The incident that I am going to relate happened during my junior college days. I was having a late lunch with my friends in the canteen when three teachers came to the canteen to buy food as well. One of the female teachers, Ms Inconsiderate, bought a plate of rice from the Malay stall and what happened next was quite shocking. She took her plate of rice to the neighbouring Chinese stall and requested for some 'char siew' (roasted pork) to be added to her plate of rice. The Malay stall owner also saw what Ms Inconsiderate did. She was frowning and gesturing to her co-worker about what had just happened. However, that teacher was oblivious to her reactions.
When Ms Inconsiderate came back to sit with her colleagues, they asked her why she had added the pork to the Malay food that she had bought earlier. The reply was equally shocking. "Nothing wrong what! I like to eat these!" One of the other teachers, Ms Sensitive, immediately responded and reminded her that Muslim food was Halal. Ms Inconsiderate replied, "Aiya! Nevermind one la! Just a few pieces of pork only!” She then went on to eat her food.
When Ms Inconsiderate had finished her food, she stood up to return the plate to the bucket that was placed in front of the stall which served to collect the dirty dishes. However, I noticed that there were still bits of 'char siew' on the plate! Apparently, Ms Sensitive noticed this too and stopped her immediately. She explained that Ms Inconsiderate’s action was rather inappropriate and disrespectful. That being so because it has always been the Muslim custom to not consume pork. After hearing this, Ms Inconsiderate cleared her plate and took it back to the Malay stall and apologised to the lady owner. In fact, she offered to wash the plate. However, the lady owner just shook her head and took the plate to the back of the stall. I supposed she threw the 'contaminated' plate away.
I felt that Ms Inconsiderate was very insensitive and ignorant. Perhaps she was unaware of the Muslims’ customs, which I believe is highly unlikely. After all, Singapore is a country made up of different races and cultures. Undoubtedly, there are many chances of intercultural and inter-racial interactions. She should have known what the term “Halal” means. Moreover, she is a teacher! I would have expected more from her. Although the Malay stall owner did not quarrel with the teacher, I could tell that she was displeased with Ms Inconsiderate’s actions and her lack of respect.
The word “Halal” means lawful and in the Quran, Allah commands Muslims and all of mankind to eat only lawful food. Food that is not religiously appropriate is considered haram, which means unlawful. For the food to be Halal, it should not have any additives that are haram as well. Hence, when the teacher added pork to her plate of Muslim food, she had 'contaminated' the plate with haram food. It was also disrespectful of Ms Inconsiderate to do what she had done even with the knowledge of “Halal” food.
Edited
When Ms Inconsiderate came back to sit with her colleagues, they asked her why she had added the pork to the Malay food that she had bought earlier. The reply was equally shocking. "Nothing wrong what! I like to eat these!" One of the other teachers, Ms Sensitive, immediately responded and reminded her that Muslim food was Halal. Ms Inconsiderate replied, "Aiya! Nevermind one la! Just a few pieces of pork only!” She then went on to eat her food.
When Ms Inconsiderate had finished her food, she stood up to return the plate to the bucket that was placed in front of the stall which served to collect the dirty dishes. However, I noticed that there were still bits of 'char siew' on the plate! Apparently, Ms Sensitive noticed this too and stopped her immediately. She explained that Ms Inconsiderate’s action was rather inappropriate and disrespectful. That being so because it has always been the Muslim custom to not consume pork. After hearing this, Ms Inconsiderate cleared her plate and took it back to the Malay stall and apologised to the lady owner. In fact, she offered to wash the plate. However, the lady owner just shook her head and took the plate to the back of the stall. I supposed she threw the 'contaminated' plate away.
I felt that Ms Inconsiderate was very insensitive and ignorant. Perhaps she was unaware of the Muslims’ customs, which I believe is highly unlikely. After all, Singapore is a country made up of different races and cultures. Undoubtedly, there are many chances of intercultural and inter-racial interactions. She should have known what the term “Halal” means. Moreover, she is a teacher! I would have expected more from her. Although the Malay stall owner did not quarrel with the teacher, I could tell that she was displeased with Ms Inconsiderate’s actions and her lack of respect.
The word “Halal” means lawful and in the Quran, Allah commands Muslims and all of mankind to eat only lawful food. Food that is not religiously appropriate is considered haram, which means unlawful. For the food to be Halal, it should not have any additives that are haram as well. Hence, when the teacher added pork to her plate of Muslim food, she had 'contaminated' the plate with haram food. It was also disrespectful of Ms Inconsiderate to do what she had done even with the knowledge of “Halal” food.
Edited
12 comments:
Hello Joyce!
I found you! =P
Anyway, for food to be "halal" the animal has to be killed in the least cruel way (less sufferings) possible. The halal way of killing is to slit the neck. Since pigs have no necks, they cannot be killed in a halal manner and so there is no such thing as "halal pork".
