What is Halal ?

Halal is a pre-Islamic Arabic word that means ‘that which is permissible’. The opposite word is Haram ‘that which is forbidden’. With the advent of Islam, Halal came to denote all that was permissible under the tenets of Islam and those that did not conform to the tenets of Islam were termed as Haram. Muslims insist on consuming only Halal products since guidelines are mandated by the Quran, and not adhering to them is considered as sin. The inclusion of even a single facet that is haram in the processing of any halal product renders the end product haram (unfit for consumption by a Muslim). These form the basis for Halal economy as well as the guidance by Islamic scholars to Muslims world over on this subject. Read More

What is Halal Certification ?

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation is a collective of Islamic nations that caters to the needs to Muslims world over. It is an Ummah (community) sans borders. It has made non Islamic nations like India, Nepal, China to obtain Halal certification from competent certifying authorities, for products that they wish to export to Islamic countries. So now, every exporter has to pay up to obtain this certification. Halal certifying authority pays more attention to religious aspects rather than the functioning. It is also not possible for the companies to employ only Muslim employees when operating in non Islamic countries (Da al-harb). So companies today are being ‘asked’ to pay up large sums of money as ‘halal certification fees’ if they want their products to be certified for use by Muslims. 

Not only food, from medicine to lipstick also Halal

The Global Halal Certification Market is no longer limited to meats, but touches every sphere of our daily lives – from meats to packages foods, from housing projects to hospitals, from medicines to beauty products; even malls are not exempt ! Halal friendly tourism also takes place in today’s date and warehouse also gets Halal certificate. Halal is also involved in logistics, media, branding and marketing. There are halal certified dating websites that do this in a sharia compliant way. A Kochi-based builder had even recently offered to sell halal-certified apartments. Anyone who wishes to export their products to Islamic countries has to be Halal Certified.

Why do companies sell Halal products to everyone?

The value of the Halal market is more than 3 trillion dollars (Rs 24,71,38,50,00,00,000). Its market is growing at the rate of 15-20% every year. Of these, the share of food items is only 6-8%. About 32% of the world’s population is Muslim. They have a huge consumer base and are important to the manufacturers. No industry would want to make the same product in two ways, one that is Halal certified and the other for non-Islamic countries. This will also increase the cost and also complicate the production. For this reason, companies find it easier to sell the same product to everyone by taking a Halal certificate.

Who gives Halal certificate?

There are five or six institutions in India that issue Halal certificates. The highest demand is from Jamiat-Ulama-e-Maharashtra and Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind Halal Trusts. Sharia committees decide whether to issue a halal certificate by looking at the reports and documents submitted by the company. It does not seem that there is scientific or analytical testing of the product. The government has no role in this whole process.

• Where does the money for Halal certificates end up going?
• Why are non-Muslims forced to buy Halal certified products?
• Where do the agencies issuing halal certificates use such a huge amount?

These are some important questions repeatedly asked on Halal in India. Shri. Ramesh Shinde, National Spokesperson of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti wrote in a article that, Halal Economy – standing at 2 trillion dollars it competes with the Indian GDP! A parallel economic system entrenched in religion is taking shape; which will certainly have an impact on the ‘secular’ fabric of India. Hindus should avoid buying ‘Halal’ certified products and products of such companies which are ‘Islamising’ Hindu traditions. 

Saroj Chadha, who has served 23 years in the Indian Army, wrote in his blog on the Times of India that the government’s intervention will anger not only Indian Muslims, but the Islamic world as well. It can also be projected as a curtailment of the fundamental rights of Muslims. It would be better to let the consumer decide. If non-Muslims feel that Halal certification is cheating on them or it hurts their sentiments, then they should not buy such products.