@Halal May/Jun 2020 | Page 7

may-june. 2020 | @Halal Foreign News 07 Non-Muslims can never interfere in halal food What does the European Union want to do? By Dr Huseyin Kami Buyukozer Patron of WHC Halal is an Islamic term and it belongs only to Muslims! CEN (European Committee for Standardization) has set about a project on Halal Standards for food products’ packages in Europe and International markets. This is unacceptable. Islam has been sent to Prophet Muhammed (p.b.h) and it is the last religion. Islam is based on Quran-al Karim and Prophet (p.b.h) sunnah. Allah (swt) has protected this last religion for the past 1400 years, and will definitely continue to maintain it. Halal is a pure Islamic term and only belongs to Muslims. Halal isn’t just a technical issue which Europeans can make up standards, formula and regulations as much as they wish. Muslims have responsibilities to Allah (swt). Allah has already set up all necessary rules and regulations clearly. We are concerned by what Europeans are doing about Halal Standards and Certification. As Muslims, we are not going to allow non-Muslims to interfere in our religion. CEN has to stop working on Halal standards. Muslims already know what they can consume or not. We don’t need to learn our religion from non-Muslims. In the afterlife, we will account for what he have done and obeying the EU norms and rules for Halal will not save us. In 2013, Poland passed a bill in its parliament about ban of ritual Muslim and Jewish slaughter of animals. This means Poland does not respect the rights of people who would like to live his religion. And the same Poland is a member of CEN! How come the CEN will be able to prepare a Halal standard where its members even don’t care about beliefs and values of people? Some European based private and official bodies are also said to contribute for the development of so-called “European Halal Standards”. It is not possible to have European, Asian or African standards separately. Islam is a world religion granted by Allah and thus it is open to all people. Ethnicity, region, race or any other factor cannot be a factor for discrimination. Muslims are the members of one single body : the Ummah. So there can be only a Halal Standard that will embrace the Ummah worldwide and this Standard can only be handled by Muslims. Muslims and non-Muslims have to understand that the New World Order will only rise on Halal and Tayyib! Antabax and MYDIN raise funds for charity Antabax, producer of Malaysia’s No 1 halal antibacterial personal care range, will join MYDIN Corporate Social Responsibility, MYDIN Prihatin: Zahirkan Kesyukuran, Semarakkan Keriangan 2020 to raise funds for charity. The fundraising initiative will run from April 13 to June 21, 2020, and will see 10 sen from the sales of all Antabax products from all MYDIN outlets nationwide channelled towards providing the necessities to Asnaf (groups of Zakat beneficiaries) and orphanages registered with the Department of Social Welfare. Antabax is among the five brands participating in the second MYDIN Prihatin charity fundraising initiative. This year, the funds collected will be donated to underprivileged families, orphanages and old folks homes in conjunction with MYDIN’s 63rd Anniversary in August and in time for the Back to School season in December. The Covid-19 pandemic is having a staggering impact on the global economy. Among the hardest hit are those who are most at risk, especially the underprivileged. To flatten the curve of transmission, washing hands frequently with soap and water, using sanitisers and showering upon returning from crowded areas are recommended. Antabax shower creams, hand soaps, bar soaps, gel and spray sanitisers and antibacterial wipes offer 24-hour antibacterial protection from 99.9 per cent of harmful germs and are available at MYDIN outlets, nationwide. All Antabax products are certified halal, giving Muslims full confidence in using them. “The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in increased demand for Antabax’ products as frequent handwashing, sanitising hands and surfaces, bathing and showers are recommended to flatten the curve. As a caring corporate citizen, we would like to give back to communities in need during this time,” explained Francis Ng, Senior General Manager at Antabax. Through the first MYDIN Prihatin initiative in 2019, Antabax contributed approximately RM18, 000 towards 14 charity homes, nationwide. “We truly appreciate the support of Antabax in joining this noble initiative to reaching out the underprivileged. The previous MYDIN Prihatin has successfully collected more than RM 150,000 for charity, and we hope to bring more smiles this year, especially during these challenging times” said Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin, Managing Director of Mydin Mohamed Holdings Berhad. “Contributions in cash and in-kind have reduced tremendously since the Covid-19 pandemic started because times are tough for everyone. We are thankful for the MYDIN Prihatin initiative and the support we received from Antabax. For us, these contributions make so much difference, and we feel very grateful for the contribution,” said an NGO representative.