The Ruling on Meat Slaughtered in Non-Muslim Countries

Question:
We received a letter from the sender, Hamd Salim al-'Amiri, in which he speaks about eating meat that has not been slaughtered in the Islamic manner, outside of Muslim countries. He says in his letter:
Some Muslims, when they go abroad, are forced to eat meat, and this meat is slaughtered in a manner other than the Islamic way. What is the ruling on it?
And thank you.

Answer:
Countries differ. If the town is a Christian or Jewish country, then their slaughter is lawful for us. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has permitted us the food of the People of the Book, who are the Jews and the Christians. So if you are in one of their countries, such as America, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, and the like, then you eat whatever meat you find, except if you know that it is from the pig, in which case you do not eat it, or if you know that they slaughtered it by strangling or stunning without slaughtering, in which case you do not eat it.
As for if you do not know, then you eat it, and it is lawful for you. You should try to find out by asking the person in charge whether this meat is pig, cow, or sheep. If you know that it is cow or sheep, or if someone else informs you of that, then eat it. And if you know that it is pig, then leave it and do not eat from it.
It is not befitting to be overly strict or severe in a way that contradicts the command of Allah, for Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has permitted us the food of the People of the Book. He knows their condition, their disbelief, their misguidance, their distortion of the words from their places, and their failure to fulfill the obligatory duties. He knows this, . They are disbelievers, and Allah has declared them disbelievers in His great Book, and yet He has permitted us their food. So we must accept this dispensation from Allah and not be severe upon ourselves. Rather, what we know to be forbidden, we leave, and what we do not know, the original ruling is its permissibility. And praise be to Allah.
As for if you are in the lands of the communists or the lands of the polytheists, then do not eat except what has been slaughtered by Muslims or by the People of the Book, such as India, such as the Soviet lands, such as China, such as Bulgaria, and the like of countries that have communists and polytheists. Their slaughter is not lawful and does not become lawful for us. So you must be careful in that and not eat from it, except what you know to have been slaughtered by a Muslim or a Person of the Book. Yes.

The presenter: But is it obligatory for the Muslim to ask in Western countries, for example, which are not communist countries?

The Shaykh: If he fears that it might be pig, he asks and tries to find out, so that he does not eat pig. As for the slaughter, it may not be easy for him to find someone who can inform him about the slaughter. This may involve great hardship, because it is likely that they do not have knowledge, and also their information may not be reliable; because they are between a worker or someone like him who does not know the facts. So if it is easy to find someone who knows the facts about that specific restaurant and he asks him, then there is no harm. Yes.