Dr. Hüseyin Kâmi BÜYÜKÖZER
And most of them do not believe in Allah without associating others with Him ˹in worship˺. Do they feel secure that an overwhelming torment from Allah will not overtake them, or that the Hour will not take them by surprise when they least expect ˹it˺? Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “This is my way. I invite to Allah with insight—I and those who follow me. Glory be to Allah, and I am not one of the polytheists.” (Surah Yusuf, Ayat 106-108)
We can question the Halal food potential of the active countries in the Halal Food market with numbers, but we have to emphasize that “Halal food should be handled with faith rather than numbers and economy” and it is not legal for an official institution to carry out certification studies on a subject that is not covered by the state’s legislation.
First of all, it should not be forgotten, even it is bitter, that today there is no state in the world that has based its laws on Islamic principles. The fact that the administrators of these states and the institutions affiliated to these states are good Muslims does not change this situation.
For this reason, these concepts, which are common to the entire Islamic ummah and have almost a religious character, cannot be abused in the name of the national interests of any country or state, and anyone or any institution can consider themselves authorized to do so. The development in the world is already growing in this direction. Muslims all over the world protect their own Halal and impose it on the governments they live in.
Our suggestions for Global Halal and Tayyib Certification to be successful;
Considering the differences in global standards, criteria, processes and audit systems, sectarian differences, efforts to create a common global standard should gain momentum.
Desire to be Halal, Halal Certification programs, meeting opportunities in a joint regulation in Islamic certification institutions in Halal certification and how to benefit from these programs in national and international markets in the global environment have forced us to prepare a single global Halal standard.
Hundreds of institutions have now been formed in the world that carry out Halal Certification studies. As much as this is a pleasing development, we may experience a lapse of dreams like “the mountain gave birth to a mouse” if a control system cannot be established along the lines of acumen, discipline, and the international ummah.
The most important thing to consider should be:
- The independent status of the international institution that will set the standard and the institution that will issue the certificate,
- The qualification and competence of the staff that will make the Islamic decisions that considering the sectarian differences of the Islamic religion,
- The preperation of standard and certificate decisions in the line of taqwa without making concessions from the Islamic lifestyle for the sake of modernity imposed on our society.
- Our sectarian riches should not be wasted for the sake of non-sectarianism.
Today, engineers and technical personnel specialized in product and system certification activities are assigned in the world. In the certification of Halal products, in addition to these technical personnel, it is the most important necessity to have religious experts who are really experts in this field. It is essential to establish a single global halal standard that covers Muslim consumers all over the world, in line with the dictates of Islam by the clergy, that is, that will solve the halal and healthy product problems of not only Muslim consumers in Türkiye, Malaysia, Indonesia, but also the entire Islamic ummah.
In most of the products consumed by Muslims, their economic, biological, and cultural contents remain under the control of non-Muslims, and this contributes to the continuation of these forces’ pressure on the ummah. Halal certification institutions should do their work to eliminate these negativities.
GIMDES, which was internationally accredited in 2009 as the Association for the Inspection and Certification of Food and Supplies (GIMDES), which is at the center of these studies in Türkiye, has been giving GIMDES Halal and Tayyib Certificates since that date.
Only if the new world order rises on Halal foundations will the salvation of the Islamic ummah and all humanity be achieved.
