With the arrival of accreditation schemes to verify the activities of the Halal certification bodies, such as the one being rolled out by ESMA, the Emirates Standards and Metrology Authority, a new question has arisen in the Halal market arena.
In order to certify or accredit, does the relevant authority have to be Muslim?
What are the limits of authority for a non-Muslim in the Halal market?
If the certifier must be Muslim, does the one who accredits the certifier also need to be Muslim?
The International Halal Accreditation Forum, IHAF, based in the United Arab Emirates, has opened the door for non-Muslim accreditation authorities to accredit Halal certification bodies, a move that has raised these questions…as well as a few eyebrows.
HalalFocus recently received an essay on this topic by Mufti Yousuf Abdul Razzaq, CEO SANHA Halal Associates in Pakistan, and we have attached it in full as a PDF to enable the Arabic to be preserved in the article.
The essay, entitled Non-Muslim’s Testimony in the Matters of Halaal and Haram, can be downloaded in full here
