Why this blog?

I am a liberal Muslim in comparison to some...

Don't get me wrong.

I don't drink, ever. I don't even smoke. I look for surau or places to pray wherever I am, with whomever I am with. I pray five times a day and usually with other Muslims, which will then be known as a jemaah.

But when it comes to eating I am not as strict as my mom's idea of eating truely halal food. She wouldn't touch a place serving alcohol. She wouldn't even go at a stall manned by a Muslim Indonesian worker if she knows that the place is owned by a non-Muslim. She need to see the food prepared by a cook who is a Muslim and clean. She is fussy but she has travelled in all the country in the world and she survived the ordeal. She will pack all the permissable food into her luggage and then she would find fresh food which is halal. She will find a stove, even bought a brand new stove, so she can cook. She would rather turn into a vegetarian than just eating whatever being placed in front of her.

As for me. My favourite food outlet? The Tex-Mex restaurant called Chilli's. If the queue is long, I would just sit at the bar with my scarf wearing wife and eat. We hate waiting and don't care about the beer being pulled into a draught splashing into our food. I shared food with my Chinese friends (when I still have them then) without asking them whether they just had anything impermissable under Islam before or even if they were drinking beer. I share and share alike. I heaved a relief when the Fatwa Council said that utensils used by non-Muslims can be use by Muslims.

So, it is the gastronomic experience just waiting for my blog to comment about. Here is where I will post pictures and ask questions about the level of halal-ness in our daily lives in Malaysia. If the Halal Journal tries to be the formal forum, here is the informal forum...