The halal conundrum: sanity must prevail

 

Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa

It all started when Na’im Mokhtar, the minister in charge of religious affairs, made an official statement that the Islamic development department (infamously known as Jakim) is considering making it mandatory for restaurants not serving pork or alcohol, to be halal certified.

This was followed by a knee-jerk response by the Seputeh MP Teresa Kok saying that such a ruling would be an embarrassment to the country. How would such a ruling embarrass the country is still a complete enigma to me, given that Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country that has been at the forefront in promoting the halal industry and halal ecosystem for many years.

Kok also remarked that mandating such a rule will put extra burden on small businesses and increase administrative costs. Wouldn’t an increase in administrative cost be normalised, and in fact diminished, with a surplus in the businesses due to the removal of the rate-limiting factor regarding the halal status via halal certification. More and more Muslims would definitely frequent a restaurant where they have no doubts about the religious permissibility (halalness) of the food. This is what this article aims at elucidating.

As a matter of fact, not many non-Muslims realise the importance that Muslims attribute to the consumption of halal food. The Qur’ān is very clear about this:

“O MANKIND! Partake of what is lawful and good (halālan thayyiban) on earth, and follow not Satan’s footsteps: for, verily, he is your open foe.”

[Surah al-Baqara; 2:168]

Islamic teachings on this matter are categorical: food or drinks must be free of pork, intoxicants, poisons, and any harmful or unhygienic elements.

The animals that are allowed to be consumed must be slaughtered in accordance with Islamic rites for them to be halal for consumption.

We will not go into detail about the usage of the stunning method prior to slaughtering as in the West since it is not within the scope of this writing.

But it suffices to say that PORK-FREE as advertised on many restaurants’ billboards, especially in the Klang valley, DOES NOT in any way mean that the food prepared is halal, from halal meat, or ingredients.

In my view, this is a misleading advertisement to woo the innocent and unperceptive Muslim customers to patronise such restaurants.

This is where I think Jakim feels the need to enforce this law. Of course, when anything emanates from Jakim, then we see all the guns blazing out and people, especially the non-Muslims, up in arms.

One wonders then why it is now that Muslims are very concerned about the food they eat.

Similarly, more and more women are donning the hijab now. Whether we like it or not, everything started way back in 1979 with the Islamic Revolution of Iran. From then onwards, Muslims in general became increasingly aware that Islam is not merely a cultural religion, but a weltanshauung—a worldview or way of life.

Islam does not only talk about the system of life; it also talks about the vertical relationship between man and God (hablum-minallāh) as well as the horizontal relationship between man and other human beings (hablum-minannās). It is a wrong perception that only conservative Muslims would be keen on these halal issues. In fact, it affects all segments of the Muslim community, including the so-called liberals.

Being liberal does not equate to consuming non-halal food, drinking alcohol, or fornicating. But liberalism is more embraced by many Muslims modernists in the area of democracy and human rights. Just look at the argument on Islam’s insistence that every individual determines his or her destiny, is personally responsible for his or her actions, and can communicate with God directly without the need for the imam’s mediation.

This indicates that every individual should be treated as equal in the eyes of God. Instead of simply following the 

rigid

 texts, many Muslim liberals also see reason and rationalism as a window to truth, and advocate a reasoned faith. Hence, it is a wrong assumption that those who hold fast to Islamic values are only the traditionalists, and to castigate the 

liberals

 as being loose with their interpretations and conviction.

Going back to the issue at hand, we must first respect the will of the majority of the people (read: Muslims) in this country, both conservatives and liberals, who would like to embrace Islam as a way of life in the 21st century, and who wish to eat and drink in this country without having to ask whether it is halal or not.

Let this country be the first Muslim-majority country in the world to provide this opportunity to its citizens. We should be proud of our halal ecosystem and multi-billion ringgit halal industry that spurs our economy. Indeed, Muslims like to frequent non-Muslim eateries as well, provided they are halalān thayyiban (lawful and good).

This intended regulation could be a win-win situation for both non-Muslim restaurateurs and Muslim customers alike. - FMT

Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa holds a PhD in Surgery from Monash University Australia and is a Doctoral Candidate in Islamic Studies at Universiti Muhammadiyah Malaysia.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.