halalfocus.net » Shariah Issues

Women in Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council, what next?

salama — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:42:42 +0000

By Samar Fatany

Global Arab Network - Saudi Arabia – The recent decision by Saudi King Abdullah to allow women to run and vote in municipal elections and become members of the Shura Council, a parliament that acts as an advisory council to the King but has no legislative powers, has huge implications for the status of women in Saudi Arabia and has provided them with hope for what they may accomplish with their new roles.

In his 26 September inaugural speech at the Shura Council, King Abdullah rejected the marginalisation of women in all sectors and encouraged their participation in political life. Citing examples of prominent women throughout Islamic history, his speech showed great determination to empower Saudi women and end attempts to undermine their role in the name of Islam. The King stressed the need to modernise society and attacked those who opposed the inclusion of women in decision-making processes.

King Abdullah’s decision has followed several statements in which he publically supported the integration of women into the workforce and welcomed the contributions of women to the economic prosperity of the country.

Legalised discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia has continued over several decades due to the influence of religious hardliners who misinterpret Islamic concepts. Some decision makers have used distorted Islamic rulings to support their conservative ideas, for example that women should not participate in nation-building, should remain inside their homes and should not have any role in the country’s future.

But the participation of women in the Shura and municipal councils will finally provide women with the opportunity to end the discrimination against them in the public and private sectors.

They will be able to exert pressure on the government through their lobbying within the Shura, and provide official recommendations addressing the challenges that have hindered their progress, such as the ban on women driving, the reluctance of the public to support women in leadership positions, the strict culture of segregation within society, the niqab (a face veil worn in addition to the headscarf) which can compromise the level of efficiency and professionalism of women’s careers, and discriminatory policies at some workplaces.

Women in the Shura can also serve the interests of women currently in the workforce by pushing for adequate maternity leave, reasonable working hours, onsite nurseries and equal pay.

Women council members could also promote the advancement of women’s status in society by the very fact that they will demonstrate that women can participate in and shape public life. Their newly recognised positions could promote a greater respect for women as they face the challenges of modern life.

Many Saudi women hope that women in the Shura will be able to challenge extreme religious rulings that are incompatible with Muslim women’s realities in today’s world. Among the issues that they could raise would be the need for a codified system to ensure a uniform application of Islamic laws. This would allow women to become familiar with their legal rights in Islam and not be at the mercy of the whims of family court judges, some of whom sanction domestic abuse or deliberately rule in favour of an abusive male guardian simply because he is a man.

As a first step, the women in the Shura will be expected to call for the elimination of laws governing legal guardianship, which give men rights over their wives, daughters, etc., and to address the injustices toward women in cases of unjust or disproportionate jail sentences, floggings, child marriages, domestic abuse, child custody or divorce.

The women in the Shura could also have a significant impact by advocating women’s participation in governmental and managerial positions. Together with other parts of civil society, such as the chamber of commerce or human rights organisations, the female council members could also inform male politicians and managers about the realities of women who suffer from discrimination and encourage them to work for change.

The challenges facing women are still overwhelming. And it may take another generation – or even two – to achieve the shift in the role of women in Saudi society that many of us have long desired. However, the inclusion of women in the Shura Council is a significant first step towards a society where women can assume leadership positions in public life and achieve proper justice.

Global Arab Network

* Samar Fatany is a chief broadcaster and journalist in the English service of Radio Jeddah and a social activist who has been involved in fighting extremism and enhancing the role of women and youth in Saudi society. She is also a columnist for Arab News and the author of three books. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).

UAE: “Halal market witnessing significant growth worldwide

salama — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 14:55:30 +0000

Al Islami Foods in a report on the Halal market, drew to the importance of ”development that commensurate with its expansion to include major countries and communities in the world, the sector provides many possibilities for investors including the areas of food companies to contribute in”.

The Chief Executive Deputy, Hamid Badawi, stressed on the importance of creating global standards for the “Halal” industry as a step towards transforming it to a global economic power, as well as strengthen efforts to provide a “global certificates for Halal” according to these criteria.

