According to Sunni Fiqh: Animals slaughtered by the People of the Book (Christians and Jews) are lawful to Muslims. This is evident from the Quran, the Sunnah and the consensus of the Muslim scholars. Allah Almighty Says: {The food (slaughtered cattle, eatable animals) of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) is lawful to you and yours is lawful to them.}[Quran:5:5].
According to Shi’a Fiqh: Since the followers of the past revealed religions (that is, the Jews, the Christians and the Zoroastrians) are ritually pure, many of the problems concerning the status and permissibility of the food are resolved when we live in their midst. It becomes permissible for us as Muslims to eat from their food no matter whether they touched it with their wet hands or not as long as we do not know or are not sure that it consists of what is forbidden to us, like intoxicating drinks and Haram meat – meaning meat that is not prepared in the Islamic manner.
Women are equal to men and are to be afforded the same rights and opportunities. While responsibilities of men and women may vary, they are judged and rewarded equally in the eyes of Allah Almighty.
Female Genital Mutilation or Female Circumcision is a process that involves partial or total removal of female genitalia. The removal and cutting away of important parts of the human body means altering the creation of Allah, rather than being a virtuous deed. The Holy Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) stated: “Allah curses those who change His creation” (Muslim scholars said it is an agreed-upon Hadith.)
On this basis, this Council rules in the total and absolute prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation.
It is permissible to receive Islamic banking services from a non-Muslim bank which offers the services to Muslims.
1. Gelatine from Haram sources is prohibited to consume unless required in a medical emergency (if it was an ingredient in medicine).
2. On trading with oils and gelatine: There is no problem in buying and selling oil that has been imported from non-Muslim countries if one does not know it is impure. As for oil and other things that are acquired after the animal has died, such as gelatine, in the event that one acquires them from non-Muslim markets, they are pure and it is permitted to buy and sell them as long as one deems it probable that they have been acquired from an animal which was slaughtered according to Islamic law; however, it is unlawful to consume these things. Furthermore, it is necessary for the seller to tell the buyer how it was acquired in the event that were he to not tell him, the buyer would be at risk of committing an unlawful act or abandoning an obligatory one.
