Liaison office of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al Sistani (L.M.H.L) in London, Europe, North and South America.
Muslims [in predominantly Muslims countries] normally live in their own homes, villages and cities, in the midst of their families and relations, eating variety of foods and drinking different drinks that they desire; They are familiar with the ingredients of these foods and know that they are free from all that their religion has forbidden, their faith has rejected, and their rich Islamic values have kept distance from.
However, when they migrate to foreign countries to reside
in the midst of non-Muslim communities, they are faced with problems in eating
and drinking because they don’t find foods that are familiar and desirable to
them, nor are their ingredients known to them.
This is so because the host
community is not Islamic; it has it own values, customs and habits which
naturally do not abide by the laws of Islam.
So, when a Muslim desires to eat
any food in a restaurant [in a non-Muslim country], he is faced with the problem
of whether or not the food is permissible and pure.