What if from tomorrow you are told to register for a Halal Lifestyle Certificate? Will you be ok to be assessed based on the Sharia law to decide what you can and cannot do in your life? Sooner or later, the whole world will have to live, eat, dress and do everything as per the Sharia law considering the propagation of Islamic views and rules in the system, and the growing Islamic population by the means of more no children per couple and conversion factories set by the fanatics. Every product that is sold needs a “Halal Certification” to hold a higher standard and stability in the international market today. It would not be a surprise if in some time all the eateries are also put in a clause to be halal compliant to get health and fire licences. While we thought we were marching towards a Unified Law, Sharia has been sneaking in through all crevices to destroy our democracy.
The Commerce Ministry of the Government of India announced on April 6 the requirements for halal certification of meat and meat products expressly for export. According to the announcement, the facility from where the meat and meat products are produced, processed, and packaged must possess a current certificate issued by a body recognised by the Board of Quality Council of India (QCI) for them to be exported as “halal certified.” The ability of meat producers to export non-halal meat and meat products is unaltered previously. In addition, notwithstanding the Indian halal certification, the producer, seller, and exporter of meat and meat products must adhere to the rules established by the nations that would be importing their products. In January of this year, the government issued a request for comments on the draught regulations for halal certification for the export of meat and meat products, as suggested by the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT), a division of the commerce ministry that handles issues relating to import and export.
The National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) must accredit the country’s current halal certification organisations for them to participate in the Indian Conformity Assessment Scheme (i-CAS) Halal, according to the DGFT’s notification. The statement said: “Meat and meat products shall be allowed to be exported as ‘halal certified’, only if produced, processed and/or packaged in a facility having a valid certification under the i-CAS of the Quality Council of India (QCI), issued by a certification body duly accredited by the NABCB as per the guidelines issued/amended from time to time.” The notification applies to all meat and meat products, including sausages, fish, meat from sheep and goats, and bovine animal flesh. Notably, no other items have received notification under the same method; it currently only pertains to meat and meat-related products.
India already has halal certification, but it is not governed. Many nations only allow halal products to be imported, so businesses in India obtain certification from private organisations. The new certification process is intended to make it easier for only Government- Authorized companies to certify meat and meat products as coming from the country being halal. Furthermore, it has been asserted that the substantial Muslim population in the nation would create new opportunities for businesses based on halal practices.
The Government of India’s announcement gave definitions and a detailed discussion of what constitutes halal. What is said in the letter is as follows.
Islamic Shariah is the revelation given to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) regarding the presumptive or conclusive thoughts, feelings, and deeds of the commanded.
The term “Halal” refers to items, processes, or systems that are regarded as legal (Tayeib) or permissible by Islamic Shariah law and do not include or contain any elements that are regarded as illegal (haram) by Islamic law, as well as to actions that are permitted by Shariah law without the perpetrator facing punishment. The term Haram refers to anything that is prohibited or forbidden in the Islamic law. Any item that can be eaten, drunk, injected, inhaled, applied, worn, or otherwise used by Islamic law must meet the specifications outlined in this standard.
Halal food refers to food and drink that satisfies the following requirements and is compliant with Shariah law: a) doesn’t contain any components or byproducts from animals that aren’t considered halal by Shariah law or from animals that weren’t killed by Shariah law; b) by Shariah law, lacks najs; c) non-toxic, non-intoxicating, or non-hazardous to health; safe for eating; d) not made, processed, or prepared using tools tainted with najis by Shariah law; e) doesn’t contain any derivatives made from human parts that are prohibited by Shariah law; f) the food is physically segregated from any other food that does not comply with the standards outlined in items a), b), c), d), or e), as well as any other items that have been designated as najs by Shariah law, during its preparation, processing, handling, packing, storage, and distribution.
