{"id":17081,"date":"2013-02-23T23:47:28","date_gmt":"2013-02-24T04:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=17081"},"modified":"2013-02-23T23:47:28","modified_gmt":"2013-02-24T04:47:28","slug":"bodhu-bala-sena-all-ceylon-jamiyathul-ulama-and-the-halal-certification-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=17081","title":{"rendered":"Bodhu Bala Sena, All Ceylon Jamiyathul Ulama and the Halal Certification Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Raisa Wickrematunge<\/strong><\/p>\n

War does not start with a bang, but rather with hateful whispers. Over the past few months, extremist groups have begun vigorously campaigning against halal food \u2013 or so they claim. And this pot-stirring is beginning to have its effect.<\/p>\n

On February 17, a BBC reporter was threatened by an angry mob, whilst another reporter from the newspaper Nawamani, was detained for four hours after the recent Bodu Bala Sena rally in Maharagama.<\/p>\n

BBC Reporter, Charles Haviland, said a mob of around 20 young men had surrounded their team and threatened them, preventing them from leaving. The group then called four policemen over, saying the reporters were behaving suspiciously. The four policemen refused to let the reporters go. \u201cThey appeared to be taking orders from the young men, rather than helping us exercise our right to move freely,\u201d Haviland said. It was only when a senior police officer came over that Haviland and his colleagues were allowed to disperse.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Executive Committee member of Bodhu Bala Sena, Dilantha Withanage, in turn said the incident outside No Limit had nothing to do with them. Shortly after, the Bodu Bala Sena held a meeting where they denounced the BBC for their biased reporting, and said they had not hindered the journalists\u2019 movements in any way. Haviland, for his part said, that at no point in the article was it implied that the Buddhist group was responsible for the incident.<\/p>\n

Unequal Ground<\/strong><\/p>\n

As disturbing as these events were, far more ominous were the speeches made at the rally. General Secretary of Bodhu Bala Sena, Ven Galaboda Atthe Gnanasara Thera said monks had to take matters into their own hands \u2013 what\u2019s more, he said the attendants of the rally should become a sort of civilian police force, standing up to Muslim extremism. The group also claimed that halal certification was illegal, and should be banned by March 31.<\/p>\n

Withanage said only the Sri Lanka Standards Institute (SLSI) could issue certification for food products. \u201cHalal is not registered under any act,\u201d Withanage insisted, adding that the ban was only on Buddhists to stop them from eating halal food. Sending officials to examine how food was prepared could threaten Buddhist shop owner\u2019s privacy, he explained. Withanage said there was a \u2018misconception\u2019 circulating that halal-certified food was healthier. He also alleged that Higher Education Minister, S.B. Dissanayake, had written a letter to the Defence Secretary calling for halal certified foods to be promoted during the leadership training programme provided to selected university students, questioning the motives behind such an action.<\/p>\n

Multi-religious platforms should be encouraged as each religion had its own identity, \u201cBut all religions are not equal,\u201d Withanage said, adding, all religions should nevertheless work together in harmony. Upon being asked how religious factions could possibly cooperate peacefully if they were not considered equal, Withanage replied enigmatically, \u201cWe have to see the beauty in diversity.\u201d When pressed, he said if other religions wanted to start up a \u2018Christian Bala Sena\u2019 or \u2018Hindu Bala Sena\u2019 group to fight for their rights, they should do so.<\/p>\n

Attack on Cultural Practices<\/strong><\/p>\n

This conversation was markedly different to the one held two weeks ago, when Withanage had called for special halal corners in supermarkets. He was now making comments about several aspects of Muslim culture, from the practice of wearing nikab (\u201cIn a civilized society, we should be able to see their faces\u201d) to the tolerance temples had displayed by allowing breakfast functions on their premises in the past, (\u201cIf they want religious tolerance, they should allow piriths and dhanes inside mosques\u2026 it should be a give and take policy\u201d).<\/p>\n

All these issues, from dress to banking, laws to food, were conveniently slotted under the umbrella term \u2018Muslim fundamentalism.\u2019 This was no longer just a conversation about halal food, but rather about cultural practices, which had previously gone unquestioned. Why was eating halal food, wearing hijab or banking with Islamic financers so objectionable, when it hadn\u2019t been before? That question went unanswered.<\/p>\n

