KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria criticised two religious bodies for taking issue with posters and the name of a food item in the recent halal kerfuffle involving two food outlets.
He said the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) should focus on the food content when it comes to determining the halal state instead of scrutinising food name and posters.
“Yes, they are being extreme with their issue with posters and name of food. They should look at the content... that’s what determines the halalness.
“That is the duty of Jais and all. They should analyse and come up with advice or a list so Muslims can know what is halal or not,” he told Malay Mail Online yesterday.
Harussani explained that a particular poster or name of a specific food like “hot dog” would not cause Muslims to go against their religion.
“Like hot dogs, the word has been used for a long time. There has been some issue with it for some time but the name is permitted as long as the content is halal,” he said.
The senior religious figure also warned the public and religious authorities to first investigate an issue before sharing it on social media.
“Please check and verify first before sharing it. Any party that wants to comment needs to study and analyse the issue before saying anything. If not, it will be blown out of proportion,” Harussani said.
Jakim’s halal division was criticised in the last few weeks after an executive with US pretzel chain Auntie Anne’s revealed that their application for halal certification failed due to, among others, concerns over the “pretzel dogs” in their menu.
Jakim’s halal division director Dr Sirajuddin Suhaimee previously told the media that, “In Islam, dogs are considered unclean and the name cannot be related to halal certification” but has since claimed he was misquoted by the media.
Media outlets carried Sirajuddin’s remarks about the unsuitability of the term “dogs” this week, along with the department’s guidelines against halal food items being similar in name to haram products such as beer, bacon and ham, among others.
Muslim lawmakers from both sides of the political divide have come down hard on Jakim’s decision.
Earlier this week, pork burger chain Ninja Joe was reportedly raided by Selangor and Negri Sembilan Islamic authorities over claims that its “P. Ramly” homage to local Ramly burgers was confusing Muslims over the status of its halalness. (The P. in the name stands for pork.)
These incidents point to a growing trend of religious conservatism in Malaysia, probably the only country in the world that prohibits non-Muslims from using the word “Allah.”
