Do you know that a poster about symbolism of Filipino identity are being sold in local and national bookstores show that roasted pork or lechon is the national food/”pambansang pagkain” of our nation? In this poster you can see the different national symbols like our national fruit/pambansang prutas, national fish/pambansang isda, and national leaves/pambangsang dahon.
With all due respect with our non Muslim brothers and sisters who eat pork, this discussion does not in any way open an insensitive argument. I just plainly want to explain why pork is forbidden or “haram” in Islam. From this discussion,
I urge our religious leaders, civil society provocateurs, and Muslim legislators to heed our call to ban “pork barrel” or the Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF.
First, let us review what the Holy Quran (holy book of the Muslims) says about pork. The Qur’an prohibits the consumption of pork in no less than four different verses.
Pork prohibited in Suratul Baqara Verse 173; Suratul Al Maida Verse 3; Suratul Al Anman Verse 145, and Suratul An Nahl 16:115.For a Muslim like me, it is enough that
I read this verse saying that pork is forbidden to us: Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked a name other than that of Allah. [Al-Qur’an 5:3]
