++ [ originally posted by gray ] ++
Does that mean you can eat food prepared by Christians?
some people at first think that the word "kosher" and "halal" are the same, and interchangeable... in other words, if it "kosher" to the jews, then it is "halal" to muslims. This is not the real case.
it is theoretically true that muslims can eat food "prepared" by those of the "ahli kitab" (like aressandro and sally said)... ie. theorically muslims can eat meat prepared by jews and christians, BUT it depends on what your own countries' fatwa council decide on...
I do not know about other countries' religious council, but here in Malaysia, our own Malaysian National Council Of Fatwa has decided that there are no more Jews who still uphold their holy book (Taurah) in the world today. The Original Taurah have been altered. And as i'm a sunni follower here in malaysia, who abides by the fatwas set by my country, therefore by definition, "kosher" meat itself may actually be "haram" for me to consume... it is the same with meat prepared by christians... Since both christians and jews no longer uphold their respective holy books (according to muslim belief anyway), so food prepared by them is NOT halal to consume by muslims...
"kosher" and "halal" is NOT the same thing....
For meat to be "halal", it must be slaughtered by a "muslim" (seafood of course is halal since u need not slaughter your crab)... Other than that, the ingredients involved in preparation of the food must be halal... No alcohol, among other things....
My advice when you're in a foreign country? If you REALLY want to watch out for "halal" food, then ONLY eat at restaurants by muslims (moroccan, turkish etc)... or, survive on tuna sandwiches......
This is a small link representing malaysia's stand on "kosher" and "halal"
http://www.islam.gov.my/halal/halal028.html