`


THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ALLAH
read:
MALAYSIA Tanah Tumpah Darahku

LOVE MALAYSIA!!!


 


Sunday, April 5, 2015

What’s next? Halal tampons and condoms?

Sadly halal has become more of a business prospect than a religious requirement no thanks to Muslims who are too easily brainwashed with anything marked halal.
COMMENT
halal_1_600The other day, I went to a store to get a packet of toilet paper and was shocked to read “Halal, recognised by Jakim Malaysia” on its packaging.
Wow, even toilet paper is certified halal nowadays!
What’s next? Halal tampons and condoms?
As a Muslim myself, I understand the sensitivity of Muslims regarding halal products. Yes, we want to ensure foods and products we consume are prepared and cooked in accordance to Islamic rules and regulations.
No pork.
No lard.
No animals slaughtered by non-Muslims.
And a few other regulations along the line.
Fine.
At times I feel we are taking this halal thingy a little bit too far.
I remember going to a Halal Expo a couple of years ago. I was pretty interested in one of the booths at the expo, promoting real estate.
“Halal Homes.”
I was amused and had to ask the consultant at the booth what it meant to have a halal home.
“A housing area which is built on halal land, using quality products and situated in a good location, far from haram activities such as factories producing haram goods and pig farms” – that’s more or less how he described it to me.
According to him, a halal certificate will be issued to the house buyers to certify the home is halal.
“My parents live in a Chinese village in Penang, our house is neighbouring a Chinese graveyard, a huge Chinese temple and a small morning market selling pork. But my parents are very pious people – they pray more than five times a day and the sound of “azan” and Quran recitals are always heard in my house. But we do not have a halal certificate for our house, does that make it haram?” I asked.
He smiled and whispered, “It’s just a marketing tactic.”
That’s just it. Halal has become a marketing tactic. A way to induce people into making purchases.
According to The Halal Journal, the global market value for halal products is estimated at US$547 billion a year and Malaysia is fast becoming a leading global halal hub with an annual export value of RM35.4 billion for halal products.
With our halal products contributing approximately 5.1% of the total exports for our country, no wonder we are trying to push every spoon, fork, and chopstick as a halal product.
Today one of the biggest booming industries in Malaysia is Islamic banking – halal saving accounts, halal insurance packages, halal everything.
But how can the banking industry be halal when the core business of banking which is interest and dividend earnings are unacceptable in Islam?
“Riba” or interest is prohibited in Islam. In Shariah, “riba” technically refers to a premium that must be paid by the borrower to the lender on its maturity. It is argued that the basic reason for the prohibition of “riba” is that it generates income without labour on the part of the lender.
However, realising there is a loophole, Islamic banking treats lenders who instead of becoming creditors, become partners who invest their money in return for profit sharing and risk sharing in the business.
Pretty smart, eh?
If humans can twist and turn things around in religion to certify something prohibited as acceptable, what weight does a halal certificate carry?
Take GST for example.
A couple of weeks ago, Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan said the National Fatwa Committee had on October 2014 declared that GST was halal and encouraged in Islam.
He added that the implementation of GST was in line with Islamic teachings as GST is (I quote) “transparent, efficient and fair”.
Excuse me, but what is transparent about GST? Despite the government trying very hard to convince us that the proceeds from GST will be put to good use which will benefit the people, there is no clear indication as to how the income generated from GST will be used.
But still, GST has been certified halal.
I wonder if this halal certification makes Muslims happier to pay GST?
If you ask me, the halal endorsement on GST is no different than the halal endorsement on the toilet roll package.
However, despite having lots of halal certificates floating around in Malaysian markets, many Muslims in our country are still unhappy over it.
Funny though, while we look for halal restaurants and halal food, we often forgo the aspect of cleanliness in our makan places. Have you seen how dirty some of the roadside nasi campur and mamak stalls are? But people especially Muslims do not seem to have an issue with that. Have we forgotten cleanliness is highly recommended in Islam? Or are we closing one eye to that as well?
Oh well, at the end of the day, halal has become more of a business prospect than a religious requirement. Thanks to us who are so easily brainwashed with anything marked Islamic, I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up having halal hospitals and halal schools one day.
Writer’s Note:
Have you ever wondered why halal products are a bit pricy compared to those without halal certification?

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.