Why I Believe Christians Have the Liberty to Eat Muslim Foods

I remembered I jokingly asked the pastor who preached to me the Gospel if being a Christian meant I needed to give up eating Italian and Muslim food. He decided to point me out to 1st Corinthians 8:8 which says, "But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do." So that answers it that even food sacrificed to idols (though Christians shouldn't attend idolatrous food feasts even for fun) has no real value. I had my fear that maybe the owner of the Italian restaurant (who was a devout Catholic) and the owner of the Indian restaurant (who was a devoted Hindu and another was a Buddhist) offered their ingredients to their idols. I feared I might be eating vegetables offered to Krishna or pasta offered to the Virgin Mary. All of these are idolatrous!

Personally, I find myself fond of Muslim food and that's why I asked the pastor if I should stop. He said while I shouldn't enter into the idolatrous food fairs (ex. Hari Raya Puasa and Eid El Adha for Muslims, Diwali for Hindus and some Buddhists) but I can enjoy their food from their eateries. Skipping pork and eating kosher meals can be a delicious retreat for some. I would confess that I grew fond of roasted lamb with unleavened bread or beef kebab with sour cream. My favorite Muslim foods are usually Persian and Lebanese. My pastor admits that he does eat shawarma and would eat in a Persian eatery. While at it, he said that it's an opportunity to reach out to the lost eating there.

I remembered eating in Middle Eastern restaurants. A lot of the people who flock there are Muslims. I really ache to think of how Muslims are religious but lost whether or not they are Jihadists. Many Muslims today have no idea about Muhammad's real violent history or that they belong to a death cult. Any Christian eating in a Muslim-owned eatery can enjoy the meal but should feel with a heavy heart for the Muslims eating there. Witnessing to Muslims in their places of worship is a no-no. However, a Muslim-owned restaurant is opened for all people and not just Muslims. I still am praying for a Lebanese Muslim (who is married to a Roman Catholic) wondering how I can win him to Christ while I enjoy his delicious chicken shawarmas. His eatery also has a lot of Muslims eating their meals there. They are lost souls that need to be won without compromise accompanied by a concerned spirit.

Sometimes, the best way to witness to a Muslim might be to actually discuss salvation with Muslim food. Eating anything haram (not allowed in Islam) while soulwinning to a Muslim would make it look like Christianity offers a license to sin. That's why in Acts 15 that people witnessing to Jews were not only told to refrain from fornication but also from blood dishes. Living under grace is not a license to fornication but it gives the Christian the freedom to eat pork dishes and blood dishes. Muslims are strangers to that grace so sometimes adjusting to their diet while sharing the Gospel them may help.

What's important also is that eating Muslim food has never been forbidden. Having an unequal yoke to a Muslim (such as marrying one) is obviously forbidden. However, enjoying their foods is something that Christians can have. So Christians shouldn't feel guilty about going to a Middle Eastern restaurant for a serving of shawarma, beef biryani, beef kebab, hummus, pita bread, and the like isn't wrong. What's wrong is to be eating in these places and not gently sharing the Gospel to Muslims who are religious but lost.