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“Muslim Roommate Eats My Food But Did Not Know It Had Pork Products In It. Should I Tell Him?”
Interview With Expert
There is a religious concept among Muslims called haram. For the uninitiated, it’s doing anything forbidden under Islamic law, including food. They believe that engaging in haram is harmful to a person’s faith and body, and that includes eating pork.
This is where the problem between two roommates began. One person had left out food drizzled in bacon fat, which their Muslim roommate unknowingly ate. They admitted going blank at the moment and had not stopped their friend from eating.
Likely overrun with guilt, the individual turned to the Reddit community for some advice.
RELATED:
Muslims believe in the religious concept of haram, which forbids them from eating specific foods like pork
Image credits: Curated Lifestyle / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
A Muslim man unknowingly ate his roommate’s mashed potatoes drizzled with bacon fat
Image credits: Rocco_nh / Reddit (not the actual photo)
Likely overrun with guilt, the roommate turned to the internet for advice
Image credits: Available-Car7584
Eating food by mistake is common among roommates and should not be an issue as long as there is no ill intent
Especially with less restrictive food rules, roommates often unknowingly eat each other’s food. And as the story shows, it can happen even when one person has dietary restrictions.
According to Rany Burstein, CEO and co-founder of the roommate-matching platform Diggz, a common issue among people living together is a lack of communication.
As he told Bored Panda, there typically is no problem with such miscommunication, as long as there is no ill intent. In the story’s case, the author appeared to make an honest mistake, without purposely having their roommate eat something that his religion forbids him from eating.
However, the author’s biggest dilemma is whether to tell the roommate or continue sweeping it under the rug. In such cases, Burstein advises acknowledging it and apologizing before clearly defining the rules around food.
“In my opinion, the roommate setups that work best are the ones where people clearly define what’s shared, what’s not, and basic boundaries like not taking the last portion of something without asking,” Burstein said.
Given that the author and their roommate are good friends, there should be no issue about coming clean. It is an honest mistake that they could prevent from happening again in the future by being clearer about their food rules.
Many readers urged the author to come clean
Other commenters advised keeping things a secret
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What do you think ?
UnclePanda 15 hours ago
I made a great friend of a Muslim man at a buffet. He was looking at a tray of tiny meat balls, turned to me (a stranger) and said, "I don't know if I can eat these because they might have pork in them. "Let's find out!," I proclaimed as I tossed one back. I chewed carefully, thoughtfully, even analytically. "I can't say for certain so you probably shouldn't." The look on that man's face as I sinned on his behalf was priceless. He told me to call him Mo and always went out of his way to wave. "Hey Mo!" (yes, I did it like Curly)
fly on the wall 11 hours ago
I would not tell him. What is the gain in doing so, on the other hand telling him may make him feel compromised. In future if you are going to leave pork products in the fridge be proactive and either tell him or label them.
Tamra 2 hours ago (edited)
If you structure your life around a book of stories written thousands of years ago, then it is *your* responsibility to police your own food. The roommate needs to ask before eating anything they don't prepare themselves, rather than relying on someone else to keep them apprised of the ingredients. Your religion is *your* responsibility and it constrains *you*, not anyone else.
UnclePanda 15 hours ago
I made a great friend of a Muslim man at a buffet. He was looking at a tray of tiny meat balls, turned to me (a stranger) and said, "I don't know if I can eat these because they might have pork in them. "Let's find out!," I proclaimed as I tossed one back. I chewed carefully, thoughtfully, even analytically. "I can't say for certain so you probably shouldn't." The look on that man's face as I sinned on his behalf was priceless. He told me to call him Mo and always went out of his way to wave. "Hey Mo!" (yes, I did it like Curly)
fly on the wall 11 hours ago
I would not tell him. What is the gain in doing so, on the other hand telling him may make him feel compromised. In future if you are going to leave pork products in the fridge be proactive and either tell him or label them.
Tamra 2 hours ago (edited)
If you structure your life around a book of stories written thousands of years ago, then it is *your* responsibility to police your own food. The roommate needs to ask before eating anything they don't prepare themselves, rather than relying on someone else to keep them apprised of the ingredients. Your religion is *your* responsibility and it constrains *you*, not anyone else.
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