Hunting and Camping with Muslim Friends - Thoughts?
Assalamu alaykum - I wanted to share an experience and get some opinions. I live in the USA and recently took a Muslim friend from Algeria on a camping trip with a few others. I planned to hunt deer (we follow state rules here: you need a hunting license and a tag ahead of time), so I was the one hunting while the others came to camp, relax, and help out. My friend really liked the trip. I took a deer on the second day and we spent a lot of time bringing it back to camp and I showed him how to properly butcher and prepare the meat. He mentioned he knows many Muslims from his mosque and family in the US who never go hunting or even camping. That made me wonder whether hunting and wild camping are seen as odd or uncommon in Muslim communities. He explained some points about Islamic guidelines: there are rules on which animals are permissible to hunt and that hunting should be for food, not trophies or sport. He recently asked if he could pay me to take his cousins and some friends on a camping and hunting trip, and handle the licenses/tags and logistics. Where I live, many people hire hunting guides, but I don’t know of guides who specifically run trips with clear Islamic practices in mind - halal handling, permitted game, and everything done appropriately. So I’m curious: is there likely to be a sizeable demand among Muslim families who would like guided, Islamically minded hunting and camping trips? Or do most Muslims consider this kind of activity unusual or not something they’d do? Any thoughts or experiences welcome. Jazakum Allahu khairan.