This is food for thought. Until I found this out a couple of years ago, I was only passively accepting the fact that Muslims do not consume pork. I guess more has to be done about understanding the subcultures in my home country, Singapore.
Cheers,
Lin
Hey Joyce,
It's quite surprising to see teachers act that way huh? To think that they are our role models and that they should act least behave more appropriately, especially in schools!
However, your post reflected a very important point. Even though the teacher did something which is totally unacceptable, the Muslim stall holder did not raise a commotion or make a fuss. Perhaps this shows a bit of tolerance on the part of the Muslim stall holder? The stall holder could have shown her displeasure to the teacher immediately, but she didn't. Maybe she didn't want to create a scene?
Though we are all very different, a little tolerance and patience on our part could enable us to reduce many unnecessary conflicts.
=)
This is a good presentation of a shocking incident. Did it really happen? It's hard for me to imagine that a college teacher could be so insensitive.
How can people like that particular teacher be persuaded to amend their ways?
Hi Joyce,
It is really shocking to read that your school has such insensitive teacher. Is she a young teacher or old teacher?
But anyway, I think she has done a grave mistake when Ms Sensitive already warned her that the pork cannot be added together with the Malay food in the same plate, and yet she insisted that it is just a few pieces of pork. Perhaps Ms Sensitive should have explained to Ms Inconsiderate her mistake earlier and insisted her to eat the few pieces of pork in separate plates.
Living in the multicultural Singapore, it is essential to be extremely sensitive to other cultures, not just during Racial Harmony Day.
Hwy Joyce,
Wow, I learnt something new today. I always thought that Muslims do not consume pork because pigs were "dirty" animals and not because they could not be killed in a halal manner.
Guess there is really a lot more I should about the different cultures in Singapore.
Dear Joyce!
It is indeed quite shocking to learn about the teacher's behaviours especially one that is teaching in a junior college!
Well, I guess Ms Inconsiderate should show some respect and thought for the muslim store owner. In fact, it is rather unbelieveable that she was unaware of Muslim not being able to consume pork. This is because Singapore is an inter-racial and inter-cultural country, hence, it is almost expected of everyone to have the responsibility to know of the other races' customs. If not, they could have make the extra effort to learn more about the customs. In the Singapore context, Muslims not eating pork is a rather basic piece of knowledge.
Therefore, if everyone makes the extra effort, I guess the inter-racial tensions would be minimal. Cheers for racial harmony!=)
Hey Lin! :)
You are right about the halal way of killing animals. In addition, Muslims are not allowed to consume blood and the the way to drain the animal of blood is to cut the main artery in the neck. Since pigs have no necks like you said, there is no halal pork!
Dear Xin Yi,
I agree that the Muslim stall holder showed tolerance on her part. Maybe she believed it was just an oversight on the teacher's part, hence she did not kick up a fuss. :)
Dear Brad,
Yes, this incident did indeed happen. The fact that it was a teacher who committed this grievous mistake was what made me recall this incident in the first place. Just like how the others reacted to my post, it was really shocking to me that she behaved in such an inappropriate manner.
I feel that in this case, Ms Sensitive did exactly what we can do to persuade people like Ms Inconsiderate to amend her ways, that is to explain the culture of others and to remind these people that it is important to have basic respect for other cultures and races.
Sometimes, people just overlook the importance of being sensitive because they place their own needs in priority. For example, the teacher in context likes to eat char siew but she forgot that it is improper to have them mixed with Muslim food. Another example is the tray return racks, where I have seen dishes from non-Muslim stalls on the racks that says 'For Muslim food only'. I guess some people 'forgot' to look carefully when they return their trays!
Hey Eileen,
The teacher in question was young. :) Hmm, Ms Sensitive was not with that teacher when buying the food. It was when she returned to her seat did Ms Sensitive saw what she had added to her plate of Muslim food. By then, it was too late! (>.<) I think it was also why Ms Sensitive did not make any further comments when Ms Inconsiderate responded with that careless attitude. In any case, Ms Sensitive managed to convince Ms Inconsiderate that she made a serious mistake in the end.
Dear Weikin,
You are also right in saying that pigs are dirty animals. Studies have shown that pigs' bodies contain many toxins, worms and latent diseases. However, I think that Muslims do not consume pork because it is simply a commandment from their God and they are bound by an obligation to fulfil it.
Here is the quote from the Quran, "Forbidden to you are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine(pig), and that on which hath been invoked a name other than that of Allah."
Dear Joyce,
I've been told that pigs were included into the list of "dirty" animals because during the era when Islamic religion was born, there was an epidemic spread through the consumption of the infected pigs. Therefore, to prevent the spread of the disease, pork is considered non-halal.
Just some interesting facts, Muslims are also not allowed to consume animals or creatures that live in two mediums. What this means is that frogs or crabs are also technically non-halal since they coexist on land and in the water.
Post a Comment