Debunking Islamophobia - Muslims spit on food

Muslims spit on food

With the rapid surge in Islamophobia in India of late, the anti-Muslim propaganda fuelled by misinformation and fake news targeting the minorities, instils fear and hatred towards the Muslims in the country. Recently, there have been some planned campaigns on social media to portray the community in a bad light by circulating some videos and photos of Muslims spitting on food in order to make it halal.

A major allegation that surfaced recently against Muslims is that they spit in their food to purify it and did the same with food served in their eateries, restaurants, and also in the food to be distributed for the poor. Social media posts claimed that spitting was the way of Muslims to make food to be eaten, halal. There were also allegations on social media that Muslims spat in the food to ‘ward off the Satan’.
Recently, a video of a Muslim cleric circulated on social media with a claim that he spat in the food prepared for the guests, triggered a huge controversy in Kerala. In the video, he scooped some food from a large cooking pot and purportedly spit on it after which he was seen mixing it with the food from the pot. The video which showed a langar (communal meal) by the Muslim community, was widely shared on a social media with a claim that he spat on the food prepared for guests to make it halal.
It was followed up with calls to boycott halal eateries in the state by the non-Muslims due to the fear that the food being served was contaminated by spitting and would lead to the spread of the Corona virus. It triggered massive outrage and debate over the concept of ‘halal’.
Many right-wing idealogues sensed the opportunity and dug up old videos and posts of Muslims vendors selling fruits and vegetables and of religious rituals in which food was prepared to be distributed. The photos and videos were then shared as recent claiming that Muslims contaminated food as well the fruits and vegetables by spitting, licking and applying saliva on them to spread the disease.

The above allegation of Muslims spitting in food to make it halal is fake and baseless and is again, a part of the hate propaganda aimed at the community.

Spitting is against hygiene and cleanliness and hence against Islam. Islam is a religion which gives utmost priority to cleanliness and hygiene emphasising on being clean and pure, both in physical, spiritual and moral aspects.
Alongside stressing on a clean mind, body and soul, a Muslim is required to keep his clothes, house, premises and environment clean.
In the Quran, Allah says “…Truly, Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean” (2:222). Hygiene and cleanliness are considered an indispensable part of Islam so much that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) taught that ‘Cleanliness is half of faith’
Religious rulings governing food etiquette says so. A number of prophetic teachings exist that interdict breathing or blowing into one’s vessel/food/drink to cool it down.
Imam al-Bukhari narrates through Abu Qatadah from his father that the prophet (pbuh) said: ‘When one of you drinks (from a vessel), let him not breathe into it’. It is also related by Sahih Muslim and al-Tirmidhi.
The Prophet (pbuh) forbade blowing into one’s drink – (Tirmidhi)
Abu Dawud narrated through Ibn Abbas who said: ‘The messenger of Allah prohibited from breathing into a vessel or blowing into it’.
This was to prevent the contamination of food and drinks and to prevent the spread of infectious diseases from one person to another as there is a risk of one’s saliva falling into the food or drink of another. This is unhygienic and Islam teaches that anything that leads to contamination of one’s food is to be strictly avoided.

Some scholars have permitted exception in cases of necessity such as if the drink is hot and one needs to drink it immediately.
Islam stresses on many other food etiquettes including washing hands before and after a meal, eating clean food, maintaining moderation in eating, eating slowly so that it aids digestion and health, filling only one-third of one’s stomach and so on. Since blowing over the food or drink to cool it down is also considered greediness and lack of patience, it is better to wait till one’s food cools down before eating.

Neither Islam nor anywhere in the Quran is it stated that the believers should spit in the food before serving to non-Muslims. With firm rulings like above existing in Islam, it is clear that Muslims do not spit in the food to be eaten or served in order to make it halal.

The meaning of ‘Halal’. Halal is the Arabic word for ‘permissible’ and it means food that adheres to Islamic law as stated in the Quran.

It is the Islamic form of slaughtering animals or poultry which involves the killing through a cut to the jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe. This prescribed method of ritual slaughter is called ‘Dhabihah’ and has several conditions to be fulfilled. The animals must be alive and healthy at the time of slaughtering and all blood drained from the carcass.

