one step forward ... one step back

As with Nasreen last year, both of our students this year have expressed their desire to eat halal food.

what is Halal food?

We were very relieved when our coordinator sent us this information:

• "I wanted to share some information with each of you regarding our Muslim students and food.  While in Washington D.C. last week, I sat in on a session with conducted by an Imam.  The topic was integrating Muslim Foreign Exchange students into the American culture.
•  
• He had the following to share:....
•  
• Regarding Halal food:  The students are not to impose eating Halal food on their host families as this would add a burden, both time and money, upon their host families.  We know that Muslims eat no pork.  So that is pretty simple.  In their countries, many will eat Halal food (beef and chicken) only.  While in the United States, they may eat both beef and chicken that is not Halal.  They must bless it in the name of allal before eating.  Seafood is never an issue.
•  
• So host families should not have to purchase Halal food at additional expense for their students.  The students should  adapt their eating habits to fit in with the food menus of their host families, while still honoring the customs of their islamic religion (using the practice of blessing the meat in the name of allal before eating). "

Yea!  All they have to do is pray first and we're okay to serve them regular chicken and beef, right???

Wrong.

Last night over dinner we had a brief conversation about how the Imam said they could eat non-halal meat, as long as they "blessed it" first.  Both girls agreed, yes ... they just needed to bless it.  The Imam in DC had told them this.

So, today at lunch, I mixed the chicken right into the nacho dish that Audrey's Dad prepared at Dinner Helpers (during preparation he had left the chicken on the side, so we could prepare some servings with meat and some without meat, but I mixed the chicken into the whole thing).  We sit down to eat, and the girls start loading their plates up with the Doritos that make for the base of the nachos, and then point at the bean/cheese/chicken mixture and say, "What is that?"  

I say, "It's chicken."

And Miriam says, "Is it....?"

And we say, "It's fine."

So, they eat it, but ... we did get the distinct feeling that they would have just eaten the chips (rather than take the chicken and bless it themselves) if we had had a full conversation about it.  

It just feels like they are thinking, "In an emergency (where starvation is imminent) we can eat the non-Halal meat, but until then ... we'll eat chips and fries ..."

I really don't feel like this is any different from our understanding from last year, and I think we're going to try to have a more complete conversation about it.  One of the options we had previously discussed was to ask the girls to buy their own halal meat, but ... it's such a pain to make two separate meals, and I'm not comfortable with them just eating chips the whole year.

So, still feeling very confused at this point.  Dad's comment also, which I think was good, is that a random Imam from Washington DC is not their Imam from home.  And just as I wouldn't necessary trust the opinion/guidance of a Christian pastor I had never met before, they may not follow that Imam's advice.  I really think they need the opinion of their families to coincide with this guy's recommendation.

So ... not sure where to go from here.  I don't want to be at odds about something as basic as food.