The 2015 Mid-Year Executive Committee Meeting of World Halal Council was be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday, 2 April 2015.
The patron of World Halal Council Dr. Huseyin Buyukozer gave a speech. Dr. Buyukozer’s full text of the speech is below;
Dear Brothers of World Halal Council,
All praise is for Allah, the Exalted; may He send peace and blessings on the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), his family, and his companions.
There are a large number of standardization and certification organizations established worldwide. But WHC and its members must work in the most ideal and it must be the best example in itself as organization and as individual members. Others should look at WHC members and should want to be like us. Our working methods must be away from any doubt and it must be as strict as possible.
Ideally, WHC must be the only address where Halal related matters can be reviewed and decided upon. To achieve this, WHC must be strong, firm and united. We must stay away from gossip and from anything that might cause fitnah. Our members should build strong cooperative relations with each and with other reliable Halal certification organizations in the world to protect the rights of Muslims.
We just accept prophetic methods called as Islamic dhabiha. Now we all know that the slaughter must be done by hand and there is no need for mechanical slaughtering and that mechanical ways of slaughtering is not accepted any more by many of the esteemed Ulama.
Halal industry is a highly potential market of the future that has not been fully explored. Many Muslim entrepreneurs are still not aware of the potential and that is why the cream of the market is still taken by non-Muslims. Do the Muslims not have enough money for Halal production investment? Of course, they do. But they have to learn the business and they have to learn it from us, not from another non-Muslim person or entity. We are really sick of non-Muslims’ playing with Halal and make money from the Muslims.
For this reason, as GIMDES we have started Halal Dunya Markets Projects in Turkey. If a Muslim consumer goes to these markets, he can easily find Halal certified products in one place. Halal Dunya Markets is controlled by GIMDES, so non- certified products cannot be sold. We have to support this project and initiatives that want to open a branch all over the world. I believe this may be a good example of how the Muslim investors can learn the potential. Then they can do not only trade, but start producing Halal. This is what we want.
Having said that, we cannot ignore the importance of Halal Trade Shows. As you know we have been organizing the Halal Expo for 6 years and inshaallah we will manage to organize the 7th Show this year in Istanbul. I personally invite you to come and also bring business people from around your country for them to see the opportunities. I also encourage you to do the same in your regions if it is feasible. This will also help people to awaken.
It is not surprising that most of the academic discourse on Halal and Haram concentrates on foods and beverages. Various studies and tests were conducted on tracing the existence of forbidden materials in food, its method of production and other related matters. However, the Halal and Haram aspects of medicinal products have only started to attract serious attention and scholarly debates. A number of studies are conducted focusing on the awareness of consumers, economic positioning of Halal cosmetics products, current practice by the healthcare providers in dispensing Halal or Haram medication and so on less attention given to the legal and religious basis of its status. For this reason this year we organize medicine and Fiqh workshop simultaneously with Halal Expo exhibition on 22-25 October 2015. I request from you to send this workshop you fiqh and technical member experts to share their experiences in the industry and I believe you will come and contribute by sharing your precious information.
Our education system took its share from the western modernity and this affected Muslim Ummah badly. Generations have grown up without proper knowledge about our religion. Even though they are Muslims, their knowledge on Islam is weak, as a result of import of western curriculum. This even include architecture. You know our Muslim ancestors built great mosques and constructed whole civilizations. Now our architects consider themselves successful when they manage to imitate an ordinary western building. For this reason, we have started a new project which is called Darul Halal Madrasah. Darul Halal Madrasah is a basis for next generations to educate what they eat, drink and consume and critical control points of products and have high Islamic values. Students from all over the world will be able to enroll this university to learn Halal Science and Islamic Sciences together.
GIMDES organizes Halalen Tayyiban Umrah programs. From departure to arrival, all meals, drinks and products are controlled by GIMDES as Halal Certified. GIMDES will orginized the third Halalen Tayyiben Umrah program this year on 21-30 May 2015. I request from you to inform in your country for Muslims who want to join.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى revealed:
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
“The believers are nothing else than brothers. So make reconciliation between your brothers, and fear Allah, that you may receive mercy.” [Al-Hujjurat, 49:10]
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم also said about brotherhood: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
Brothers, as you know, that there is QARZ -E- HASNA’ in Islam. `QARZ -E- HASNA’ is not a word coined by anybody. It is from Allah Himself and is found in the Holy Qur’an itself. The relevant citations from the Holy Qur’an are as under:
“Who is he that will loan to Allah, a beautiful loan, (QARZE-E-HASNA) which Allah will double and multiply many times? It is Allah that gives (you) want or plenty and to Him shall be your return” -Sura Baqara 2:245
“If you loan to Allah a beautiful loan, (QARZE-E-HASNA) He will double it to your (Credit) and He will grant you forgiveness; For Allah is Most Ready to appreciate (Service), most forbearing” Surah Tagabun – 64 : 17.
It is also not the same as popularly & widely under stood among Muslims. Giving loan to some needy individual and receive it back without charging any interest. This is a wonderful thing to do. And Allah shall definitely give its reward. Whatever little good one does, Allah never denies it’s Reward to him. (See 3:115).
I strongly recommend you as World Halal Council Executive Committee members to establish Qarze-e Hasna System in World Halal council. If any World Halal Council member is in financial trouble, we can help him using that budget.
I would like to finalize my speech with my desire to be host again for our next AGM in Istanbul in 2015.