He said that “creating legislation to regulate the global “Halal” industry is one of the most prominent factors that enhance the performance of this growing sector worldwide”.

“Meanwhile many countries are preparing themselves to enter the “Halal” industry such as China, France and Japan,” he added.

Noting that the “Halal” Industrial compounds ” are developed in many countries including Malaysia and Britain, through participation of the private sector and the authorities of regional development, which enhance the communication channels between each compound and farmer associations and local authorities in the region in which it works”.

“The availability of such complexes, is the appropriate infrastructure to meet the requirements of the “Halal” market growing at more than 30 countries with Muslim majority in the world, as well as large parts of Africa and the presence of Muslim communities in Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe”.

He believed that the launch of the index of Halal food “SAMI” in Malaysia this year which is the first in the world, represents a great value for investors, as it is an important step for the construction of the sector, and building strong combination of sectors of the Halal Food and Islamic banking, including providing financing channels leading to support the growth of “Halal” food companies and strengthen its position in the world”.

Badawi pointed out that ” the prime motication to drive the growth process and strengthening the position of “Halal” in the global markets, is joining efforts to raise awareness of the health benefits and multilateral trade provided by this sector in light of its growth and attractive returns, and encouraging more investors to enter this area”.

Second Article

Go Halal: Industry gaining good momentum

4 September 2011 DUBAI — From farm to fork, Halal is simply the better meat and its major health and business benefits help growth in the market, according to industry specialists.

The worldwide Halal food industry is estimated to be over $650 billion, and this segment currently accounts for approximately 16 per cent of the global food market.

Speakers at a recent forum agreed that the immediate potentials for investors of Halal food market are in acquiring high net worth Halal food producers, slaughterhouses, ingredients production, Halal livestock, Halal raw meat and Halal industrial parks.

The forum was jointly organised by Al Islami Foods and CNBC Arabia. Industry experts who were invited to the forum include Al Islami Foods deputy chief executive officer Hamid Badawi, sales and marketing head Alaa Kamal of US-based Midamar Middle East and general manager Wahid Kandil of Canada-based Prairie Halal Foods Middle East.

“From a business point of view, Halal has some major health and business benefits. That is why the market is developing. Attractive growth numbers are grabbing attention of investors,” Badawi said on the fast growth of the market.

“A Global Halal Standard and Global Halal Certification,” Hamid asserted, “is key to resolve the sensitive issues faced by the industry, otherwise the market will remain fragmented and in regional hubs.”

Legislations for Halal certification vary from one Islamic school of thought, called Madhab in Arabic, to another. Each school of thought and country has its own legislations for Halal certification.

Malaysia is one of the key players in the global Halal sector, the others being Australia, Brazil, Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei, with China, France and Japan planning to enter soon. Currently, the market is in its natural evolution process.

However, regions and countries differ on Shariah rules of standards and certifications. At present, the Halal market is in the brain-storming phase of developing Common Halal Standard and Common Halal Certification that are acceptable to all four Madahib of Islamic world.

In recent developments, the Halal industry has diversified into Halal industrial parks and Halal marketing. The Halal park is the Halal supply chain and logistics, ports and shipping part of the industry. Halal parks are being developed in partnership with private sector as well as regional development authorities of Malaysia, the UK, the EU, Brazil and other OIC countries.

Later, these parks will be linked with regional and international Halal parks. Each park will be connected with local livestock farms, enterprise community and the local authorities.

These services Halal parks provide include strong support from the local government; developed infrastructure; vibrant business environment for local and foreign investors; educated and skilled workforce; accessibility to a wide range of Halal finance; Islamic banking and Takaful insurance facilities; availability of research and development facilities; institution of higher learning through strategic partnership; and Halal logistics links in land, sea and air.

Lately, SAMI, the world’s first Halal Food Index, was launched in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is considered a significant development in the Halal industry. It translates a substantial investing platform being developed.

