Deterrents to being halal

It is indeed a matter of concern to know that the two state-owned agencies – Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution and Islamic Foundation – are engaged in a tussle over the sole authority of issuing halal certifications for products and services in the country.

Both the entities now want to issue halal certificates against export-bound goods and services to cater to Muslim consumers in global economies. The existing policy in this regard is being revised to authorise both the organisations for this similar job.

No wonder that the local business community expressed their reservations over the move, according to a report published in this daily on Sunday.

The report states that the move has caused a stir among the senior officials of Islamic Foundation, adding that the foundation submitted the revised Halal Certificate Policy 2021 to the Ministry of Religious Affairs last week.

The agency had formulated this amended policy in accordance with international standards, and it will soon be tabled in a Cabinet Division meeting for approval. This chain of events has triggered a silent tug of war between these two state agencies.

Under the existing Halal Certificate Policy 2015, securing Islamic Foundation’s certification and the use of its logo is mandatory for any company offering halal products or services in this country or foreign markets – even if they get this from somewhere else.

The revised policy mentions this rule too. So, even if a company takes halal certification from the BSTI, they will still have to secure the Islamic Foundation’s certification to sell their products both locally and in foreign markets.

In a recent notification, The BSTI said it has amended The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution Act with permission from the government.

We believe issuing a testing, standard, or halal certificate should rest on a single entity to avoid any duplication of the process and hassles of exporters.

Before issuing a halal certificate against a product or service, it should be examined whether ingredients forbidden in Islam to consume exist, by an authorised institution equipped with required testing facilities.

It is an issue of meeting Islamic standards, set to be certified by experts who are not necessarily Islamic religious clerics. Those experts are not necessarily required to be practicing Muslims, or even Muslims.

How modern and scientific are a country’s halal indicators that comply with the Islamic Shariah and the testing machineries, should be the prime considerations before authorising any entity for the job.

In this regard, the Islamic Foundation can frame halal policy on which a testing organisation will issue certificates. There are many global banks that are doing Islamic banking complying with the Shariah laws.

Their Islamic banking windows are not necessarily manned by Muslims. It is not required, and always in practical to certify a halal business by Islamic clerics.

According to a recent Islamic Foundation report, the global market for halal products is going up by 16 per cent – 25 per cent annually. The international market for halal products has already exceeded $3 trillion.

A number of countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, Jordan, Turkey, Nigeria, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, America, Sweden and Middle Eastern countries are now issuing halal certificates.

Their authorised testing intuitions are doing the certification jobs, not by their Islamic research centre, if any.

The halal certificate is a document that guarantees that products and services aimed at the Muslim population meet the requirements of Islamic law, and therefore are suitable for consumption in both Muslim-majority countries and in Western countries where there are significant population group who practice Islam.

Halal certification is a process which ensures the features and quality of the products according to the rules established by the Islamic Council that allow the use of the mark Halal.

Given the global instances and perspective, it is strongly recommended to empower the BSTI for issuing standard and quality certificates, be it halal or traditional ones. The government should strengthen the BSTI with modern equipment and testing facilities and authorise the national testing institution with issuing halal certificates.