Opinion: Importance 0f being able to trust Halal products and services on a global scale.

By HALAL CONTROL Germany: Rüsselsheim am Main, 15th September 2021

As a Muslim certification body, we assess and certify products from various industrial and economic sectors with regard to Shariah-compliant admissibility. The role of Ulama and Islamic Affairs Experts play a fundamental and key role in achieving this objective. Their knowledge, expertise, experience and integrity are of paramount importance in order to be able to trust Halal products and services on a global scale.

The discussions and decisions made at the HC’s Integrity Workshop held during its Islamic Affairs Experts Conference (13th – 14th September 2021) will indeed have a huge impact on Halal perception of legitimacy.

HALAL CONTROL has consistently embraced and implemented Islamic-ethical principles since it was founded in 2001 and has maintained its track record even beyond the borders of Germany as a credible, reliable and bona fide organization for conformity assessment and Halal certification. Our concern and untiring effort has always been to establish and uphold confidence through integrity. Conducting oneself with integrity is wajib and this is derived from the teachings of Islam.

The exponential growth of the global halal market and its pivotal role in the world economy creates new possibilities and opportunities for both honorable certifying bodies and for those groups which lack noble intent & integrity.

How does one explain when things don’t go according to plan?

Individuals or entire groups are tempted to adopt unfair means, e.g. through corruption and consciously pursuing conflicts of interest in order to gain pecuniary advantages. This leads to the integrity of the global Halal certification being undermined and trust in the Halal-Tayyib ecosystem being tarnished and compromised. It further impacts negatively on Halal product assurance and damages the reputation of Islamic institutions. We regularly observe and can testify to an increasing number of HCB’s – including industry players – that fail to conform with compliance standards, due to external pressures or just due to being driven by pecuniary gain and monetary interests, this is the major contributor to the loss of confidence.

Corruption destroys visions, developments, prosperity and peace of whole societies. Therefore, a sustainable governance, a stronger linkage between transparency and the public private cooperation to disseminate best practices and massive investments to establish an integrity infrastructure are of paramount importance and key to foster trust. Anti-corruption is a major task and need honest leadership and collective actions to effectively combat it. Halal compliance need a paradigm change and shall go beyond simple technical assurance tasks. The transversal application of a halal code of conduct, an effective monitoring system, PDCA and the risk approach methodology a at all levels are among others key measures to support the creation of true value.

HALAL CONTROL pursues the overarching goal and is committed to upholding integrity and providing assurance & confidence. We believe that by operating with integrity and providing assurance & confidence to all interest groups, we can ensure the sustainable recognition and success of the Halal concept in the world, support consumer protection and allow a Halal economic system to flourish to the benefit of all stakeholders and humanity at large. Moreover, the abidance with the ethical Halal-Tayyib concept of social, animal and environmental care offer opportunities for a broad acceptance and foster public trust. It can be moreover a true leverage for value creation.

Integrity is the way to build confidence, hence the ability to create true value. Our motto is accordingly “Confidence through Integrity.”. By this we mean the consistent, cross-system integrity assurance at all levels of the Halal system using the Halal Code of Conduct, Competence Assurance, Compliance Assurance and Quality Assurance. With honest leadership and the above mechanisms, using modern management methods, inadvertent errors and willful abuse can be systematically identified and drastically reduced, Sustainable economic development, mutual cooperation & networking platforms can be initiated and trust in Halal can be realized.

Reputable institutions such as the MUIS Singapore, OIC-SMIIC, JAKIM Malaysia and BPJPH Indonesia among others have also been inspired and committed to implement and uphold the applicable integrity standards.

We would like to invite you to support us on our humble path to systematic global Halal Integrity & Assurance. Thank you!

Confidence through Integrity.