Halal food and restaurants in Mauritius

May 9, 2015 at 6:59 pm (Uncategorized)

As Muslims are a minority in Mauritius, it means that halal food and restaurants CANNOT BE FOUND EVERYWHERE.

There are many traps about halal food in Mauritius. Since restaurants are well-aware that Muslims are the biggest consumers of food, they tend to hide their own identities in order to sell their products. So, just a simple “Halal food here!” does NOT mean it is halal. Just because you see lots of Muslims eating at a place DOES NOT MEAN it is halal.

Many fast food outlets are not halal. You must ask for the halal certificate and read it well!

The good news is : There are more and more halal restaurants scattered in Beau-Bassin, Rose-Hill and Quatre-Bornes nowadays. For Muslim tourists there is one halal beach restaurant at Flic-en-Flac, owned by Muslims.  Most wholesale butchers in Mauritius are Muslims. There are many Muslims who are owners of snacks, restaurants and even street vendors and we thank them very much for doing such great jobs!

For those who are very strict about eating proper food, they should be concerned about what Allah says in the Quran in Surah Maaidah. We have been given permission to eat from the people of the book but we have not been given to extend this permission to others. So, your first choice is to look for Muslims who own restaurants and if you can’t find any in your neighbourhood, then you can eat from the people of the book. Rest assume though that the food is halal

ARE MUSLIMS EATING HALAL FOOD WHEN THEY GO TO NON-MUSLIM RESTAURANTS WHICH PROPOSE HALAL? DO MUSLIMS REALLY KNOW WHAT IS MEANT BY HALAL?

ARE VEGETARIAN FOOD NECESSARILY HALAL? BEWARE!!!

Let us fear Allah in its proper way by searching for the right knowledge before we satisfy our desire for tasty food!!!

They are mostly found in Muslims’ regions such as Plaine-Verte and Rue Desforges in Port-Louis, at Pailles and Phoenix [mainly]. They are also available in other regions, however, bear in mind that you need to ask if they are Muslims because in many places non halal food are served as halal!!!

A Muslim halal restaurant should have his cook, his waiters and servers as believers who understand the importance of saying bismillah and cooking the food with the right ingredient. It is contradictory to have a Muslim owner who hire non Muslim as cook since the latter does not understand the importance of halal!!!

 

There are also some fast foods which provide halal food but please see their certificates. The best thing, when you are not sure, is to eat fish [hey…yes]!!! The famous fish and chips and I hope the ingredients are all halal.

We hope that hotels provide more and more halal food for Muslim tourists in our country and that they take into consideration that halal food should not be served next to pork ….They should NOT PUT PORK NEXT TO CHEESE AND SO FORTH as it is in some hotels!!!! it is the duty of Muslims [if they see these] to report the case with the manager of the hotel !!!! because our duty is to spread good and to prohibit evil in our society.

However, we should NEVER be misled by Indian restaurants which propose vegetarian food etc for halal restaurants. Vegetarian food are NOT necessarily halal. Beware!!!

There is nothing more disgusting than to go to a fast food which is supposed to offer halal food, but their waiters/receptionists have a dirty look and unclean appearance…..!!!! How is it possible that we have become a passive permissive community who accepts everything and talk behind? You just don’t need to eat at places who accept waiters and workers who wear dirty clothes, have horrible look, with long dirty nails…..I don’t need to give you a whole picture. As believers, it is your duty to stop being passive. What you eat has a direct effect on your brain, your soul and of course your eman!

Muslims should not fall in the trap of many restaurants owners who propose halal food while they do not possess any halal certificate!!!! Or those restaurants whose owners are Muslims but employ non-Muslims to take care of their restaurants…..

“I have seen many Muslims passively accept what the hotels propose. It is up to them to contribute to to help hotel managers understand that it is high time to offer halal food in restaurants as there are more and more Muslims worldwide who travel” – important notice.

I remember a case when I was in South Africa. I paid the hotel including breakfast and as I came down for breakfast, there were chicken and beef but they were NOT halal. And many Muslims were eating!!! What were they eating? Only having bread, butter and cheese and a cup of tea while they have paid for a buffet!!! Or are they eating haram without caring? Anyway, Allah knows best but they were all very passive. And I decided to ask the cook and he told me that clients should put their orders on the eve, so that they may be served halal food!!! This is a good idea and this is how Muslims should handle things when they book a hotel.The first thing is to ask for halal food. The first thing is to show your concern about eating halal. If you don’t care, no one will care for you!!!

By the way, you should know that haram does not imply only pork. It implies such things that are prohibited by Islam, such as sacrificing an animal not in the name of Allah, naming another god or gods instead of saying: Bismillah [in the name of Allah], animal blood in the food, having wine or any alcoholic drinks in the food, even those animals that are not allowed to be eaten such as monkeys…or any ingredients that contain such things as pork, wine or blood. What about food cross-contamination? What if they are cooking halal chicken in the same recipient that contain blood or pork?

Based on this fact, do you sincerely believe that a non-Muslim will cook food for you in the name of Allah???? Do you think that a non-Muslim who himself/herself eats haram will dutifully cook halal for you, take all the necessary precaution to cook your food separately so that there is no cross-contamination

We find this in Bangkok where owners publicize their products halal yet they are owned by non-Muslims who have no idea about halal. Unfortunately, many Muslims, when it comes to eating and having a good time around a table, DO NOT CARE WHAT THEY EAT. They do not verify and do not care to verify. How can people neglect a Muslim restaurant which provides halal and prefer a non-Muslim restaurant which serves alcohol drinks ? They do this because they do not read the Quran and do not understand that food has a higher objective  than taste and pleasure!!!

The main reason for it is, surely GREED. GREEDINESS CAN TAKE US TO HELLFIRE. GREEDINESS IS WHAT MAKE US FALL INTO SINS.

Do you, as Muslims know what is halal? Do you know why it is important to eat halal? Do you know why the slaughtering of animals in a halal way is important for your health?

Do you really care what you eat? Do you really care about the environment in which you are eating? Do you care whether you are eating among many idols while you are supposed to reject idols? Do you care to eat in a place where all kinds of music and songs are being played in your ears and in the ears of your children or babies? Do you care that your babies record these satanic words in their innocent minds while  you are happy eating and drinking among people who are swearing, smoking, drinking alcohol?

Unfortunately, the world has become so ignorant nowadays. We see intellectual Muslims who do not care about halal anymore and who even propose other Muslims to eat at non-Muslim restaurants,; we see Muslims who care to cook halal food at home but once they are outside, they do not care anymore….

We are commanded to take  the pure, wholesome and legal food and drink that Allah in His Mercy and Bounty has provided us and abstain from all the harmful, corrupt, unclean, and filthy. One of the general principles of Islam is that all that is good, pure and beneficial is allowed, and all that is evil, filthy, unclean and harmful is forbidden.

So please, let’s care more about what we are eating and let us fear Allah in the way He should be feared. Give the proper signals to restaurants so that they may improve  their food, their employees, the service…..

Any suggestions and positive answers are most welcomed for tourists in Mauritius