So this is why we do not eat pork

I came accross this information quite by accident ... though the question is quite a funny rendition of why we dont eat pork .... the answer really makes my skin crawl ... quite literally

Q: Why is pork forbidden in Islam? My wife works with a muslim who told her the reason Muslims don't eat pork is because the prophet Mohammed was riding a donkey and that donkey was startled by a pig and threw the prophet off. I am a Christian but I am familiar with some islamic teachings and this was a new one for me. He also said that this could be found in the quran. Can you validate this?

A: Firstly what your wife's friend had told her has no basis in Islam. All Muslims are prohibited from eating pork which is stated in four different places in the Quran: 2:173, 5:3, 6:145 and 16:114-115.

The Glorious Quran says, “So eat of the lawful and good food which Allah has provided for you, and thank the bounty of your Lord if it Him you serve. He has forbidden for you only carrion and blood and flesh of swine and that which has been immolated in the name of any other than Allah; but he who is driven thereto, neither craving nor transgressing, LO! Then Allah is forgiving, Merciful.” (16:114-115)

This is the order from the Creator of the Universe and Supreme Law-Maker. All Muslims are under obligation to obey it. This is a plain and straightforward answer to those, who usually ask why Muslims abstain from eating pork. Nevertheless, there is no sin, if a Muslim is forced by famine or starvation to eat pork in order to save his life.

Here follows a detailed answer:

Jews also are strictly prohibited from eating pork (Torah. In the book of Leviticus, Chapter 11, verses 7 & 8 it is recorded that God declares the pig to be unclean for believers. "You must not eat their meat nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you." The Bible has also forbidden swine-flesh, but Christians disregarded this order and started consuming it.

Modern science has revealed many scientific reasons for not eating pigs.

Pigs have no neck which makes it impossible to be slaughtered the Islamic way by the insertion of a knife in the neck and thus getting rid of the blood which contains an abundance of uric acid, a toxic chemical substance which can be injurious to human health.

The pig excretes only 2% of its total uric acid content, the remaining 98% remains an integral part of the body.

Pigs are perfect vessels for transporting diseases to humans. Influenza (flu) is one of the illnesses which pigs share with humans. This illness is harbored in the lungs of pigs during summer and tends to effect pigs and humans in the cooler months. Pork sausage contains bits of pig's lungs, so those who eat pork sausage tend to suffer more during the epidemics of influenza.

Eating pork can lead to different kinds of infections such as Trichinosis which causes diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms as the worms multiply in the digestive tract. When the larvae circulate through the bloodstream, the patient experiences edema, irregular fever, profuse sweating, muscle soreness and pain. There is no specific treatment.

Those who consume pork are more prone to obesity because of the high fat content in pork. In this group, blood cholesterol level is frequently higher than normal; pork-eaters are more susceptible to arteriosclerosis, which may result in cardiovascular diseases, malfunction of the brain blood-circulation , vascular pathology of the lower limbs, etc.

The pig is the main carrier of the taenia solium worm which is found in the flesh. These tapeworms are found in human intestines with greater frequency among eaters if pig. This tapeworm can pass through the intestines and affect many other organs, and is incurable once it reaches beyond a certain stage. Researchers at the University of Ottawa have linked pork consumption with "cirrhosis", a chronic degeneration of the liver. In a study of 16 nations with readily available statistics for consumption of pork, beef, alcohol and fat, Dr Amin Nanji and Dr Samuel French found a correlation between eating pork and the incidents of cirrhosis of the liver - an even higher incidence when pork and alcohol were consumed. Pigs wallow in mud or water to cool their body as they are the only animals that don't have sweat glands. They live and thrive on muck, faeces and dirt. They eat almost everything and anything; garbage, carcasses, human and pig excreta.

The list of microbes and parasites found in pork is vast. Many of these diseases as yet remain incurable. They can cause appendicitis, dyspepsia, Tuberculosis small pox, bacterial diseases, viral infections, Erysipelas or St. Anthony's fire, Japanese encephalitis (B-type), Salmonella Cholera Suis (cholera), Protozoan infections,...etc.

Besides, lard contains 2800 units of vitamin D per 100 grams and no vitamin A at all. Lately vitamin D has been held responsible for atheroma, by causing increased absorption of calcium in the blood vessels. Animal fats contain saturated fatty acids which have been found to be one of the causes of atheroma in man. Medium bacon fat contains 25% proteins and 55% fat. Dr. Glen Shepherd wrote the following dangers of eating pork in the Washington Post.

"One in six people in USA and Canada have germs in their muscles - trichinosis 8 from eating pork infected with trichina worms. Many people so infected have no symptoms. Most of those, who do have, recover slowly. Some die and some are reduced to permanent invalids. All were careless pork eaters.

Schitosoma Japonica. This disease is manifested in hemorrhages and anemia. In the case of the ova infesting the brain or bone marrow, the disease may bring about paralysis or death.

Paragonimus Westermani. Infestation may result in haemoptysis, or the coughing up of blood, due to worm setting in the lungs.

Paciolepsis Buski. This parasite causes dyspepsia, severe diarrhea and general edema.

And Allah knows best.