Thursday, 07 February 2013 17:49
The Government and the All Ceylon
Jaamiyathul Ulama (ACJU), reiterated today, that obtaining of the halal
certificate is voluntary and the entire process is based on International
specifications.
Leader of the House and Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, on behalf of the government, made a detailed response today to Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who asked the government to take steps to ease religious tension. In his statement the previous day, Mr. Wickremesinghe said that the ACJU, the apex body of Muslim clerics, had no legal power to issue Halal certification on business ventures.
The minister said that anyone had the
right either to reject or accept Halal certified food items, but nobody would
be allowed to impose it on another.
Mr. de Silva replied that ACJU campaigned vigorously for Sri Lanka in Geneva last year, and the government remained ever grateful to them. Therefore, he said the government regretted Mr. Wickremesinghe’s critical remarks on ACJU.
Mr. de Silva replied that ACJU campaigned vigorously for Sri Lanka in Geneva last year, and the government remained ever grateful to them. Therefore, he said the government regretted Mr. Wickremesinghe’s critical remarks on ACJU.
“We regret such a statement against ACJU
merely because they refused to act as the cat’s paw of the opposition,” he
said.
Besides, the Leader of the House said
that Halal certification is essential in international trade; it is followed by
some European countries in addition to Muslim countries in the world.
“Internationally, Halal certification is
issued by the World Halal Food Council based in Indonesia. It has accredited
worldwide organizations to issue such certification. In Sri Lanka,
ACJU has been accredited for it,” he said.
As a result, he said, there is no need
for the government to give ACJU legal recognition for that purpose.
“It is purely an Islamic religious
affair. One has the right to reject or accept Halal food. Yet, we will not
allow anyone to impose it on another,” he said.
However, the Opposition Leader disputed
this claim and charged that ACJU earned money fraudulently by issuing Halal
certification.
“ACJU is involved in a fraud. They
campaigned for Milinda Moragoda at the last Municipal Council Elections,” he
said.
Meanwhile, the ACJU today reiterated that
the Halal certificate was a voluntarily obtained certificate by businesses and
refuted “unfounded allegations on the amounts charged for issuing of
certificates”
Addressing a news briefing, ACJU Halal
division secretary Moulavi Murshid Mulaffer said he regretted the continuous
false propaganda generated by various elements regarding the ‘Halal
certification’.
“I speak to you with a lot of sorrow. We
don’t understand the reason or the motive behind these false allegations
regarding the Halal system. This is a very transparent process and all our
accounts have been duly audited and submitted to the government. All
allegations to the effect that this is a multi-million rupee business are
totally false” he said.
Moulavi Mulaffer went on to add that the
Halal division is not a company or a business but an association which provides
services.
“Like any other association we
charge a fee for the services provided. Each product that is under the Halal
certificate would cost less than ten cents and there are no instances of this
being passed to a general consumer” he said.
Speaking further the cleric, explained
that according to Islamic law, every “process” must be Halal, thus the reason
for mineral water, cake and other products to fall under the scope of the
certification.
“The Halal certificate for cake is
given to certify that the cake is free of any additives that have been
considered haram. The need for a Islamic certified banking rests on the need to
have a banking system free of interest, gambling and other such encumbrances’
which are prohibited” he said,
In an emotional appeal, the cleric
requested all those who need to verify facts to contact the Jamiyathul Ulema
and they will furnish them will all facts and figures regarding the process.
“ We urge any party to come to us and talk to us,we are ready to dispel all these myths and falsities that are now brewing in the country. We want to live in peace with everyone and therefore it is a must that we all be tansparent. We are a transparent organization and we are open to furnish anyone with any details regarding this process” he said.
Speaking at the briefing Moulavi Fazli Farook, of the All Ceylon Jamiyathu Ulama, called for religious tolerance.
“ We urge any party to come to us and talk to us,we are ready to dispel all these myths and falsities that are now brewing in the country. We want to live in peace with everyone and therefore it is a must that we all be tansparent. We are a transparent organization and we are open to furnish anyone with any details regarding this process” he said.
Speaking at the briefing Moulavi Fazli Farook, of the All Ceylon Jamiyathu Ulama, called for religious tolerance.
“This country has suffered enough due to
the brutal war now we have to move forward. Every Muslim in this country was
born a Sri Lankan, will live as a Sri Lankan and will die as a Sri Lankan” he
said.