Making Pork Halaal again – Orion Meat Scandal

Public sentiments and outrage

What the public had to say about this as the story was being aired and till 2am that morning. About 200 comments in the first link

Like you, the 3rd Degree show last night concerned me greatly. I spent a long time assessing the situation and sentiments of everyone, and this morning I made contact with the MJC. I was afforded the opportunity to sit in 2 separate meetings with the key members of the MJC. After hours of discussion and looking at evidence, I can assure you that the 3rd Degree show was a huge misrepresentation of the facts. The MJC has failed only in their communication and proactive dialogue with the Muslim community, and they have felt the brunt of this, and are determined to address this. I’m not speaking on the behalf of the MJC. I am a Muslim residing in Cape Town, and what I eat is important to my spirituality so the Halaal topic is high on my agenda. I would encourage us all, in this matter and beyond, to reserve our comments and accusations until we have personally investigated and physically seen evidence. Gracias!

The MJC was slammed on the social networks for their role in the saga as the organisation had previously certified Orion poultry as Halaal; and according to the programme last night, meat as well.

Orion Meat Storage Company had been accused of relabeling pork, kangaroo and other meats as Halaal.

Muslim consumers are only allowed to eat Halaal products. This status is determined by the Islamic manner of slaughtering and the exclusion of certain foods such as swine from the Muslim diet.

In the programme, MJC officials were portrayed as trying to avoid an interview and refusing to answer questions posed by presenter, Deborah Patta, with regards to the saga surrounding the alleged relabeling of non-permissible food products as Halaal by Orion Cold Storage.

The on air depiction has unleashed a plethora of criticism towards the organisation on social networking sites.

Moulana Hendricks said it was dejecting to see that Muslims could take 3^rd Degree as a reference.

“It is sad that our community can actually take 3^rd Degree as a daleel (evidence) for reference and then embarking on a lambasting programme to further insult the dignity of the Ulema (Muslim scholars),” he said on the Cii morning drive show, Sabahul Khair.

He said the programme producers did not request for an interview in an appropriate manner and therefore they refused to answer questions.

“3^rd Degree and in particular the programme of Deborah Patta, should learn once-and-for-all, to adopt the decency and the principle to request the MJC in a decent manner for an interview.”

Patta camped outside the offices of the MJC in Cape Town seeking clarity on the Halaal certifying issue for four hours prior to the airing of the programme.

She said they did speak to officials of the MJC requesting an interview.

“We met Sheikh Sedick (MJC Deputy President) outside the court when the application was first brought against Orion Cold Storage and he agreed to give us an interview. We just had to formalise a time.”

Patta said that this was then followed by an exchange of emails and phone calls with the MJC in which they had agreed to an interview without settling on a specific day.

In the programme aired on television, Patta said that when the MJC became aware of the nature of the questions dealing with the Halaal/Haraam issue, all communication from the MJC stopped.

“We phoned and phoned. I flew down to Cape Town – no avail. We came down again and sent another email and in fact the secretary general, (Moulana) Abdul Khalick Alli confirms on tape, which I have a copy of, that they did receive those emails. In fact he apologised for not getting back to us,” she said.

According to Patta, this then prompted them to visit the MJC offices unannounced to try and get an interview.

MJC officials refused to conduct the interview and have taken a decision not to participate in any interviews with the television channel.

“The MJC does not abdicate its responsibility. There are many other avenues, other then Deborah Patta, other then 3^rd Degree, to engage the Muslim community and to explain to the Muslim community the absolute truth,” said Moulana Hendricks.

Since the airing of the programme a number of people have called for the MJC to disband.

The broadcast of an investigative documentary on the Orion halal scandal on etv’s Third Degree on Tuesday evening had immediate impact when the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) was flooded with feedback from an irate public who blamed the ulema body over relabelled imported products. While the MJC had certifying 18 imported chicken consignments for the company in 2011, Orion Cold Storage was exposed in November after whistle blowers showed footage of staff deliberately relabelling imported products – including pork – as halal.

Responding on VOC’s Breakfast Beat on Wednesday morning, MJC president, Maulana Igsaan Hendricks, stated that program host Debra Patta’s handling of the matter had been “unethical” and “insulting”, creating the impression that the MJC had never explained itself on this matter when there were numerous public statements made since November, most notable on VOC.

“We had placed on record on VOC and in many public statements that Orion’s actions are criminal. There is no debate on that. Etv and 3rd Degree had a good party last night that left the MJC as the guilty party in the face of the SA community.” He confirmed that the MJC had refused the interview with Patta, adding that the journalist “needed to learn the decency of making an appointment”.

“On the day that she came here, we had no trace of emails or even smses to confirm the interview for that day and time. We were all surprised when she and her crew virtually stormed the building of the MJC and kept it under siege for four hours. It is not normal practise when there is a set appointment, to duck and dive. However, according to last night’s program, it clearly appears that the MJC ‘abdicated’ its responsibility,” the alim said.

Under siege

According to Hendricks, during the tv crew’s “siege” of the MJC offices, he had sent a message that he would accede to the request for the interview the next morning. This did not materialise. He added that MJC deputy president, Sheik Achmat Sedick had indicated that he had received a call from the show’s producer for an interview and had “showed willingness”, but this too had not been confirmed. By the time the film crew arrived, Sedick had already been off on sick leave for two days.

Hendricks also explained that since his illness last year, he had not enjoyed “a normal presence” at the MJC offices. On the day in question, despite ill health, he had been at the MJC to attend an urgent meeting on another matter not related to the halal crisis. “It is indeed a sad day when the community cannot believe that alims can also take ill, despite our dedicated service to this community,” he lamented.