The Halal market includes food and ingredients, beverages, personal care items including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, herbal products, Islamic fashion and leather products, tourism and hospitality products, auditing, security and warehousing, banking and insurance.

abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com

Kuwait: Resolutions from the ‘First Gulf Conference on Halal and its Services’

hamid — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 07:11:11 +0000

In the name of Allah the Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran: “Eat of that which Allah has provided for the lawful and good and fear Allah in Whom you are believers,” (The Table (88)

Praise be for Allah and prayer and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.
Under the patronage of His Excellency Chancellor Rashed Abdul Mohsen Al-Hammad, Deputy Prime Minister for Legal Affairs, and Minister of Justice, the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, the First Gulf Conference on Halal and its Services was held from 20-22 Safar 1432 AH corresponding to 24 to 26 January 2011, in the Holiday Inn Hotel, Salmiya, Kuwait.

This Conference comes as part of Kuwait’s genuine interest in reviewing the Islamic, scientific and economic and commercial aspects relating to the Halal industry and its services. The organizers also share these noble interests and therefore wish to prepare recommendations that have proper grounds in Islamic Sharia, scientifically substantiated and applicable. Moreover, the organizers believe that all these efforts are exerted to promote safe and sound Islamic support for the Halal Industry and its services.

The respected participants have all commended the efforts made by the organizers of this conference to present this event appropriately and as a leading experience. The papers presented as well as the dialogue, discussions and interventions that took place in the conference have all resulted in the following recommendations:

Recommendations of the First Gulf Conference on Halal Industry and its Services

1. Establishing a unified Gulf office with a mission to oversee to Halal industry and its services. The GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) will act as the Technical Secretariat. The office will also establish corresponding national committees to be formed in each of the member states comprising of religious, scientific, and enforcement bodies. The head of the committee will be a member in the Office. The Office will set its objectives and mechanism of functioning. Members from outside the Office may also be invited to participate in its activities.

2. Working on the standardization of control procedures to verify the Halalness (permissibility) of imported food products for the GCC common market and coordinating the exchange of information with other Muslim countries.

3. The Conference calls for providing the necessary financial support for scientific research centers and universities to conduct research on ways to detect Haram (prohibited) materials in the foods, considering the great need for such findings in substantiating the religious decisions adopted by the Islamic jurisprudence bodies.

4. The Conference recommends applying caution with the use of stunning methods as much as possible and alternatively advocates wider use of hand slaughtering, with emphasis on the enforcement of the Islamic jurisprudence bodies resolutions, and in particular the Decision of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy No: 95 (3 / 10).

5. The Conference reaffirms the right of consumer to know the slaughtering method used to be written clearly on the food label.

6. The Conference calls on regulators to pursue enforcing standard specifications for Halal products and increasing periodic field visits to the concern factories and slaughterhouses.

7. The Conference recommends referring the scientific papers presented throughout the conference sessions on stunning methods to the International Islamic Fiqh Academy for review and appraisal.

8. The Conference calls on Muslim businessmen and investors to invest in the Halal industry and its services given the need of the Islamic nation for this industry.

At the conclusion of the conference the participants decided to extend their deepest thanks and gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, may Allah protect him, and His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister for Legal Affairs, and Minister of Justice, the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Chancellor Rashed Abdul Mohsen Al-Hammad Chancellor, for his patronage of the Conference.

Finally, we thank Allah for His grace, and ask Him to assist us all to serve Islam and the Muslims.

May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad, his family and companions

Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon you.

Opinion: When Haram Can Become Halal – Part II

salama — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 12:22:53 +0000

By Dr. Wan Azhar Wan Ahmad, Senior Fellow / Director, Center for the Study of Syariah, Law and Politics, Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM)

[Note: This article was published by The Star (Malaysia) on December 14, 2010. However, it was edited to the extent that I believe may distort readers’ understanding of the issue. Here is the full version of the writing].

This is a corollary, a continuation of my earlier article, “When haram can become halal,” (see HalalFocus) published by The Star on December 7. These two pieces must be read together before one can make any appropriate conclusion on the subject matter discussed.

