Lanao Congresswoman goes ballistic over pork
In the Chapter 2, Verse 173 in Quran, states " Forbidden to you (for food) are dead meat blood,
the meat of swine, and that on which Allah's name has not been invoked. That which has been sacrifice
to idols and the animal that has been strangles, or beaten to death, or killed by a fall or gored to death,
or sacrificed to the demons; these you are allowed to eat." This verse specifically abstain pork from
being eaten, for it is considered to be an unclean animal, a scavenger that feeds on dead things and
carry a number of diseases-therefore it is considered to be unhealthy to eat pork. A Muslim who stays
away from 'Haraam' will receive the good pleasure and reward from Allah and whoever consumes the
'Haraam' or forbidden foods including the pork is liable to a severe reckoning for disobeying the
commands of Allah (Islamhelpline 2023).
In the case of a Lanao Congresswoman who went ballistic over a waitress who serves a pansit with a
pork is quite controversial. Faysah Dumarpa is a Muslim whom unintentionally eaten pork which was an
ingredient of the dish served by Virginia Altamerano. Dumarpa claims that she asked several of the staff
whether any of the dishes contained pork but the servers assured her it's a pork-free dish only to found
out later that the pansit had actually contained pork. Upon knowing, she exclaimed her outburst and
started to hit the poor waitress, shouted at her, thrown the glass of water on the floor in a scandalous
fashion and it was also alleged that Dumarpa waved a knife menacingly at Altamerano.
The lawmaker explained that for Muslims, eating pork and its derivatives was forbidden in Islam and
considered a "grievous sin" in the religion. She said that an intentional consumption of meat would
hinder her from gaining entrance to heaven and that what she did in the moment of her outburst was
her natural reaction on a situation where she felt betrayed. But, does eating pork by mistake really
justify violence? I believe "Intentional" is the key word here. I can say that her eating pork in this
instance was not intentional for waitresses are only tasked to serve foods ordered by their Line cook to
deliver to customers or guests. And thus, her share of outburst should not be directly pointed to the
waitress. Eating pork unknowingly was okay, as long as one stopped eating the dish as soon as she/he
found out it contained pork and there's no sin if they actually didn't already know it was pork. It
obviously isn't the end of the world to eat pork by accident but as what she said, it was a matter of faith
and that faith-based differences in customs and beliefs I think everyone should respect or at least should
not be insensitive.
I believe that both parties has something to do with this happening. For the Muslim lawmakers, I
think it would be better to have someone inspect the kitchen while their food is being prepared, or
better yet, bring their own halal to ensure pork-free food with them to avoid any such mix-ups in the
future. And for the catering group who were asked if there was any pork on the food they served and
they said no was also a grave offense. The caterer should have told its employees the facts about the
dishes they serve or have known beforehand the preferences of their guests or customers.There should
be greater sensitivity towards others; we must show respect on something that has spiritual or religious
significance to someone. It could mean insignificant and silly to one person, but it could mean the world
to another. And so, both parties owes an apology to one another.
