:538 and notes. Bremmer notes that the taboo regarding pork for followers of Attis is reported in Julian, Orationes v.17.
^ Microsoft News. Surprising things forbidden by the Bible. Retrieved on 6 May, 2023. "Leviticus 11:7-8 states: 'The pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.'"
^ Charles Kong Soo Ethiopian Holy Week clashes with Christians' 21 April 2011 Trinidad and Tobago Guardian Retrieved 11 March 2012
^ "Q&A - Coptic Church". Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. As for the dietary rules of the Ethiopian Church during the fasting and non-fasting seasons, they are not wrong, and neither are we. It is a matter of tradition rather than doctrine. For this purpose, we do not interfere nor rebuke their decision regarding this matter of dietary rules.
^ Stavrakopoulou, Francesca (25 January 2022). God: An Anatomy. Knopf. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-525-52045-0.
^ Jordan Rosenblum. "‘‘Why Do You Refuse to Eat Pork?’’ Jews, Food, and Identity in Roman Palestine". JQR 2010.
^ Holger Zellentin, The Qur'ans Legal Culture, pp. 82-89.
^ "Surah Al-Baqarah - 173". Quran.com.
^ "The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Translation". corpus.quran.com. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
^ Islam Q&A. Meat from dubious restaurants. Retrieved on 5 April, 2022.
^ Islam Q&A. Ruling on unknown meat from kaafir countries Retrieved on 5 April, 2022.
^ Islam Q&A. Locally-slaughtered meat in a country with a mixed population of Muslims, Christians, and idol-worshippers Retrieved on 5 April, 2022.
^ Islam Q&A. Eating meat when it is uncertain whether it has been cooked with utensils used for pork Retrieved on 5 April, 2022.
^ "Islamic Method of Slaughtering". Department of Halal Certification EU. Retrieved 8 February 2022. Slaughtering must be done by a sane adult Muslim. Animals slaughtered by a Non Muslim will not be Halal.
^ "The Issue of Halal Meat (A Detailed Article)". 26 May 2014.
^ Patricia Crone, "Pagan Arabs as God Fearers" in Islam and its Past, Oxford 2017, pg. 152
^ Herodotus (2 June 2009). The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4000-3114-6.
^ Macaulay (1904:315).
^ Harris, Marvin (1987). The Abominable Pig (PDF). Touchstone Books. ISBN 978-0671633080. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2016. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^ Redding, Richard W. (13 March 2015). "The Pig and the Chicken in the Middle East: Modeling Human Subsistence Behavior in the Archaeological Record Using Historical and Animal Husbandry Data". Journal of Archaeological Research. 23 (4): 325–368. doi:10.1007/s10814-015-9083-2. S2CID 144388956.
^ Maimonides, A Guide for the Perplexed III:48
^ Rashi on Leviticus 18:4
^ Sefer HaChinuch Mitzvah 73