All was ready for the big celebration at our Christian higher secondary girls’ school in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. India. The children had been practicing their dances for weeks, the guests had been invited, and the food had been ordered from a vegetarian restaurant. I was puzzled, though. Why were we ordering all of the food for an important school celebration from a vegetarian restaurant instead of the non-vegetarian one we preferred? After all, only a handful of the teachers at our school were Hindu. As a newcomer to India, I asked why.
“Imagine how you would feel in their position!” our Indian headmistress responded. “Even vegetarian food from a non-vegetarian restaurant is suspect by Hindus. How do they know that animal fat wasn’t used in the cooking? We order our food from a vegetarian restaurant so that non-Christians can enjoy eating it as much as we do.”
As a 21-year-old college graduate with little exposure to other religions, I obviously had a lot to learn. Living in India for three years taught me just how important it is to be sensitive to cultural and religious differences if we want to live harmoniously with one another.
I was reminded of that conversation again some 30 years later when my husband and I were living in Australia and had invited some Pakistani Muslim friends over for dinner.
“We would love to come,” Mohammed Asfak replied, speaking for the group. Then he hesitated and asked, “Would you mind, though, if we bought the meat for you?”
We were surprised at his question until it dawned on us that he was reminding us that they could only eat food that had been prepared in a prescribed way. The food Muslims consume must be halal just as the food Jews consume must be kosher. We needed to buy meat which adhered to Islamic law, as defined in the Koran. It took courage for our guests to broach the subject and suggest a solution, but their offer prevented misunderstandings between us. And so we gave the money for the meat to our Pakistani friends. They bought the meat from the campus mosque and brought it to us to cook.
As I think back on these two experiences and others, I have come to realize how important it is to be sensitive to the needs of our guests in cross-cultural situations. Be open with them. Ask if they have any dietary restrictions when you invite them to dinner. Go the second mile for them, and enjoy their friendship!