This Islamic form of slaughtering by cutting the jugular vein is what makes the meat and hence the food halal and not spitting or blowing or licking the food. Muslims are supposed to have only halal meat.
Allah states in the Quran that all the good and pure things are made lawful or permissible as halal while all the impure and unclean food are made haram.
Allah says ‘They ask thee what is lawful to them (food). Say: lawful unto you are (all) things good and pure: and what ye have taught your trained hunting animals (to catch) in the manner directed to you by Allah: eat what they catch for you, but pronounce then name of Allah over it and fear Allah; for Allah is swift in taking account’ Surah Al- Ma’idah (5:4)

If at all halal meat is not available or one is doubtful about the meat being halal and is required to consume it, Muslims may say ‘Bismillah’ (In the name of Allah) before they eat. Nevertheless, the practice of spitting on food to make it halal doesn’t exist rendering the allegations of spitting in food to make it halal, baseless.

However, the practice of ‘blowing over the food’ is followed by a microscopic minority of the Muslim community. They recite verses from the Quran and blow over the food prepared as they consider the ritual to bring Barkat (prosperity) and wellbeing. It is practiced and celebrated with enthusiasm among the devotees as they refer to their religious heads as lovers of God, the beloved. People sometimes gather outside mosques asking the worshippers to blow air over their heads, after their prayers.

However, this practice is not followed by other Muslims.

The Muslim cleric seen in the viral video is actually blowing on the food and not spitting on it due to hatred for non-Muslims. A langar (community kitchen) was held on the occasion of Urs also known as Urus, observed from November 6 – 8 at Tajul Ulama Dargah in Payyanur, Kerala. The Urs (literal meaning - wedding) is a three-day event held at a Dargah observed on the death anniversary of the religious head, the Sufi saint, Tajul Ulama, popularly known as Ullal Thangal. Food is prepared in the community kitchen and distributed among the people. The cleric in the video blowing over the food is Qazi Fazal Koyamma Thangal, the son of Ullal Thangal.

A video which was posted on Facebook by a profile named ‘Namo Always’ that went viral claiming that the members of the community involved in relief work during the Covid 19 lockdown, spat in the food to be served in order to spread the infection. In the video, one of the members scoops some food from the pot with a ladle and is seen blowing over it and not spitting. Alt News after breaking down the video into multiple frames and reverse searching one of the key-frames, had confirmed that the video was posted on You Tube on December 15, 2018 and was entirely unrelated to the recent Covid 19 lockdown.
Photos of Muslim youth serving food to the protesting farmers during Muzaffarnagar ‘Kisan Mahapanchayat’ were shared by several social media users alleging that they spat in the food served to the farmers.
A fake tweet and a video were also manufactured to support the false claim. A screenshot of a tweet from a handle @aadil_ansari was shared in which Ansari confessed that Muslims served food contaminated with saliva to more than 5 lakh non-Muslims. It was later found that the video was shared by a YouTube channel in 2018. The channel no longer exists.
A video of a vendor in a skullcap spitting on fruits claiming that he was spreading the Corona virus. The video was widely shared claiming that Muslims were deliberately spreading the disease in the country.
The incident occurred in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district. The man identified as Sheru was arrested after the police authorities took cognisance of the viral video.
However, during the interrogation, Sheru told the police that he was only putting the rotten fruits aside. His daughter Fiza claimed that her father is mentally unstable and that he was ‘counting’ the fruits just like he constantly makes gestures of counting notes.
A video of Muslims sitting together and licking utensils and spoons that went viral with the claim that they were spreading the disease. The message claimed that the incident took place at Nizamuddin. The video was found to be four years old. It showed Dawoodi Bohras who lick utensils and cutlery to avoid wasting even a morsel of food.

The videos were shared on social media with the intent of promoting hate against Muslims.
Such campaigns aim to and consequently impact the businesses of Muslim vendors and business entities with videos circulated with a call to boycott Muslim vendors claiming that they spread the infection.

All these are part of the malicious campaigns and the hate propaganda that the right-wingers have been unleashing since 2014. These hate mongering campaigns have been successful in stigmatising an entire community to an extent.
Not only does it lead to revulsion and hatred in the minds of non-Muslims towards Muslims but it also alienates the latter from the society diving the social and secular fabric at all levels.
By painting a community as enemies, traitors, terrorists and anti-nationals; by using terms such as ‘outsiders’, ‘illegal migrants’, and ‘infiltrators’ for Muslims, by the constant and the prejudiced use of the term ‘jihad’ and its many versions ranging from love jihad to land jihad and economic jihad to UPSC jihad and even narcotics jihad to name a few, the message put out is clear and obvious- a planned, orchestrated political erasure of Muslims including their names and symbols.
The attack against these ‘doubtful citizens’ are justified with more lies. Such acts can have serious consequences on the minorities.