Malaysian minister Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki lamented that Muslims here care more about the halal status of their food, compared to the status of their source of income, Malay Mail Online reported on Friday.
\nThe deputy minister in charge of Islamic affairs said the public perceives Islam as only related to worship, while the issue of halal and haram \u2014 what is permissible and forbidden in Islam \u2014 is seen as only related to consumption.
\n\u201cThe concern over halal food and halal labels is paramount. But the similar concerns may not be true when it comes to where the money comes from to buy that halal food,\u201d Asyraf said in his keynote address at a seminar on Islamic financial institutions and charity here.
\nThe senator said when it comes to consuming meat, the public are very concerned about ensuring that the slaughter is Shariah compliant, but not as much as the money involved in the purchase.
\n\u201cThe money they received to buy that food, even if coming from usury, interest, corruption, they don\u2019t care.
\n\u201cThis is something very much the reality in our society today,\u201d said the deputy minister in the Prime Minister\u2019s Department.
\nOn Monday, minister Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom had said that the authorities will not issue halal certification for non-alcoholic \u201cbeer\u201d or any product that uses \u201charam\u201d-related names like ham or bacon.
\nThe various kinds of \u2018pretzel dogs\u2019 sold at Auntie Anne\u2019s. The local chapter of the US pretzel chain has confirmed that it has changed the name of its \u2018pretzel dog\u2019 to \u2018pretzel sausage\u2019. \u2015 Picture courtesy of Auntie Anne\u2019sMore
\nAccording to state news agency Bernama, the minister in charge of Islamic affairs said the term \u201chalal beer\u201d went against the manual procedure for Malaysia\u2019s halal certification.
\nUnder the Trade Descriptions (Certification and Marking of Halal) Order 2011, only the federal Islamic Development Department \u2014 better known by its Malay abbreviation, Jakim \u2014 and state Islamic departments and councils can issue halal certification.
\nThe report also said that fast food chain A&W switched to calling its signature root beer drink, \u201cRB\u201d, in 2013, in order to get the halal certification for all its outlets.
\nThe issue of halal certification surfaced last October after an executive with US pretzel chain Auntie Anne\u2019s revealed that their application for halal certification had failed due to, among others, concerns over \u201cpretzel dogs\u201d on the menu.
\nSome fast food restaurants in Malaysia use non-pork alternatives for ham and bacon, such as turkey ham and beef bacon. There are also vegetarian versions of \u201cbak kut teh\u201d, a pork ribs soup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Malaysian minister Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki lamented that Muslims here care more about the halal status of their food, compared to the status of their source of income, Malay Mail Online reported on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c59-islamic-world"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n