Jakarta moves toward Islamisation, obligatory halal labelling considered
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - A rise in food prices, greater corruption, and unacceptable state interference in religious questions. According to an editorialist for the Jakarta Post, these would be some of the consequences of the obligation for 'halal' (editor's note: 'pure', for example not containing pork) labelling of food in Indonesia. The government recently proposed a draft law on halal certification for food products; the text of the law must be discussed and approved by the house of representatives. But some parliamentarians have already spoken out in its favour. The Council of the Ulema (MUI) is pushing for the labelling, now optional, to be made obligatory. It intends to do the same for medicines and cosmetics.
For some analysts, this is just the latest worrying sign of the "gradual Islamisation" taking place in the most populous Muslim country in the world. Today, in the columns of the popular Indonesian newspaper, Muhammad Nafik contends that the government should be more concerned about guaranteeing the "healthiness and hygiene" of products on sale, rather than their adherence to Islamic principles. This is because its action should be intended for the good of all the citizens, including those who belong to minority religions. "The government's obligation is to make sure that producers do inform consumers of their products' ingredients in a more transparent manner, including their possible contents of pork, alcohol or other items considered to be 'haram' under Islamic law . . . This way, consumers - Muslims in particular - would easily be able to distinguish between halal and haram food and know which products are healthy for consumption . . . Ironically, an attempt to help consumers, the halal labelling will cause them to suffer. They will have to pay more for their food if it is processed under certain costly Islamic procedures. According to Islamic law, producers are required, for example, to manually slaughter an animal and fully remove the blood from the meat".
Nafik recalls that in a secular country like Indonesia, the law must not regulate religious questions that remain private affairs. The journalist also warns that "Another reason to scrap the halal labelling policy is that the certification process is widely prone to corruption". The large-scale producers will do everything they can to assure certification, which will give them the possibility of accessing a wider market. Finally, Nafik concludes, it cannot be ruled out that if halal labelling becomes obligatory, the MUI will issue a fatwa against products that do not carry the label, causing significant economic damage.
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