The entire issue is extremely sensitive to Muslims and technical in nature. Thus readers are to go through the whole writing with patience and passion to the very end.

The second Islamic legal principle that complements my deliberation on istihalah last week is istihlak, or ‘extreme dilution’. Readers must be careful here so as not to confuse the two.

This concept materializes when a particular entity is entirely obliterated inside a second entity in such a manner that the former cannot be considered as part of the latter.

In our context, it refers to a situation whereby a prohibited substance is diluted in a lawful medium to the extent that none of the known properties of the prohibited substance are noticeable in the lawful medium.

When this takes place, the prohibited status of the first substance can be ignored, meaning it’s unlawfulness has no legal effect on the second medium.

To illustrate, if animals urinate in a lake, the water of this lake is still pure and lawful for drink and ablution, provided the noticeable properties of the water, i.e. its colour, smell and taste are unchanged by the urine.

Similarly if a drop of wine/blood founds its way into a glass full of clean water and becomes diluted in it, the water is still pure so long as the properties of the water remain unchanged. Here, the drop of wine/blood loses its identity. Hence the applicability of the law prohibiting intoxicant/blood ceases to exist.

This ‘extreme dilution’ principle is based on a hadith when people asked the Prophet about a well in which a carrion fell (carrion is considered impure and anything contaminated by it is equally impure). The Prophet SAW explained that if the water is more than a specified amount, then there was neither harm nor prohibition in using it. (The specified amount of water is required to ensure that the carrion will not change the properties of the water).

Another hadith supports the above. During the Prophet’s time, his companions continued to drink fruit juice until it showed signs of fermentation. They would only stop drinking the ‘juice’ if its smell or taste indicated that it had changed to wine, suggesting the presence of a considerable amount of alcohol in it.

But even before the fruit juice becomes wine, a certain amount of alcohol was already there. However, the amount of alcohol was too insignificant to affect its taste or smell. Thus the companions consciously ignored its purported prohibition.

The above shows that the mere presence of alcohol is not the determining basis for the prohibition of such a beverage containing it. This kind of beverage is declared unlawful by virtue of its intoxicating effects. A number of other hadiths affirm this.

Allow me to digress a bit. Alcohol here refers to ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, the intoxicating element in wine, beer, spirit and so on. It is produced by means of fermentation or distillation. Generally, the content of alcohol in beer is between 4 – 6%, in wine 9 – 16% and in spirit more than 20%. The fact that ethanol is added to other material to form liquor indicates that it is extremely harmful to be consumed in itself.

‘Khamr’ as related in the Qur’an is not this ethanol. The forbidden khamr here refers to the fermented liquor, and extended, by analogy to include any intoxicating beverages or drugs. Therefore, it is not ethanol per se that is prohibited by Islamic Law, but rather any beverages with intoxicating effect that wipes out one’s sanity.

If the mere presence of alcohol is the defining factor for prohibition, many other beverages, food items or other products containing it are to be equally declared so. Consider the following examples.

A certain amount of alcohol exist in ‘tapai’ (a delicacy made from rice or tapioca fermented with yeast), ‘tuak’ (a drink extracted from coconut tree, very popular in Kelantan), carbonated drinks and colas, or even in ‘budu’ (a sauce made from fermented salted anchovies/fish), all of which are consumed by a large portion of Muslims. But none of them is haram despite the presence of alcohol.

Let’s go back to our actual discourse. One might argue the validity of istihlak by citing the well known and authentic hadith to the effect that if a large amount of an intoxicating substance is prohibited, then a small amount of it, perhaps even a drop, is also forbidden.

My response goes as follows. The said hadith is literally applicable under normal circumstances. However, in our context here, the syari’e texts are to be interpreted wholistically by taking into consideration other relevant textual evidences as well.

Taking one particular verse from the Qur’an or one hadith in isolation of other related texts can lead to strange, irrational and contradictory rulings.

