By Omar Rashid
New Delhi: By lodging an FIR against four organisations that issue halal certification, linking them to alleged terror funding and banning the manufacturing and sale of halal-certified products, the Yogi Adityanath-ruled Uttar Pradesh has, in a span of 24 hours, unleashed a crackdown against halal items in the state.
Two companies who now face a criminal case over halal certification, speaking to The Wire, accused the complainant of spreading misconceptions about halal certification and, as a consequence, undermining national interest since these products contribute to the nation’s economy and trade.
Halal means permitted or lawful under Islamic law and is often associated with the dietary norms of Muslims especially related to consumption of meat, although the word can apply to other elements of life as well, such as income, work, food ingredients, cosmetic products and medicines.
On November 17, an FIR was lodged in Lucknow against the Halal India Private Limited Chennai, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust Delhi, Halal Council of India Mumbai and Jamiat Ulama Maharashtra on charges of allegedly issuing halal certificates for some products on the basis of forged documents to exploit the religious sentiments of customers of a particular community (Muslims) for financial gains.
Apart from these organisations, the FIR lists as accused other unknown manufacturing companies and their managers and owners; others involved in “anti-national conspiracy”; others who are “funding notified terrorist organisations and organisations involved in anti-national activities” and people who are “conspiring to incite large-scale riots by messing with public faith.”
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here .