Mufti  Radio Voice of the Cape  
  


Friday, 20 January 2012 
 

There were several lessons to learn out of the Orion halal saga, in particular 
as it played itself out this week after the screening of the etv expose on 3rd 
Degree. This was the view of Mufti Abdul Kader Hoosain, speaking on VOC's Q&A on 
Thursday. The alim said what was seen on the documentary was "a real disgrace". 


A second lesson related to the issue of giving halal certification to non-Muslim 
businesses, especially where it was not under Muslim management. 

"This is something I have personally always been opposed to. I could not agree with the 
Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) when they first certified McDonalds and I still 
cannot agree with this practise, because once we give halal certication to a non 
Muslim owned business that is not under Muslim management, how can we trust it? 
So my humble appeal is for the ulema to review this policy."


Inspections
Thirdly, on the matter of halal inspections, he said much tighter controls were 
needed. "When meat comes from abroad, it is recertified upon its arrival here. 
However, once it leaves the port and goes to importers like Orion Cold Storage, 
who is responsible for checking it? We now saw how these products were 
deliberately relabelled and someone must be held accountable. These people have 
committed a criminal offence by relabelling these products fraudulently, 

but we also carry blame because we left the door open for them to exploit."



He said it was critical for halal certifiers to ensure that there were no 
loopholes in the halal certification process so that the purity of the halal 
chain from the point of origin to the Muslim table can be ensured.



 "Having said that, I don't think it is a good thing to bring in 'halal' imports in the first 
place, because sometimes they have lower halal standards in that country than in 
South Africa," he added
.
According to Mufti, the public was justified in feeling that the halal 
certification business was only about money. "No wonder people speak about 
'scholars for dollars'. We cannot be upset about these perceptions, because 
where there is smoke, there is fire. It is a tragedy that, as Muslims, we may 
have unwittingly found ourselves holding pork in our hands, cooking and eating 
it. Someone must be honest and take responsibility for that. We must apologise 
to the public and admit that it was an oversight," he advised. 

MJC
Asked about the public anger, especially towards the Muslim Judicial Council 
Halal Trust (MJCHT), the alim said a bit more perspective was needed. 
 
 Mufti stated.
 
            "The MJC made a mistake and they must apologise for it.

 

Criticism
With reference to the ulema bashing that had been part of the public criticism 
on the Orion issue, the alim pointed out that there was a fine line between 
legitimate criticism and ulema bashing. He said many members of the ulema do not 
appreciate being criticised, including by their peers.
 
"As alims we must admit that the public has the right to criticise us. Sometimes alims act as if they 
are above reproach and this is incorrect," he said.