Najs, a word that in Arabic denotes impurity or impureness, as well as dirt, filth, or contamination. Najis in the sense of Shariah law include: a) Canines, pigs, and their offspring; b) Halal food contaminated with non-halal substances; c) Halal food that comes into contact with non-halal items directly; d) any liquid or substance expelled from a human or an animal’s orifices, such as urine, blood, vomit, pus, placenta, excrement, sperm and ova from pigs and dogs, but not from sperm or ova from other animals;
NOTE. Milk, sperm and ova of humans and animals, except dogs and pigs, are not najs.
e) dead or unkilled animals that are not killed by Shariah law; and f) Khamal and any meal or drink that includes or contains khamar.
Three varieties of Najs exist: I) Mughallazah, which are pigs and dogs (khinzirj, which includes any liquid or substance ejected from their orifices, descendants, and derivatives), is regarded as a severe form of najs;
ii) the light najs are known as mukhaffafah. solely urine from a baby boy younger than two years old who has solely received his mother’s milk falls within this category of najs.
iii) mutawassitah, which is classified as a medium najs and does not come under the categories of severe or light najs, includes things like vomit, pus, blood, khamar, carrion, fluids, and objects that are released from orifices, among other things.
Slaughter (Tazkeya): According to Shariah law, the act of slaughter involves severing the animal’s trachea (halqum), oesophagus (mari), and both carotid arteries and jugular veins (wadajain) to speed the animal’s death by blood loss. The definitions and descriptions have not been altered in any way.
Since it is a Sharia requirement, the only way to ensure that the food and services are “Halal” is to require the businesses to hire Muslims who are knowledgeable about Sharia law and practices. Notably, it is stated that it will be the organization’s obligation to ensure that there is a qualified person to check compliance under the organisation and management responsibility part. That implies that they must choose a Muslim or another qualified individual who is well-versed in Islamic Sharia Law. Regardless of how much it highlights the need for “someone knowledgeable about Islamic law,” it is an unspoken requirement that the person responsible for ensuring compliance will be a Muslim.
Additionally, it states that “The management shall ensure that they are trained on the Halal principles and its application,” which requires all individuals in charge of the manufacturing and supply chain to undergo this training. If a slaughterhouse is providing Halal meat, then the premises shall be dedicated to Halal slaughtering and Halal processing only. This is one of the reasons that companies do not provide Jhatka meat and meat products if they are Halal certified. It is much easier for them to stick to one process of slaughtering rather than establish two separate sections. One of the most important aspects of Halal slaughtering is that only a practising Muslim can perform it. This means that non-Muslims, Hindus, or Sikhs cannot obtain employment at slaughterhouses where halal meat is prepared. Thousands of Hindus and Sikhs in the Kasai community are denied access to regulated employment in the sector because of this discriminatory practice. Additionally, if a Hindu or Sikh wants to run an abattoir to export Halal meat, he must only hire Muslims to perform the actual slaughtering.
Numerous private bodies certify Indian businesses as Halal. Many of them are recognised by the Middle Eastern nations, which demand that products be Halal before Indian businesses can sell them there. These institutions include Jamait Ulama-E-Maharashtra, Halal India Private Limited, and Jamait Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust, among many others. One of these organisations that have drawn criticism is Jamait Ulama-i-Hind. OpIndia detailed how this specific group offers legal assistance to terrorists. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind has reportedly volunteered its services to about 700 defendants, according to a New Indian Express article. The fact that these interventions have been successful in obtaining acquittals for at least 192 terrorist suspects since 2007 is concerning.
The commercial notice published in January of this year indicated that non-Muslims in India are willing to purchase Halal goods. It stated, “The Halal market draws Muslim and non-Muslim consumers due to changing Consumer Perception. However, Muslim consumers typically consider Halal food products primarily because of religious issues, so the perception of Halal products and purchase intention are not quite the same. Contrarily, the growing concern of the health-conscious society, which demands well-prepared products in terms of the slaughtering process, sanitation, and other reasons, is influencing the rising demand from non-Muslim consumers around the world. In addition, cultural assimilation in a multicultural nation like India has influenced non-Muslim consumers’ intentions to buy Halal food items.
