Why is eating certain animals forbidden in different religions?

 Jesus said to eat both pigs and cows.

But why do Hindus and Muslims follow each other?

-Lalon Fakir

There have been many riots in India over cow slaughter. In India, cows are now considered gods. Hindus are against eating meat. Jains are also against eating meat. Buddhists are against killing living animals. Jews do not eat pigs. Again, the reason why Christians eat them is because the devil was hiding in the body of a pig. So they eat pigs for fun to kill the devil by eating pigs. Zoroastrians in India do not eat cows only out of fear of Hindus. When they were in Persia, they used to eat cows. They accepted some things only when they took refuge in India from Persia. A pig's hooves are cloven and it chews its food. Why is it still forbidden in Semitic religions? The Quran directly prohibits eating pigs. Once upon a time, Christianity was also forbidden. Pigs are basically banned because they live in dirt. There are also some common beliefs about pigs that eating them can cause various diseases. Now pig farms are cultivated with advanced technology. Cow, goat and pork meat are almost the same. In Islam, eating fang-bearing animals is forbidden. Tigers-lions, wolves-hyenas, leopards-jaguars, elephants-horses, dogs, foxes, cats, crocodiles, turtles, porcupines, monkeys and many other animals are prohibited or forbidden in Islam. It is also forbidden to have birds that hunt with their claws. Eating animal blood is also forbidden in Islam. Eating wild animals is not forbidden. Now the animals that are legal to eat are the ones that survive the longer. Now the number of chickens in the world is huge. There are three times more chickens in the world than there are people. If eating chickens were banned, there would not be so many chickens in the world. The result of banning eating cows in India like this is that the number of cows in India will decrease drastically in the next 20 years. Because now, even farming does not require bulls. If cows are raised only for milk, the price of milk will increase a lot. If the cows are eaten, the farmer would profit by selling them to the butcher when they stop giving milk. This will make Indian farmers abandon their cows. Eating shrimp and crabs is makruh for Muslims. Shrimp and crabs are not fish, but an animal of the arthropoda order. Shrimps are sold as fish in the market like fish and there is no social barrier against people eating shrimp. Muslims generally avoid eating crabs. What is the problem with eating crabs if shrimp is eaten? We can call this a custom. Muslims do not eat many animals of the arthropoda order. Famine has played a role in creating customs in many countries. The Chinese eat a lot of things. This is because there were regular severe famines in China during the pre-revolutionary period and due to lack of food, people got used to eating all animals. Food habits also developed due to regional reasons. For example, in Bangladesh, quicha/kuchia is not usually eaten, but kuchia is the favorite food of the Japanese. Muslims cannot even think of eating dogs. But the most expensive meat in China and Korea is dog meat!

Religions also have various taboos regarding keeping animals. In Islam, keeping dogs at home is prohibited, and even running dogs as a hobby is prohibited. It is said in Hadith No. 5525 of Sahih Bukhari Sharif, ‘Angels of mercy do not enter a house where there is a dog.’ And since dog saliva is impure, it is ordered to wash a container three or seven times if a dog puts its mouth in it. Their reasoning behind this order is – firstly, the influence of Satan is greater in dogs. That is why dogs make noise during the call to prayer. Secondly, dogs eat rotten and vile food, indulge in obscene acts everywhere, love sports and running, and get angry when they see food. The great Lord of the worlds himself created dogs and pigs, and he himself condemns them. He could have changed their character a little. However, all animals except humans have sex in public. Snakes, frogs, horses, etc. do not have secret rooms for sex, nor do they have such a sense. Allah will also send a dog to heaven. We know that in Islam, 10 animals, apart from humans, will go to heaven. Namely: Hazrat Saleh's camel, Ibrahim's calf, Ismail's ram, Moses' cow, Yunus' fish, Uzair's donkey, Solomon's ant, the Hudhud bird sent to Queen Bilqis, the camel used for the migration of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), and the dog accompanying the Companions of the Cave of the Cave. Hindus do not eat cows, Muslims do not eat turtles. Jews can eat fish with scales and fins, but other fish are prohibited. Many religions, including Muslims, Jews, and Sikhs, prohibit eating pigs. You may know the Semitic story of the birth of pigs. Prophet Noah could not stand the stench of all the animals' excrement in the boat. Then the Prophet asked Allah for water. Allah tells the Prophet to place his hand on the elephant's forehead. As soon as he placed his hand, two pigs came out of the elephant's nose and ate the feces and became exhausted. Then, when the devil placed his hand on the elephant's forehead, two rats came out and started cutting the wood of the boat. Now, when the Prophet placed his hand on the tiger's head at the command of Allah, two cats were born. The cat killed the rat and saved the boat. Eating pigs, cats, tigers and rats is prohibited in Islam and Judaism!

