Confine Halal food to Muslims - ACJU

The President of the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) M.I.M. Rizwe has called upon trade organisations that have obtained the Halal certification to sell their produce only to Muslims and not non Muslims.

He was addressing a media briefing at the Ranmuthu Hotel on Thursday. The ACJU President said it is evident that growing tension and disputes had arisen between the communities and religions due to a process initiated by them to issue Halal certifications.

Since the Halal certification has been misunderstood, the ACJU has decided to call upon manufacturers who have already obtained the certification to confine the certification of their products to the Muslim community.

Rizwe said according to the Arabic language “Halal” gives the meaning of “legal” and it has defined categories of food which can be consumed by Muslims. Therefore, the Halal system was introduced to create a methodology to provide food specific for Muslims and check the quality of the food. No pressure has been exerted on other communities to buy these goods.

The ACJU clarifying the Halal certification said it has not been forced on any product and is obtained voluntarily by the producers. He said, “In recent times, the Halal system has been subjected to serious criticism. We don’t profit from this certification.

It is evident that the unity and coexistence between the Sinhalese and Muslims over the past 10 centuries have been threatened due to the Halal issue.

To overcome the situation, we held several rounds of talks with other religious leaders and the Security Forces. Our Association has been invited to express our views before the special Cabinet Sub Committee appointed on the matter to settle the controversy.

The ACJU Secretary Murshid Mulaffar said there have been strong protests against the Halal certificate. The Bodu Bala Sena has forced us to withdraw the Halal certificate before March 31. But we have not decided to suspend or withdraw it.

The Halal certificate specifies the food which can be consumed by Muslims. It is true that there is a formal legal body in the country, the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI). But it doesn’t check whether any food contained oily matter from pork or wine. Therefore, Muslims cannot depend on the certificate issued by the SLSI. In the circumstances, the Halal certificate is essential. Nobody can compel us to withdraw as it is a human right.

Meanwhile, the Bodu Bala Sena said that non-Muslims who do not need an Islamic method of food processing, especially meat, have to pay more for Halal certified foods and businesses forcing Halal products on non-Muslims is a violation of their rights.