Corruption Has No Place In Halal

 There has been a lot of talk about corrupt practices in the Halal industry. Some halal certification bodies try to manipulate the halal certifications. Even some manufacturers in various countries try to cheat their consumers to make money by actually providing non-halal food items.

We have written extensively on the topic and we advocate for the transparency of the halal certification system so that malpractices in the halal certification can be significantly reduced if not eliminated entirely.

WMCO World Muslim Consumers Organization started this petition to the next President of Indonesia after their coming general election.

Halal is an Islamic term which means lawful; permissible; ethical; pure; free from adulteration, harm, oppression & corruption etc. Haram is the opposite of Halal and means impermissible and unlawful. The halal/haram term is not only about food consumption but is an integral part of everyday Muslim life.

In order to provide a halal-certified product to the Muslim market, it must be guaranteed by a competent Muslim government authority. In some cases, the government authority may delegate the responsibility of conformance assurance to a responsible, credible third party, in this case, halal certification bodies in their respective countries.

Up to now, there is no clear assurance regulation or arrangement in force by law regarding the halal product assurance in Indonesia. Halal can thus be easily manipulated and misused in terms of conformity and compliance due to non-transparency and lack of authoritative management and control.

Such conditions will give rise to the abuse of power and mislead the process in the halal supply chain including producing haram products, which are passed off as halal. Corrupt Halal Certification Bodies from foreign lands, having financial influence, can easily manipulate and contaminate the system with their unfair, corrupt and criminal practices.

The above was witnessed in 2016 when a large number of halal certification bodies were victims of an extortion case by leading individuals representing a halal authority. Their corrupt action was blatant illegal conduct!

The above illegal practices, mentioned above are prevalent till now.

Corruption causes serious reputational harm and damage to the entire institution of Halal. It makes our societies sick, destroys goodness, stunts and disables progress & prevents development.

We, therefore, ask you to protect the halal consumers by increasing the credibility and confidence in implementing Standards against corruption in all relevant institutions, which have a key function in providing legislation, standards and assurance systems to the global community.

Please feel free to sign the petition:          http://chng.it/B44vYpHD