Foreign News
@ Halal | January-February . 2022
Turkey eyes
US $ 7 trillion market 1.86 billion Muslims in 57 Islamic nations now have accurate information about what they produce and consume
TURKISH AUTHORI- TIES said the global halal market , which primarily caters to Muslims and attracts those who prefer carefully vetted products , is worth US $ 7 trillion . Still , Turkey must do more to gain a fair market portion .
“ Projects in this field gained a different momentum with Turkey ’ s entry into the field ,” said World Halal Union Head Ahmet Gelir .
Cosmetics , chemicals , cleaning goods , agricultural products , food , energy , tourism , and finance are all part of the field .
The need for certificates that inform consumers if a product is halal is increasing as global trade rises and the number of producers entering the market grows .
Due to the scale of the market , “ halal certification ” studies in fields such as food , cosmetics , medicine , finance , and tourism also attract the interest of Western standards and certification authorities .
Indicating that the first studies on halal standards started in the 2000s , Gelir said : “ It has started for the first time in Malaysia , Indonesia and the Far East to ensure food safety and gained a different momentum with Turkey ’ s involvement .”
The Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries ( SMIIC ), a sound framework for standard harmonisation among the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ( OIC ) countries , was also formed in Istanbul under the leadership of Turkey .
According to Gelir , 1.86 billion
Muslims in 57 Islamic nations and their communities worldwide now have accurate information about what they produce and consume .
“ Organisations like ours give confidence to the consumer with accurate and fast inspection ,” he said .
He explained that the halal inspection acts as a third eye , ensuring that items are traced objectively from their source and that the direction of a “ halal certificate ” is often determined by consumer demand , implying that “ the system , supply , and demand are well-managed .”
Gelir stated that while major certification agencies in the Western world are attempting to carry out certification studies generally carried out by Muslim countries , the action is not preferable because halal studies are a matter of faith and knowledge , competence , and experience .
He said Turkey , which has a significant Muslim population , “ strives to be a pioneer in this industry ” and continues to be a player in the market through organisations like the Turkish Standards Institute ( TSI ), the World Halal Union , Gimdes , and others .
“ We also have the Halal Accreditation Agency ( HAK ), established by law , which audits and accredits certification bodies . We know that this organisation will be recognised and welcomed by the world day by day ,” he said .
Yunus Ete , the Chairperson of the World Halal Summit Council and Discover Events , for his part , said that halal consumption needs to increase in parallel with the Muslim population around the globe .
Indonesia asks varsities to generate quality halal research
ACCORDING TO Indonesia Vice-President Ma ’ ruf Amin , all universities in Indonesia are responsible for producing high-quality research , including the halal goods industry .
“ In addition , they are required to create quality human resources and experts in various fields ,” he stated while inaugurating the Halal Centre of the University of Indonesia ( UIHC ) at the Institute for Advancement of Science Technology and Humanity ( IASTH ) Building , UI Campus , Central Jakarta on Thursday .
According to Amin , higher education institutions such as universities and colleges play an essential role in expanding Indonesia ’ s halal goods market . He mentioned four tasks that institutions must fulfil to develop the industry : developing human resources , serving as a halal examination agency ( LPH ), conducting halal product research and business incubation , and promoting halal literacy among the public .
“ With the establishment of the halal centre , the university is expected to become a provider of human resources for the halal industry , for instance , halal supervisors and halal auditors ,” Amin said .
Meanwhile , Chancellor of UI , Ari Kuncoro , said the establishment of UIHC was aimed to support Indonesia ’ s ambition to become the largest halal producer in the world with quality human resources .
“ Indonesia is a country with the largest Muslim population in the world , which accounts for 87.2 per cent of the current total population , or equivalent to 207 million people ,” he said .
Therefore , he believed that by optimizing its demographic potential , Indonesia could develop the halal industry massively with universities , both public and private , in various regions .
“ Thus , Indonesia can become a benchmark for the world ’ s halal industry and business . It is one of UIHC ’ s goals ,” Kuncoro added .
MRHB DeFi to build new Decentralised Philanthropy Protocol DePhi in world ’ s 1st halal ecosystem
ETHEREUM ’ S BIGGEST DeFi chain Polygon and ethical DeFi platform MRHB DeFi are leading the charge on the next big thing in DeFi – decentralised philanthropy – or DePhi for short , which is estimated at over US $ 300 billion each year in Muslim countries alone with around US $ 1.5 trillion in assets held by around 160,000 foundations globally .
“ Polygon has become one of the leading full-stack scaling solutions for Ethereum , given its speed and scalability ,” says Deniz Dalkilic , MRHB DeFi CTO .
“ As Marhaba strives to achieve its end goal of building a comprehensive , secure and scalable ecosystem where liquidity is a priority , we are thrilled to announce our integration with Polygon . To expand our presence on Polygon , we have received a grant from Polygon to optimise our solutions for their network .”
The Polygon team has been enthusiastic about supporting the ethics-based startup , recognising that MRHB DeFi is the first Islamic finance d ’ App . Polygon has agreed to support MRHB DeFi ’ s plan to develop a sidechain solution that opens up DeFi to millions globally .
The two parties have recently signed an agreement which puts into writing their aim to bring philanthropy to the crypto space , stating that MRHB DeFi intends to build its DePhi ( Decentralised philanthropy ) protocol on Polygon technology , which would be a dedicated philanthropy protocol based on funding social initiatives for the benefit of the community , using the quadratic funding model .
With this solution , MRHB intends to catalyse the crypto philanthropy ecosystem , focusing on being the first mover in channelling the annual Zakat contributions of the Islamic World ( est . US $ 300 billion annually ).
Quadratic funding is a technique that applies mathematics to ensure the optimal funding – more democratic , more scalable – of community and social , charitable initiatives .
Bringing philanthropy - a Key Pillar of the Islamic Faith - to DeFi
DePhi forms a vital part of MRHB DeFi ’ s strategic plans for its protocol . As part of MRHB ’ s approach to supporting a more ethical and community-focused approach to decentralised finance , DePhi seeks to bring a key pillar of the Islamic faith – charity or zakat – to what is still
sector driven by self-interest . Once the DePhi protocol is implemented , MRHB DeFi users will have the option to send a portion of their crypto-asset wealth to charities that would be linked to the platform , thus fulfilling their voluntary or faith-driven obligations .
End-users who wish to donate can deposit funds and generate rewards via trading fees on liquidity pools created by MRHB DeFi . After depositing the donation , assets would be locked for 60 days before being distributed to pre-approved charities nominated by the donor .
In addition , MRHB DeFi will set aside five per cent of its DAO treasury to be invested in these pools as a form of a crypto endowment . As such , this will generate wealth in perpetuity for charitable causes .