In fact, there is no prohibition against killing cows or eating beef in the main religious texts and epics of Hinduism. The fact is that eating beef was widespread in India from the ancient Vedic period to the Middle Ages. Let me give some examples from Hindu scriptures from pages 164 and 165 of Jayantanuj Bandopadhyay's book 'Mahakavya o Maulavada' -

In the Rigveda Samhita, it is mentioned to 'cut cows into pieces' in prayers to Agni. Elsewhere, a prayer is made to Indra, ‘You cook fifteen or twenty bulls for me, I will eat them and fill both sides of my belly, and make my body fat.’ In another place, a prayer to Indra is said, ‘Just as cows are killed at the cow slaughter place, so may our enemy demons be killed by your weapons and lie down on the earth.’ In a prayer to Agni, there is a mention of sacrificing bulls, bulls and milkless cows. In the famous Vivahasukta of the Rigveda Samhita, there is a provision for sacrificing more than one cow to serve beef to the guests and guests gathered on the occasion of the daughter’s marriage.

The Arthavaveda Samhita has a similar provision. Moreover, examples of eating horse meat and buffalo meat are scattered throughout the Rigveda.

The Shatapatha Brahmana mentions the injunction of sage Yajnavalkya and states that beef can be eaten if it is soft.

The Taittiriya Brahmana not only prescribes the slaughter of cows, but also prescribes the type of cow to be sacrificed to each deity. A small bull is prescribed for Vishnu, a bull with curved horns for Indra, a black cow for worship, and a red cow for Rudra.

A verse from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: If a man desires to have a son who will be a famous scholar, respected in the assembly, whose speech is pleasing to the ear, who is well versed in all the Vedas, and who will live a long life, then he should cook rice with ghee and the meat of a calf or a large bull and eat it with his wife. It is prescribed to cook the bull meat like biryani.

The Grihya Sutras of Vedic literature also contain clear instructions for cow sacrifice and eating beef. Most of the Grihya Sutras prescribe the Madhu Parka ceremony for Brahmins, Acharyas, Son-in-law, Kings, Graduates, the householder's favorite guests or any other guest. And serving beef was the common rule and custom on that occasion. This custom became so widespread and obligatory that according to the rules of the Ashvalayana Grihya Sutra, when a guest came to the house, the cows were released to save them so that the guests would think that there were no cows in the house. Clear and detailed rules have been given for sacrificing a bull for Rudra and eating the meat of that sacrifice. It is said that eating bull meat in this way will bring good fortune in various ways. One will get wealth, land, purity, sons, cattle, long life and prosperity. There are similar provisions in the Apastambha Griyasutra, Paraskara Griyasutra and Hiranyakeshi Griyasutra. In the Hiranyakeshi Griyasutra, it is ordered to sacrifice a cow, roast its meat, mix it with ghee and rice and offer it to the deceased ancestors.

Numerous more examples can be given. So why did the citizens of India stop eating cows? There is a clear reason. Due to excessive cow eating, the number of cows in India has decreased drastically. This severely hampers milk production and agricultural work. To get rid of this, cow slaughter was banned and continued as a religious provision. People may not have followed the general instructions, but they accepted them thinking it was a religious instruction.

One surprising difference between the 4300 religions in the world is that each religion prohibits eating something. Now the arguments that Muslims give against eating pork are exactly the same arguments that Hindus give against eating cows. Like Lalon, I also have a question? Jesus said to eat pigs and cows, but why do Muslims get shocked when they hear about pigs and Hindus eating cows? Only for religious and traditional reasons! Due to such prohibitions, ordinary people are being deprived of non-vegetarian food. People in South Asia are still among the lowest meat eaters in the world. If these restrictions were not there, people would eat more non-vegetarian food and they would be a little healthier and stronger.

Mojib Rahman