Withanage also dodged questions on several inflammatory comments reportedly made by the Secretary General, Ven Gnanasara Thera \u2013 at one point the Secretary General referred to Muslims as \u2018gonibillas,\u2019 at another, that Buddhist monks should have elevated status over the other religions when attending religious ceremonies. On these points, Withanage appeared to suffer from a sudden attack of amnesia.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, when The Sunday Leader contacted the Secretary General, Ven Gnanasara Thera, for a comment, he claimed he was ill, before handing his phone over to a third party who demanded to know who the caller was, asking if the Leader had not already contacted Withanage for a comment.<\/p>\n

On being asked about what the Secretary General had meant when he had said the group would take matters into their own hands if need be, Withanage said, \u201cWe are the strongest civil society organization in the country.\u201d The Bodu Bala Sena would build on their own strengths at a grassroots level \u2013 holding peaceful satyagrahas if necessary, he claimed. Withanage denied that the Secretary General\u2019s statement was made with violent intent. \u201cBuddhism will never allow violence. We may use strong words, but that doesn\u2019t mean violence. We are completely against people taking up arms, and taking the law into their own hands,\u201d Withanage said, though he later added, \u201cEveryone should be vigilant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Withanage also insisted that Bodu Bala Sena was not funded by the government. Though the organization did have a plush office located at the Sambuddatva Jayanthi building on Havelock Road, this was purchased by the President of Bodu Bala Sena, Ven Wimalajothi Thera, before the organization was set up, Withanage said. He added that Bodu Bala Sena was a relatively new group, having come into existence on May 7 last year. Withanage maintained that the Bodu Bala Sena survived off voluntary donations, adding that their strength lay in social rather than financial capital. \u201cNot every organization can send a text message and get a thousand people to gather,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Muslim Council speaks out<\/strong><\/p>\n

N. M Ameen, Chairman of the Sri Lankan Muslim Council (SLMC) said, \u201cAs Sri Lankans, this is a sad situation.\u201d Ameen pointed out that the Muslim community had always been on good terms with the majority, and had never tried to harm the country.<\/p>\n

Discussing the certification issue, Ameen said there were between 30 to 40 people working in the halal certification department. If the issue was purely on legality, the department could still be amalgamated with the SLSI. Halal certification was issued worldwide, and had been for decades, with no objections prior to recent events, but Buddhists had every right to choose not to eat halal certified food, he said.<\/p>\n

However, many large companies used halal certification, especially to export their products to the Middle East. Banning certification outright would mean that the Middle Eastern countries would no longer purchase Sri Lankan products, which would translate to lower profits for Sri Lanka, Ameen pointed out. The issue had been further muddied with people\u2019s lack of understanding of the concept of halal.<\/p>\n

There were further misunderstandings about some Islamic organization\u2019s company objectives \u2013 people were suddenly accusing Muslim organizations of channelling the funds elsewhere. \u201cIf we were fighting for another state, I can understand people\u2019s fears. But we are not asking for anything like that,\u201d Ameen said. The Muslim Council also supported the Bodu Bala Sena\u2019s proposal to stop sending housemaids to the Middle East, as cases like Rizana Nafeek\u2019s indicated that they were unjustly treated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Government has the responsibility to look after our community,\u201d he said, adding, if the campaign of hate continued, there was no telling where things would end. However, Ameen expressed hope following a meeting between the Defence Secretary and representatives of the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) and the Muslim Council.<\/p>\n

Government Response<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Defence Secretary had expressed a desire to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. He said there was no question of a hate campaign against Muslims, but as Buddhists made up 70% of the population, their needs were important too. As such, it was decided that manufacturers and distributors should be encouraged to ensure non-halal products were available to consumers as well.<\/p>\n

