Layla Mandi – Spirit of a Pioneer

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Message from G. Waleed Kavalec
5:43pm Mar 29

Salaam and Jummah Mubarak

I have been posting this to many groups and pages, and I would ask your help in doing the same.

My wife Habiba has confirmed the facts and has spoken with sister Mandi and to those friends who are trying to help her.

Please share this as best you are able
JZAK

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I would like to introduce you to the Canadian Muslim Convert who:

discovered and first disclosed the inclusion of pork by-products in conventional personal care and cosmetics products;
ascertained the lack of readily available suitable products for Muslim women;
developed a halal-based beauty brand to provide Muslim women with an alternative product; and
dedicated herself toward the development of a full-fledged global halal beauty industry.

Meet Sister Layla Mandi, a woman who also has lost all of her family and friends because of her conversion to Islam, and is now paralyzed and in urgent need of help to walk again.

http://www.facebook.com/l/-AQFA7_F8AQHWpDLVQXVIiGIStNG8Dw0CTBOIJ3ZJu_wPWg/www.muslimahcompass.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=507&Itemid=8
 
Layla Mandi – Spirit of a Pioneer
www.muslimahcompass.org

Muslimah Compass - dedicated to empowering the Muslimah

[HOPE]

Salaam all,

It seems to me like a marketing strategy to grab a share of the multi-billion dollar cosmetic industry by exploiting the religious sensibilities of the people. Quran is very clear on forbidden foods and substances. Forbidding what Allah has not forbidden amounts to shirk.  We should support ethical products that are not tested on animals or harm the environment during its production.  To use skin care products  ‘free of pork and alcohol derivatives’ does not make one ‘religiously correct’, in my opinion.

Pigs are used in medicine for coronary arteries and heart valves.  I do not want my medicine cabinet without a bottle of alcohol for wound cleaning.  I did a quick search to find out where pork by-products are used.

 I found out that  some ice creams, whipped creams, yoghurts and certain butters also contain gelatine, as do certain pet foods. More surprisingly, a number of medicines also contain pig gelatine – everything from painkillers to multivitamins.

Hygiene and beauty products are also made of pig. Fatty acids extracted from the bone fat of pigs are used in shampoos and conditioners to give them their shiny, pearl-like appearance. These acids can also be found in a number of body lotions, foundations and anti-wrinkle creams. Glycerine made from pork fat is also an ingredient in many types of toothpaste.

Some of the surprising products that can include pig material include photographic film, which uses collagen from pig bones; shoes that use bone glue from pigs to improve the quality of the leather; and certain paints that use bone fat to enhance their glossy properties.

Some makers of cigarettes use haemoglobin from pig’s blood in their filters. Apparently this element works as a sort of ‘artificial lung’ in the cigarette so, they claim, ‘harmful reactions take place before the chemicals reach the user’.

And the next time you buy a loaf of bread you would be well advised to read the packaging. Some manufacturers use an ingredient called L-cysteine, which is a protein made from pig or other animal hair and which is used to soften the dough.

Pigs make an enormous contribution to medicine, with insulin, the blood-thinning drug heparin and pig heart valves all vital.

"However, for vegetarians, Jews keeping kosher, Muslims and anybody else wishing to avoid pig products, this may not be such good news.
The complex workings of the global food and processing industry have ensured that it is almost impossible to avoid pig altogether."

FYI

[Saba]

Thanks sister Hope. I share a lot of your views. Thanks for sharing your points with us all. 
 

[Mubashir]

Would like very much to hear Brother Joseph's views on this issue.

[Joseph Islam]

Dear brother Mubashir,

May peace be with you.

Without knowing exactly what you would like to comment on, I would generally like to reserve an opinion on this matter.

With a matter such as this and if I were to personally get involved in any capacity to assist, I would need to conduct my own research rather than rely on what is being written. I would need to meet with the involved parties to ascertain intent, scope and purpose to the best of my abilities and then make an informed opinion. This is my general approach in life. Hence, the reluctance to comment at this stage on this issue.

Regards,
Joseph

[Seraphina]

Selam,
I came by this post accidentally, and I'm so glad I did, because I've been struggling with this issue for a long time now. To my knowledge, the pig's meat and alcohol are only forbidden to be consumed for food, but it was a huge surprise for me when I first read that any hygienic or cosmetic product containing pig fat or alcohol are forbidden, and that your wudu or salat (or both) are nullified (for example if while doing ablution you had deodorant containing alcohol in your underarms). While the Quran is clear on the point that these substances are forbidden for food only, I never saw in the Quran any prohibition for other uses of them (correct me if I have missed something).
As sister Hope has kindly shared, the pig and alcohol are almost impossible to be avoided altogether. I have always used shampoos, soaps and creams from worldwide popular lines in daily basis, trying to be as clean as possible, first of all because Allah says in the Quran that he loves those who keep physical cleanliness, and second, because it's almost impossible to know for sure if the ingredients are 100% pig-free or alcohol-free (the only exception is deodorant, where you can see the 'alcohol free' etiquette). What am I supposed to do? quit on creams? impossible, my skin is sensitive and in absolute need of them. Quit on soap and shampoo? Impossible, I can't be clean enough with water only.
So, the million-dollar-question is: Do these everyday products nullify my ablution or salat? If so, what do you suggest me to do?
Can't wait for response of brother Joseph and other forum members,
God bless