12th Annual General Meeting was held in Cape Town, the second-largest city of South Africa, between dates 17-18 October 2014. Islamic Community of South Africa (ICSA) was the organizer and host of the event.
The executive committee members of the World Halal Council (WHC) convened to report on their activities before Annual General Meeting. Some technical and sharia issues about Halal certification were also discussed.
In the opening section of the AGM, several dignitaries from local authorities and respected Ulama from various bodies of S.Africa as well as Mohd Shukri Abdullah, President of MIHAS from Malaysia were present and they all made small speeches. Dr. Huseyin Buyukozer, Patron of WHC, gave an inspiring speech.
“Quran that we follow calls us the Ummah. They are not just collected some group of people. This ummah must be guided by Holy Quran. Allah (SWT) says to do cooperate with one another that we must interact at once with total obedience,” said president of the World Halal Council, Thafier Najjar.
” Taqwa (righteousness) refers no less than 20 verses in the Quran. When we evaluate these verses, we find it means connectivity, consumption, collaboration and control. We have to go back our rules, which are most suitable,” said advocate hafez Abu bekr Muhammad.
“You do not need chemicals. You need nature to produce the food because Allah S.W.T has created the food,” said vice president of the Islamic Council of South Africa (ICSA), Ismail Kalla.
“To halal certify products the key is to have Muslims on board. They should be on top of operations. In this way it will prosper and we can be reassured as halal consumers,” said MIHAS CEO Malaysia Mohd Shukri Abdullah.
“Halal food is as significant as the water and the air which are indispensable elements for the life a person, even more, since non-halal food may cause the live of Muslims to lose the hereafter (Ahira) forever. It is time to take responsibility of understanding the obligation of feeding ourselves with Halal and tayyib foods for the sake of our lives on this world and in ahirat.
It is a huge responsibility for a Halal certifying body to issue Halal certifications. He will give an account of what he did directly to Allah. I invite all my WHC member brothers to think and contemplate. For two billion Muslims to regain consciousness and to become a strong Ummah, they have to make their daily lives Halal. And the first step that should be taken in this regard is to feed themselves with Halal and tayyib foods,” said the patron of World Halal Council (WHC), Dr. Huseyin Kami Buyukozer.
The representatives from below Halal certification bodies have attended;
GIMDES
HALAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (HPDS)
SHANDONG ISLAMIC ASSOCIATION (SIA)
MUSLIM ASSOCIATION OF MALAWI (MAM)
ISLAMIC FOOD RESEARCH CENTRE MALAYSIA & ASIA REGION (IFRC ASIA),MALAYSIA & HONG KONG
ISLAMIC DA’WAH COUNCIL OF THE PHILIPPINES (IDCP)
HALAL CERTIFICATION CENTER, RUSSIAN FEDERATION
ISLAMIC COUNCIL OF SOUTH AFRICA (ICSA)
NATIONAL INDEPENDENT HALAAL TRUST (NIHT)
SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL HALAL AUTHORITY (SANHA)
MUSLIM JUDICIAL COUNCIL (MJC)
ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON AREA (ISWA)
CO.RE.IS. ITALIANA / HALAL ITALIA
JHA
TURKISH CYPRIOT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE- CYPRUS
HALAL STANDARDIZATION COMMITTEE OF CENTRALIZED RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION (TATARISTAN-RUSSIA)
Some new applicants from a few countries also attended the AGM.
The AGM were very well organized and all participants expressed their gratitude for the professionalism and hospitality of South African organizations.
Source: worldhalalcouncil.com
