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By Fort O. Nicolas, Correspondent
DAVAO CITY: What’s the fuss about “halal”
food?
In Islam, a faithful is required to make sure
that no unclean substance gets inside the body. Hence, Muslims
follow a certain process to ascertain that their foods are clean or
“halal,” an Arabic term that means “permissible according to
the Koran,” the Islamic version of the Christian Bible.
Animals, like cows and goats, must be
slaughtered, and its blood spilled for them to be considered halal,
according to Aleem Jamaal Munib, executive director of Madrasah and
chairman of the Philippine Halal Accreditation Board (PHAB) in
Region 11.
The only food that cannot be cleaned no matter
what process it is put through is pork, which is declared
irreversibly “haram” or forbidden since Islamic beliefs
pinpointed the pig as the dirtiest animal that God ever created.
But even chickens that scavenged food need to be
quarantined for three days and given clean feeds before Muslims can
eat them.
“Certainly, a Muslim who happens to eat
something that is “haram” does not commit a crime in this
country and will not be jailed or penalized,” Munib said during a
media forum in January in Marco Polo in Davao City. “But he
commits a sin in the eyes of God.”
Munib complained of restaurants and food chains
that pass themselves off as “halal-certified” but actually are
not just to attract Muslim customers, who, in the process, commit a
sin without knowing it by eating “haram” foods.
Some manufacturers of canned goods brazenly
declare their products “halal” when these had not been certified
nor monitored by authorities.
But the Islamic leader expressed hopes this will
all change after March 13, 2008. On this date, some 100 “Ulama”
or Muslim leaders are set to meet President Gloria Arroyo in Malacañang
to ask her to recognize the Philippine Halal Accreditation Board as
an official partner of the Department of Trade and Industry that
will monitor and curb the abuses some establishments commit against
this holy Islamic practice.
The accreditation board is a private group, but
Munib said the Trade department has given its assurance that it will
endorse the organization to the President.
Once given the official clout, the Philippine
Halal Accreditation Board can immediately set up standards and
guidelines not only to police the abuses but also pave the way for
the Philippines to get a piece of the action in the global halal
industry worth $600 billion.
“Remember that we are the only bird flu-free
country in Southeast Asia,” Munib said. “Imagine if we can get
even just one percent of the global market.”
The market for halal food even in the region
alone is vast, he discloses, as Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia are
the biggest halal consumers in Southeast Asia.
“But the problem is that these countries would
only import through a government-to-government arrangement,” Munib
explained. “Unless there is an official “halal” accreditation
body, they would not get these goods from the Philippines.”
“Hopefully, all these problems will be solved
after March 13,” he said.
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