Several Hindu organisations responded to the Indian government’s request for comment on the Halal India certification in January 2023. The Hindu Janajagruti Samiti was one of them. “We submitted our response to the government last week in March,” the spokesperson stated. However, it appears that the government has chosen not to implement the recommendations made by us and other Hindu organisations. It should be noted that although February was the deadline for submissions, HJS said in its submission that the timeframe was insufficient. Interestingly, many people weren’t even aware of the notification, much less had the time to submit any submissions in this respect. Shinde continued, “According to the notification, the government has chosen to keep working with the groups that grant the Halal certification in India rather than creating a separate unit for it under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). According to him, the structure won’t alter at all if the organisations that presently offer certification can obtain official government recognition. If there had been a Halal certifying authority under the government’s department, these organisations would continue to get the money that could have gone to the treasury.
Citing Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, India’s largest halal certifying organisation, which is notorious for aiding terrorists in getting legal representation. “Do you believe that when this organisation receives official approval for Halal certification, the funds it raises won’t be utilised to provide legal assistance to terrorists and other anti-Indian groups? What guarantees exist that these organisations won’t use the money they make from providing Halal certification to fund any anti-Indian activities? The government must develop guidelines for how the funds can be used and make sure the NGOs abide by them, he continued.
Shinde stated that the FSSAI, a government-established standard for food safety that is unrelated to religion, already exists. The safety of the food goods is ensured by FSSAI standards, he said. Why was it necessary to bring a particular certification associated with a certain religion? Shinde thinks it will be a slippery slope even though the government has informed us that the new certification is solely for the meat and meat products that are to be exported.
Jhatka meat and meat products are more popular among Hindus and Sikhs. Hindus and Sikhs reject Halal meat and meat products because of their religious beliefs, he said. However, the majority of restaurants in India don’t say whether they serve Jhatka or Halal meat. According to HJS’s response, the halal market has grown to include non-halal housing, services, taxis, vegetarian food, cosmetics, and other goods and services. The group cited the “proudly” declared fact that fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, and Pizza Hut only offer Halal meat and meat products in their restaurants. These businesses have chosen not to comply with the dietary needs of the Hindus and Sikhs, who together make up the bulk of the country’s meat-eating population, despite the anger.
Shinde highlighted once more that bringing the notification was not necessary at the moment. Additionally, he made the point that simply labelling meat and meat products “Halal” and stamping them with a government-issued stamp will not mean anything. He said that in 2020 a long-running scam involving meat that was purported to be Halal beef but was imported kangaroo meat from Australia was uncovered in Malaysia. What notable change would such a hasty declaration bring to India if they can’t guarantee Halal meat in Islamic countries? Shinde inquired.
In the Indian market, Halal meat and meat products must be properly marked, according to Shinde. He encouraged the government to create a law requiring businesses, restaurants, etc., to disclose that they provide food and services that are Halal-certified. To ensure that the religious feelings of non-Muslims are not offended, he added that there should be an alternate certification for non-Halal food products and services. Hindus and Sikhs ought to be given the option to eat at restaurants and use other services without violating their religious beliefs. At this level, it should not be acceptable to force Sikhs and Hindus to accept Halal. “The government’s material, which was made available, goes into great depth about what Halal is and what it takes to make anything Halal, according to Shinde. It is a custom of Islam.
If everything will be classified as Halal and Haram henceforth in India too, then most of Hindustan will be termed as Kafir and our habits as Haram. What do we do? Why is everyone forced to follow the Sharia Law? If the central and state governments do not take this issue seriously, future children might have to provide a certificate for Halal Lifestyle to get entry everywhere and to exist. Would you be ready to have an Aadhar Card, Birth Certificate and Halal Life Certificate in future to survive in our country?