When contacted, former Ambassador to Iran, M. M Zuhair, who attended the meeting, explained that the Bodu Bala Sena\u2019s concern was that the ACJU was compelling people to purchase halal products even if they did not wish to. This was incorrect, according to the ACJU, as they did not compel anyone to purchase such products \u2013 rather, it was the manufacturers and distributors who decided what products to put in the market.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, it was discussed that the Defence Secretary meet with the top manufacturers and distributors to comply with people\u2019s requests to have non-halal certified products. A special sub-committee has also been set up to look into the issues raised by the Bodu Bala Sena, headed by former Prime Minister, Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka, who said he could not comment on the issues discussed by the committee as part of an agreement.<\/p>\n

Chief Government Whip, Dinesh Gunawardena, confirmed that the committee met in Parliament this week with the aim of resolving the issue, but said he could not comment on what was discussed. However, he emphatically denied news reports, which quoted him as saying that the Bodu Bala Sena should be banned. \u201cI have never been against any organization other than the LTTE being banned,\u201d Gunawardena said.<\/p>\n

Legality of Halal Certification<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, ACJU media Spokesperson, Fadhil Farook, pointed out that an Act of Parliament had been passed which made it completely legal for the authority to hand out halal certification. The only thing that was required for such certification was for the ingredients and process of making the food be examined to ensure that it was safe to eat. For instance, it was found that bread sometimes contained an amino acid called L-Cystine, a type of lard derived from human hair, which helped give the bread flavour.<\/p>\n

Bread, which was halal-certified, did not contain this compound, but used a substitute. It was for this reason that the entire process of making the food had to be examined, Farook said.<\/p>\n

He added that Muslims should remain calm and bear with the recent tensions, so that the problem could be easily resolved.<\/p>\n

Volunteer Technical Advisor to ACJU, J. Tariq Mahmud, also wanted to clear up the misconceptions surrounding the word halal.<\/p>\n

Mahmud explained that the word had been freely misused before the ACJU took over certification, with some shopkeepers even labelling pork as halal! Shortly after, two poultry processing firms came to the ACJU and asked that their firms be given a certificate to prove that their food was halal, and other firms took notice and followed suit. However, halal and haram were terms, which applied to all aspects of Muslim life, not just to food. Pork, carrion, carnivorous animals or birds of prey, blood and blood by-products, alcohol and intoxicants were just some of the substances considered \u2018haram\u2019 to Muslims.<\/p>\n

Halal and Kosher Certification<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe halal programme is 100% voluntary,\u201d Mahmud said. He also pointed out that Muslims were far from being the only group to have certification processes- Jewish people had kosher certification, and even respected institutions such as the Heart Tick Foundation and the SLSI charged fees for the use of their logo, Mahmud pointed out. In any case, Mahmud said, the charge that the ACJU was making money from licensing fees was completely baseless. He calculated that when comparing the cost of the halal certificate to the number of food items sold, the cost of the certificate came to a mere 0.08 cents for one chicken. Similarly, a study on 25 companies who produced bakery items, confectionery, meat and dairy products found that the halal certification fee was negligible \u2013 so much so that it was not a burden to the producer. The highest fee paid by a food company for an entire month was Rs 25,000, (for very large shops) while the smallest shops paid as low as Rs 700. Even in the case of higher fees, the cost per unit produced worked out to only a few cents. What\u2019s more, the profits made were not used for nefarious purposes, but rather to appoint special monitors to oversee food production.<\/p>\n

Negligible the profits may be, but the messages of hate continue to spread. And while the Bodu Bala Sena continues to deny their involvement in most of the inflammatory incidents, there is no doubt that the halal issue was not discussed before the group came into prominence \u2013 certainly not with such hate. The Bodu Bala Sena may not be actually behind the attacks, but they do a fine job of stirring up the public with their fiery rhetoric, as footage from last Sunday\u2019s rally showed. As the fires of communal hatred are fanned, it is time for people to realise that this issue is not about halal food any more. Decades ago, our civil war was started not with a bang, but with hateful whispers. It has not yet been a decade, and already, the whispers are starting again.
\nCOURTESY:THE SUNDAY LEADER<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Raisa Wickrematunge War does not start with a bang, but rather with hateful whispers. Over the past few months, extremist groups have begun vigorously campaigning against halal food \u2013 or so they claim. And this pot-stirring is beginning to have its effect. On February 17, a BBC reporter was threatened by an angry mob, …<\/p>\n

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