In light of the hadith referred to above, Muslim scholars have interpreted and qualified it in combination with the previous two situations (the carrion and fermented juice cases). Therefore, under special circumstances, or any situations comparable to that embodied in the two traditions, the ‘one drop’ hadith does not prevail.

As pointed out, a certain amount of alcohol is also present in tapai, tuak, colas, budu and so on. But, in reality, despite rigorous consumption, one is hardly affected by the alcohol contained in them since its amounts and concentration are so minimal and thus negligible.

Similarly, most cheeses are made with the help of milk-coagulating enzymes, such as pepsin or rennet, which can be taken from pigs or other animals. However, enzymes are catalysts, in the sense that they do not actually become part of the cheese itself. They only aid in its formation.

After the milk coagulates and the curds fall to the bottom, the remaining liquid and enzymes are drained off. While it is possible that some enzymes remain in the cheese, the concentration is minimal.

Another case of istihlak is the medicinal use of certain chemical compounds extracted by dissolving plant tissue in alcohol. The end product is virtually free of alcohol although it might contain some infinitesimal traces.

From the foregoing discussion, I would say that there is something common between istihalah and istihlak. This commonality, at least, refers to the inconsequential amount of prohibited substance in things Muslims consume or use.

All cited examples illustrating the two principles are real, pointing to the fact that the amount is too insignificant to the extent that it can only be traced by special machines or detectors, if any, with capabilities that go beyond what our naked senses may capture.

The question here, as Muslims, are we strictly supposed to go into that minutest details in ascertaining the lawfulness of things we use? Are we supposed to conduct a DNA test or employ other scientific methods to determine a 100% permissibility status of things?

Of course, every Muslim is obliged to be conscientious about what he/she does, be it the consumption of beverages/foods, nutritional supplements, medicinal, pharmaceuticals or cosmetic items.

But I am of the opinion that generally Muslims are not required to go and investigate into such a microscopic detail for every occasion of ambiguity. Until and unless convinced otherwise, I believe that the law pertaining to halal and haram is not applicable at the molecular or atomic level of things.

If we were to accept that the law is still relevant, say, at the DNA level, then we have no choice but to consider the excrement, blood and milk of cattle (the illustration for istihalah) are all haram though all of them come from the very same halal source.

For a lay Muslim, if he wants to buy a birthday cake, it is not strictly necessary for him to check whether or not the gelatin used is taken from pig or cattle, to the extent of visiting the factory manufacturing it in Canada for example, or by tracing the animal (if not pig) up to its farm in Argentina, or going to abattoirs in New Zealand to determine whether or not the animal was Islamically slaughtered.

One is also not supposed to buy a specially made device to detect the amount of prohibited substance down to its smallest measurable unit. All the steps mentioned are too troublesome for one to carry out every time one encounters such an uncertainty in any product.

It is sufficient for one to rely on what is manifest from the external noticeable features, or what the public perception say on it. In fact, in Islamic jurisprudence, most legal rulings are concluded based on what is obvious to the senses, decided so by general agreement of the community, endorsed by scholarly observation and rational arguments of majority jurists by means of preponderance probability (ghalabah al-zann), a legal principle that entails positive knowledge.

But for Muslim entrepreneurs, businessmen and other industrial players selling or producing items consumable by Muslims, it is their duty to ensure that their goods and products are safe from any noticeable prohibited substance.

Though I am personally inclined to say that perhaps the principle of istihalah is applicable to them in certain situations, there are other legal opinions saying that if they have the knowledge, it is haram for them to ignore such a prohibited substance.

To be on the safer side, a Muslim cheese manufacturer, for instance, is not supposed to use porcine originated from pig in his products if he can look for alternative material like bovine extracted from cattle.

This fraternity of business people must enjoy their profits and commercial gains responsibly, religiously, legally.

Now, Muslims must bear this in mind. Allah the Almighty admonishes the believers not to ask questions about things which if made plain and clear to them may cause them trouble (al-Ma’idah, 5: 101).

