Two Islamic bodies have disagreed over the right organisation to conduct halaal certification.
Both the Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) and the Tawheed Islamic Foundation (TAIF) claim to have the right to certify halaal foods
MAM says its Halaal Department (HD) is the only one mandated halaal certifying body in the country.
According to a statement that MAM has issued, it is illegal for anyone to come up with halaal certifying body and rival The Halaal Department under Muslim Association of Malawi.
“The Halaal Department (HD) is the only mandated Halaal Certifying Body in Malawi under Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) and holds the trademarks of the words.”
“Any fraudulent use of the Halal word to mislead the Muslim community and the general public will be dealt with according to the laws of Malawi,” reads the statement.
But in response, founder of TAIF sheikh Omar Matola said MAM has no mandate to stop others from halaal certifying in the country.
“I would like to clarify to Muslims in the country on the usage of the words like Tawheed, Halaal, Haram, hajj etc. These words are religious in nature and must be used by any person or organization in this country and on this planet. Therefore it must be noted that nobody and not even any organization can claim that they are the only ones that are supposed to use these words,” said Matola.
He added that other Muslim activities such as the Hajj are also managed by different organisations.
“Another vivid example is the usage of the word Hajj here in Malawi. There are a lot of traveling Agencies that are dealing with issues of hajj and no one claims or can claim exclusive rights over the word hajj and usage of it. The same applies to the word Halaal, zakat etc, he said.
The Halal Department under MAM gives certificates to restaurants and hotels among others if they are offering good foods and drinks that can be consumed by the Muslim community.
