'Halal' and Islamic principles: The slippery slope of Jakim's certification

A scholar has questioned the extent to which the government's halal certification is in line with Islamic dietary principles, amid a debate triggered by a proposal by the religious affairs minister to make halal certification mandatory for non-Muslim restaurants that do not serve food prohibited for Muslims.

Syed Farid Alatas, professor of sociology at the National University of Singapore, said true Islamic tradition is based on the principle that all things are permissible (halal) unless it is proven to be haram (forbidden).

He said that a Muslim is also not required to "thoroughly check" the halalness of food, including those served in non-Muslim restaurants, adding that he or she only needs to make sure by asking if they contain non-halal ingredients.

"Ask the restaurant owner or the chef: Is this halal? If they say it's halal, that's good enough for us.

"If they do not tell the truth, the blame is on them," Syed Farid, who has written extensively on contemporary issues in Malay-Muslim society, told MalaysiaNow.

A similar view was expressed by Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin more than ten years ago, when he commented on a controversy in 2014 involving Cadbury products due to the discovery of porcine DNA in a chocolate sample.

"In a country like Malaysia, where Muslims are in the majority, we do not need a halal stamp, we need a haram stamp," he had said at a forum.

Asri also urged Muslims not to be overly worried about what they eat, citing the Islamic principle that all food is considered halal or permissible as long as it is not proven to be haram.

He said there is no need to prove that something is halal.

"But if someone claims it is haram, then they have to prove it"

Earlier this month, Mohd Na'im Mokhtar, the minister in charge of Islamic affairs, proposed extending the halal certification issued by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) to restaurants that do not serve pork or alcohol, typically a reference to non-Muslim-owned eateries frequented by Muslims.

The proposal soon triggered a debate after DAP vice-chairman Teresa Kok criticised the move, saying it would provoke negative reactions from restaurant owners.

The Cabinet has since shot down the proposal.

Jakim, the federal agency in the Prime Minister's Department responsible for Islamic affairs, began issuing halal certificates to restaurants and food manufacturers in 1974.

Since then, Jakim has been the only authority to issue halal certificates to restaurants after they are made to go through a rigorous process to ensure compliance with strict conditions imposed on them.

In the past, critics had questioned several rules imposed by Jakim on food manufacturers and franchises seeking halal certification, including a ban on using certain names for the product.

This led to some fast food chains renaming some globally recognised products to counter the ban on words such as 'hotdog' and 'root beer' on their menus.

In 2020, a bakery refused a customer’s request to write “Merry Christmas” on a cake he had ordered for a friend, as the greeting is also considered a violation of Jakim's halal certification.

Bureaucratisation of Islam

Syed Farid said that before the introduction of Jakim's halal certification, it was common for Muslims in Malaysia to eat at any restaurant after being convinced about its halal status.

He said the concept of halal had been butchered by modern definitions, which he attributed to the bureaucratisation of Islam.

"So something is defined as not halal if it does not carry Jakim's halal certificate.

"This has nothing to do with religion. This is the bureaucratisation of religion," he added.

Syed Farid questioned the wisdom behind the proposal to require restaurants frequented by Muslims to be certified halal by Jakim.

He disagreed with the argument that Malaysian Muslims are suspicious of the status and preparation of food.

"I think it has more to do with the fact that halal certification is an industry," he said, referring to the halal business in Malaysia, which has grown into a multi-billion ringgit industry due to the requirements imposed by Jakim.

Syed Farid warned of a slippery slope in the argument supporting the need for official halal certification.

He said Jakim's definition of halal could in future "infect" other sectors such as catering, cafeterias and even event halls, where every aspect must be verified as "suitable" for Muslim consumption.

He felt that Jakim was exploting insecurities and doubts of some Muslims in Malaysia.

He said a halal certificate from Jakim is no guarantee that the food is better.

"For example, whether a banana leaf restaurant has a certificate or not, it is still halal. On the other hand, many restaurants are halal-certified, but we can prove that the food is not good.

"In a narrow sense, it is halal because it does not contain pork and alcohol, but in a broader sense, is it good for us?" he asked, citing examples of fast food restaurants and boba milk tea products that carry Jakim's halal seal but have been found to be unhealthy.

"They should be labelled makruh," he added, using the Islamic term for "reprehensible", a cross between halal and haram.

Farid expressed the fear that Muslims might depend on Jakim's halal certificate to decide what can and cannot be eaten, which is contrary to the original concept of halal in Islam.

"This is tantamount to reducing Islam to dos and don'ts."

He said that the shariah or rules should be a tool to achieve something broader, namely the formation of a society with high morals.

"The purpose and the goal are not rules and regulations, but morality.

"But we have overemphasised the rules at the expense of morality. This leads to an imbalance between the inner meaning and outer forms.

"Both are needed, the inner form is morality and the outer form is the rules."