If they do not pay heed to this, they will become like the Jews, who, when Allah straightforwardly commands them to sacrifice a female cattle, they reacted by asking silly questions making its execution even more difficult for themselves, almost calling it off (al-Baqarah, 2: 67—71).

Commenting the story, Abdullah Yusuf Ali says those Israelites were actually treating the divine command as a jest.

Taking lesson from this event, Muslims today must never imitate or seen to reprise these attitude and behaviours, ‘mocking’ religious instructions and making life troublesome unnecessarily!

The Quranic reminders aforementioned are substantiated by the hadiths of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). His mission was never to inflict hardship on people, but to bring mercy to the whole creatures of the universe.

He counsels that religion is easy and always prefers an easier alternative from two or more options. He demonstrates this, for instance, by not having long recitals during prayers and never imposed that tarawih prayers during Ramadhan must be performed 20 cycles.

Having said all the above, I am not advocating that Muslim scientists have to give up their R & D and halt inventing devices to trace prohibited substances in any products related to Muslims.

On the contrary, it is their collective responsibility (fardhu kifayah) to do so. In fact, under certain circumstances, this responsibility may change to become personal obligation (fardhu ayn) to certain individual scientist.

But, if they manage to come out with any scientific gadget, such a device is not to be first marketed to the general masses.

It is quite ridiculous for those scientists to expect that ordinary members of the public will have to dig out their pockets to buy, say, a RM10K detector and to make it available in every household for one to inspect whether or not one’s vegetables contain a certain ‘nanogram’ amount of prohibited elements traceable to pig.

What is more advisable for those scientists is to go and urge the authorities responsible for Muslim affairs or even the government to take actions to protect and enhance the interests of Muslims in all aspects of life.

In the midst of abundant obscurities pertaining to the lawfulness of thousands of products used by Muslims, and upon discoveries made through those scientific devices, those authorities and government must take measures, for example, to encourage and to financially support more Muslim industrial players to produce halal gelatin and so on in huge entities.

But, often times, on the one hand, I am annoyed with the kind of ‘religious overzealousness’ of our people. On the other, as an academician, I am equally disturbed, flabbergasted, with what I perceive as the lackadaisical attitude, lack of commitment, lack of political will and sincerity of our political leaders.

While I applaud the ongoing efforts to make Malaysia the world’s best halal hub for mankind, I just hope that the people entrusted with the amanah mean business and are really serious about it, giving utmost priority to religious considerations as their inspirations, rather than personal or organizational gains.

Last but not least, as guidelines, the right attitude for Muslims to hold includes the followings:

(i) In cases of doubt and one fears that one may compromise one religious belief and principles in doing or consuming anything, then one may distance oneself from such a thing. This is actually the spirit of the very first hadith referred to in this article (the first part).

(ii) Any product that contains a considerable amount of a prohibited substance, or in which the properties of a prohibited substance are noticeable, is in itself prohibited, and thus to be avoided.

(iii) If the amount of a prohibited substance is significantly inconsequential/infinitesimal to affect the noticeable properties of a thing, then the prohibition may be ignored.

In short, as a general rule, Muslims are not rigidly required to unnecessarily putting themselves into severe hardship in identifying the lawfulness of things. If one insists that such an action or process of determination is imperative on Muslims no matter what, then one would not find anything lawful on the face of this planet!

In this regard, Muhammad b. Allan al-Bakri, a traditional Shafi’i jurist, has reportedly said: “Complete certainty that something is lawful is only conceivable about rainwater falling from the sky into one’s hand” (see Dalil al-Falihin li Turuq Riyad al-Salihin).

