Unclean Animals

[nailit]

Can anyone here explain to me exactly WHY jews and muslims consider certain animals unclean?
Always found it a bit odd that God supposedly created all creatures and then decided that some animals were 'clean' and others 'unclean'. Its almost as though he dropped a clanger when creating.
Thanks.

[ummmm]

I think pigs are considered unclean because they'd eat anything including human flesh.

[janbee]

No idea. Pigs are some of the cleanest animals apparently. I think humans are the mankiest species.

[sandyRoe]

Is it just that the flesh of some animals 'went off' quicker than others in the heat of the Middle East?

[Buenchico]

My understanding is that the ancient prophets were simply offering food safety advice but, because that advice was offered by prophets, it was taken to be the word of God (speaking through those prophets). Certain types of food (e.g.shellfish) were linked to incidences of food poisoning, so the prophets told people not to eat them and it was taken as 'the word of God'.

[hc4361]

Generally carrion and flesh eaters are considered unclean, so clean meat, fish and birds are loosely vegetarians. That way people aren't eating animals that may have eaten diseased meat or fish.

Carrion eaters on land and bottom eaters in water are essential as waste disposal systems for dead and dying animals.

Coincidentally (or maybe not) a lot of the creatures deemed unclean go off very quickly in hot weather without the benefit of refrigeration making them unsafe to eat.

[nailit]

//Is it just that the flesh of some animals 'went off' quicker than others in the heat of the Middle East?//
Thats not the reason given in the torah or the koran.

[sandyRoe]

The flesh goes off and might run the guts out of you if you eat it, or worse, so the prophets( as already mentioned by Buenchico) warn against it. People take them to be relaying the word of God and deem the animals 'unclean'

[Old_Geezer]

No expert, but wasn't the rule something along the lines of an animal who didn't have a cloven hoof and chewed cud was labelled unclean ?

[Old_Geezer]

As I see the question is "why".

Because the top of their religious hierarchy said so.

[Cannedgranny]

Acts Chapter 10 - verses 10 - 16 : What God has cleansed call not thou common.
Obviously, as said before, man made rules. I love shellfish and roast pork.

[hc4361]

But you wouldn't have loved either if you lived in the desert centuries ago, and they certainly wouldn't love you.

[Cannedgranny]

hc4361, I would have had that pig on the spit in a very short time and the prawns and crayfish in the boiling water too. However, I am fortunate to be living in the now.

[hc4361]

The seafish would be rotten before it got to you and pigs don't survive in the desert.

[Cannedgranny]

hc4361, not everyone was living in the desert.

[sandyRoe]

The Gadarine Swine were only fit to carry evil spirits to a watery doom.

[keyplus90]

In Islam Pig falls in that category and you do not have to be a rocket scientist to find out that pigs are not clean, externally and internally. However if you don't know about it that I wonder if it is a trick question.

[nailit]

Thanks for replies.
I'm well aware of the food issue of unclean animals but that isnt what its about. No scripture talks about food hygeine issues and many muslims (and jews) would find even a picture of a pig (for example) offensive.
I had a dog some years ago and when walking him I had muslims trying to avoid him like the plague, they didnt have to eat him but seemed pathologically afraid of been contaminated by him.

[nailit]

keyplus, my apologies. Your reply wasnt there when I posted (im not the fastest typer) No, it isnt a trick question.

[nailit]

actually keyplus, contrary to popular opinion, pigs ARE very clean animals. Ive worked on a farm (with pigs) and its man that keeps them in filth.