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In a move that shocked Malaysians, the Deputy Director General (Operations) of Malaysia’s Islamic Development Department (Jakim), Abdul Aziz Jusoh, recently issued a statement saying that halal certified companies should not display their products if they had a non-Islamic holiday greeting.
This is surprising even to Jakim. Does Jakim really need to put in more bureaucracy to
small businesses during an economic downturn?
How can a simple “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Deepavali” message have the power to revoke your halal certified status?
To understand this better, perhaps we need to delve into what halal
certification really means.
Halal is an Arabic word that means permissible. A halal certified product means that the product is acceptable for consumption according to Islamic law.
Halal certification goes beyond pork and alcohol issues, it also encompasses other areas of food preparation, such as slaughter, cleaning, and safety.
When a Muslim buyer walks into your store, they can feel secure knowing that the product they want to buy meets the strict needs of halal certification.
Does a festive greeting really have the power to undo the entire halal process?
Did Jakim reprimand the many Muslim world leaders, including our own King, for publicly sending Christmas greetings to Christians?
Jakim may not realize this, but if this policy were to go into effect, even Muslim business owners would suffer as a consequence. Not allowing companies to profit from religious holidays is certainly a missed opportunity.
If you were a shopper looking for holiday deals, which store would you be the most
likely to sponsor?
One with Christmas greetings, decorations, and music? Or one that did the exact opposite? The answer is obvious.
This is why shopping malls around the world go to extremes to get their shoppers in the festive mood. They know that Christmas shopping is big business.
This new Jakim ruling will affect a business owner’s ability to market their products during the most lucrative retail season.
Doesn’t Jakim realize that we are heading into a terrifying global recession and that we must all work together to try to help stimulate the economy?
Perhaps the most frustrating part of all this is that, once again, Malaysians are left in the dark.
On Twitter, the questions came quickly.
One user wrote: “So if I have a certified halal bakery and intend to promote my business on social media by posting ‘Merry Christmas’ cake images, would I have to remove my ad? What is the reason for this? “
Others wanted to know if large corporations like Starbucks would have their halal licenses revoked if they displayed Christmas greetings.
Also, since this policy is not actually based on any specific guidelines in the halal certification manual, what is preventing Jakim from making further progress in the future?
Today is the holiday greetings, tomorrow, will it be the decorations? The music? Where does it end?
Only God knows now.
Jai Naeer is an FMT reader.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
