Why are Pork products not 'halal/kosher'?

[dave_c]

Why do Jews and Muslims find Pork Meat respectfully un-kosher/halal?

[Clanad]

For Jews it's prohibited by Torah... as are shellfish and other foods as listed in Leviticus... I really don't know about Muslim, but since the two peoples are historically related I'm sure the Koran has equal prohibitions...

[David H]

I'll go along with that, and though the bible presents it as a command from God (ie don't question why) pigs were pretty unhygienic to eat in the past, and as far as I'm concerned, shellfish still are. If commonsense needed the authority of God in the past, fair enough, but nowadays I prefer the authority of science.

[andy hughes]

I am not a Christian, but i dimly recall one Jesus' actions was to cast out devils which thne entered the nearest pigs - and from then on, Jews were forbidden from eating pork. I am sure someone of the faith can confirm and elaborate.

[ursula62]

The casting of the demons into the Gadarene swine was much later than the recording of the religious obligations in Leviticus (probably 2,000 years), so the two aren't related.

[stream]

The main reason actually is because the biblical law is a command. Jews believe certain laws were put in the bible to allow the world to keep commandments for the sole reason that god commanded them. E.g. "do not kill" is a pretty sensible commandment that any normal human could work out for themselves but to keep kosher is a command that is not easily understood and keeping it testifies to the believers faith. Kosher goes far beyond pigs and shellfish, most other animals are forbidden including all reptiles, most insects, most mammals and birds and mixtures of dairy and meat products and non meat products producued in certain ways (e.g. certain types of wines, bread, milk etc). interesting examples of unusual kosher foods include giraffe and certain locust.