EU: European Council agrees on new labeling rules for food

salama — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 14:33:38 +0000

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION – Council agrees on new labelling rules for food

The European Council today agreed their position on the Food Information to Consumers Regulations, ready for submission to the European Parliament for Second Reading. The key elements agreed are:

1) A minimum font size for the mandatory information has been re-instated, namely 1.2mm height of a lower case x. Packaging/containers whose largest surface area is less than 60cm2 have a minimum font size of 0.9mm x height.
2) The labelling of the energy value and the quantities of some nutrients (fat, saturates, carbohydrates, protein, sugars and salt) will be compulsory.
3) Country of origin labelling should, as currently, be compulsory if a failure to do so would mislead the consumers.
4) Compulsory labelling of the country of origin for several types of meat (pork, lamb, and poultry in addition to current rules on beef), subject to implementing rules.
5) Within three years after the entry into force of the new regulation the Council will produce a report examining the possible extension of the compulsory labelling of the country of origin to further products (milk, milk used as an ingredient, meat used as an ingredient, unprocessed foods, single-ingredient products, ingredients that represent more than 50% of a food).
6) Certain alcoholic beverages (such as wines, products derived from aromatized wines, mead, beer, spirits, but not alcopops) will be exempt from nutrition labelling rules as well as from the indication of the list of ingredients

7) Non-prepacked food should also be exempted from nutrition labelling, unless member states decide otherwise. Allergens, however, must always be indicated.
8 National provisions relating to nutritional information have been re-instated

The proposed legislation will now go for second reading in Parliament in the new year and the following will happen over the course of the next few months:

1) Approves Common Position/makes no amendments – Deemed accepted and published in Official Journal
2) Rejects Common Position completely – Not accepted and goes no further
3) Amendments proposed to Common Position

It is unlikely that the Common Position will be rejected by Parliament, in which case either amendments will be requested or the text will be adopted. If amendments are requested Council will review during their Second Reading and:

1) Accept the amendments – Legislation passed

2) Reject amendments – Put to conciliation Committee

The Conciliation Committee is not a well sued route in recent times, and is made up of both members of Parliament and Council who will
1) Agree joint text – If adopted by Council and Parliament then passed as Legislation, if not agreed then not passed

2) Joint text not agreed – Not passed

We expect a final agreed text to be available by the end of 2011.

The responsible Parliament Committee then has 3-4 months to decide whether to advise Parliament to The European Parliament has the power to throw out proposed legislation if an absolute majority of members of Parliament vote against the Council’s ‘common position’, however this is typically only invoked in extreme circumstances.

EU: Clerics call for religious freedom in Europe

salama — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:58:48 +0000

December 6, 2010

BERLIN (JTA) — Jews and Muslims should be free to practice their religions in a united Europe, leaders of both faiths said in a statement.

The statement was presented Monday in Brussels to Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council.

Fifty clerics petitioned Van Rompuy to protect their freedom of religion at a time when some right-populist parties are calling for bans to certain non-Christian religious practices, including circumcision for minors and kosher and halal butchering of meat. The statement urged that steps be taken to “ensure that Jews and Muslims are able to practice our respective faiths fully and unimpeded by intrusive, discriminatory and unfair governmental regulations.”

The meeting of senior clerics from Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States was convened in Brussels by the U.S.-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and the World Jewish Congress, and the Brussels-based European Jewish Congress.

British Imam Abduljalil Sajid opened the meeting with a prayer for victims of the recent fires in Israel and floods in Pakistan.

Among the clerics’ concerns were protection for new immigrants threatened by hatred and xenophobia, and support for programs that would bring together Muslim and Jewish youth. They also denounced all forms of violence in the name of any religion or ideology.

“We … must restrain the radicals within our own ranks and make sure they don’t gain the upper hand,” said Rabbi Marc Schneier, the president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and WJC Vice President. He said the main purpose of the meeting was to “focus more on what unites us than what separates us.”

“Jews and Muslims [should] start talking more with each other and less about the other,” said Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress.

KFC’s UK ‘Halal Trial’ put on trial…and found guilty

hamid — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 09:23:31 +0000

by Abdalhamid Evans, Founder, HalalFocus

In the UK, KFC’s now infamous ‘Halal Trial’ has taken a turn that may well prove to be a pivotal one in the shift of Halal into the mainstream. In any event, it has uncovered a series of misconceptions that can now be seen in a better light.

