The Fiqh Academy of Maldives has issued a fatwa (legal opinion) stating that the importation and sale of kosher meals – foods that conform to Jewish dietary laws – is not advisable under Islamic Shariah.
Following its research of kosher foods, the academy however found that neither its ingredients nor production process involved elements forbidden by Shariah.
While consuming kosher meals was therefore not forbidden for Muslims, the fatwa stated that it was not advisable to introduce a Jewish product to an Islamic nation such as the Maldives.
The fatwa was signed by the academy’s President Sheikh Mohamed Rasheed Ibrahim – former chief justice and head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs under President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – and ten other members of the academy.