KFC’s 80-plus restaurants that are offering a Halal menu were all certified by the Halal Food Authority (HFA), and KFC went to some lengths on their website to

a) assure the Muslims that the chickens were Halal, and
b) appease the animal welfare lobby that animal welfare issues had been considered, and that electrical stunning (an industry norm) had been used.

There have been three basic kinds of responses to this move.

Consumers who could no longer get their favourite pork-based meals have reacted angrily.
Other groups, based on their limited understanding of Halal, have denounced the entire project as barbaric.
And many Muslims, who felt that the Halal compliance had not been correctly carried out, have complained and proposed a boycott of KFC.

What has recently come to light is that the chickens were slaughtered by a mechanical process, and not done by hand by a Muslim slaughterman. Both stunning (especially for poultry) and mechanical slaughter are highly controversial issues for Halal compliance, but the general consensus is that while stunning might be disapproved of due to the possibility of birds dying before slaughter, it is generally considered acceptable by a majority of Ulama around the world.

Mechanical slaughter, on the other hand, while it is acceptable to some, is generally considered unacceptable, and is excluded from most Halal standards, and notably Malaysia’s MS1500 standard was updated in 2008 and now does not permit mechanical slaughter for poultry.

HFA’s ruling on mechanical slaughter can be seen now to have been rather misleading for KFC, who should really have done more homework on the whole issue. Clearly KFC, as per general industry practice when it comes to Halal, have tried to do a little as possible to be Halal compliant and thereby access the considerable Muslim consumer market in the UK.

Indeed, now we can better understand KFC comments on their website that assures customers that the very same chickens that everyone finds so finger-licking good are also being served up in the Halal outlets. As it turns out, not only are they the same chickens, but they are being killed using exactly the same process as the non-Halal birds, other than their being a Muslim ‘monitor’ somewhere on the premises.

Whether the tasmiyyah was done by tape recording is not yet clear (if anyone knows, please tell us…) but it is generally unacceptable anyway, and there is no way one monitor could say ‘Bismillah Allahu Akbar’ 20,000 times per hour…yes, that’s how fast the line goes.

So, while the customers who mourned the loss of the Big Daddy have a legitimate complaint that they now have to go another few miles for their take-away, the ‘barbaric’ argument can now falls apart; the chickens were treated the same as all the rest of the KFC birds

The Muslims in general have responded with a commendable degree of restraint and dignity, and following a constructive meeting between the Lancashire Council of Mosques and KFC representatives, a clear and articulate letter to the general Muslim community was published on 16^th April declaring that the KFC outlets were not considered Halal.

Ultimately, there are no real villains in this drama. It is evidence of the ongoing evolution of the Halal market in the UK, and proof that companies that want to enter this market need to do their market research in a deeper way, and not just opt for the line of least resistance.

Given KFC’s involvement in the Halal sector in many other parts of the world, one may wonder why they did not take advantage of the available expertise. KFC Malaysia, after all, supplies non-stunned chickens for their Brunei outlets, as per Brunei’s Halal Standard, even though they use stunned chickens from the same supplier for their outlets in Malaysia and Singapore.

It is not yet clear how this will play out, and it may well become something of a land-mark case for the future of the Halal industry.

As a footnote, one suspects that many of the more vocal groups that have been shouting about barbaric practices and excessive pandering to immigrants have probably been eating Halal curries and kebabs for the past twenty years without thinking twice. Its only when Halal is applied to good old British fare…oh actually, I guess I mean greasy American fast food… that it really strikes a nerve.

Perhaps the only thing stranger has been the parallel drama across the Channel over the Quick restaurant chain’s decision to go Halal-only in eight outlets in France. It is one thing for the English to defend their special relationship with KFC, but when the French start defending their right to eat American fast food in the name of French national identity, you know there is something deeper going on.

And that is a whole autre histoire…

Zahid Supports Effort To End Conflicts Between Syariah And Civil Laws

hamid — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:01:44 +0000