Hendricks said the ulema body has been bombarded with emails and other forms of public feedback after the program aired which indicates that the community believed the program’s assertion that “the MJC was guilty of lying”. “Yet the truth is that for the last month and a half, Sheik Achmat has been in and out of doctor’s offices in order to recover. I myself…2011 had not been kind to my health and as such, I had not enjoyed a normal presence at the MJC. Therefore I had not given many interviews over the last few months.”An irate Hendricks said Patta “speculated laughably” in the documentary, including about whose cars were parked outside the MJC offices.

He said it was only two days after 3rd Degree‘s visit to the MJC that they received an email request for an interview two days later with a list of 25 questions. “However, by virtue of the manner in which they kept us under siege in our own offices, the unethical manner Patta approached us and her insulting attitude toward our secretary general, Maulana Abdul Khaliq Alie who is a person of splendid character and integrity, I as president of the MJC, took the decision not to give any interview to 3rd Degree in the future.”

According to Hendricks, the Orion scandal had been one of the most “insulting” incidents in the MJC’s 65 year history, which “despite our committed service to the community”, had made the ulema body a laughing stock. Asked to respond to the claim that its halal certification was only a “money making business”, the alim explained that the MJC made this service available to companies who wanted to be assured of halal consumption.

Transparency

However, the question and the claim that the MJC was not fully “transparent and accountable” was a common refrain. “But the community never asks questions when we use the revenue generated from the halal certification to pour a quarter of a million rand into the International Peace Varsity South Africa (IPSA where our children go to gain knowledge; or when we use it to support imams who work in underprivileged communities, or when we subsidise educational institutions like the Al Azhar School. Regardless, we are ready to share such information with the community, as we have done in the past.”

He said the MJC was approached by people on a daily basis, “but no one can expect us to simply respond to anyone who has a request, when such a person could have an alternative agenda against the MJC. The sad part in all this is that we still have to deal with these matters, even when people become personal and attack individual personalities, or when people do not understand ethics of engagement.”

Hendricks reiterated that the MJC had severed all ties with Orion. “We have made it clear in all our previous statements on this matter, that Orion never enjoyed (full) halal certification from the MJC. Unlike any other outlet certified by the MJC as halal, they only enjoyed a facility where consignments (with certain imported products) were cleared by us.

“But when this story unfolded, we immediately suspended whatever limited relationship we had with Orion. When we further gaged that Orion did not take the responsibility or initiative to restore the damage done to the MJC, we instructed our legal team to sever all ties with them. We also informed the public and instructed them not to buy any products from them. I hope this has provided some clarity on the matter and in the days to come, we will continue to engage with the community in ongoing programs,” he concluded.

Assalaamu Alaikum Wharah Matullah

‘

Salaam everyone.

Let me add the following statement to my statements, below to your emails of last night. Remember Debra herself said on TV that she does not have an appointment with the MJC and just rocked up at the MJC. She also said that I gave her an appointment, which is untrue. When I met Barbara some time before that 3^rd Degree day, I indicated to her that MJC has no problem in speaking with eTV, but I haven’t confirmed any appointment.  In fact, I had an interview with eTV and they played less than one second of it as a news item, which did not reflect what I have said in the 10 minute interview in Maulana Igsaan’s office I had with eTV. Now, allow me to re-state what I wrote to one of emails last night:

Salaam Nabeela. In the final analysis Almighty Allah is the JUDGE, and not you. If I request an appointment with you and you don’t grant it or refuse to confirm it, do I have a right to come to your house/work and demand  that I want to speak with you because I am fed up now fed up with you because I tried for two weeks to confirm the appointment with you? Where are the ethics?

On the other hand, the MJC has clarified its position on the Orion matter on radio VOC, Channel Islam and in print to all Masajid in the Western Cape. We also explained how Halal import/export works in South Africa, unlike how Ml Navlaki and others postulated it on 3^rd Degree, as if the MJC certified pork. It is clear that ORION are the culprits in this instance and they have deceived the Muslim for financial gain and internal dispute. Why is the MJC held responsible for their deceit? Shaykh Achmat Sedick

Now, allow me to add: most of you [besides the abusive and disrespectful language-use] accuse the MJC of being hypocrites, liars, negligence and having cast doubt in your hearts and minds. Then the ultimate threat of boycotting all products certified by the MJCHT.

Firstly, be my guest of boycotting all MJC certified products, it would honestly not affect me. Just make sure that you fully know and understand what is Halal and what is not Halal before you buy and consume anything or whatever you get involved in, otherwise you will be in big trouble and in a mess, not with the MJC, but with Almighty Allah. Remember, marriage is an issue of Halal / Haram, your work is an issue of Halal / Haram. Your entire lifestyle is an issue of Halal / Haram. Halal/Haram also entails how we speak and language-use, if you truly understand the depths of what Halal/Haram entail. The ultimate judge is Almighty Allah.

Secondly, falsely accusing someone else, the Shari’ah has its way of dealing with it. Just a kind reminder to you. There is an authentic Hadith of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh), which teaches us that if you accuse someone else of something unfounded (i.e. his/her innocence is proven afterwards), then whatever you accused him/her of falls upon you.

Thirdly, the issue of lying and you accusing the MJC as liars, see my statement, below. In  addition, when MJC (Ml Abdul Khaliq Allie) offered Debra an appointment for the next morning, she actually refused to meet with the MJC because she had to attend a graduation ceremony of her child. [Thus, if this interview was so important to her, how come her personal matters took a priority over her work, during working hours?] We then subsequently said that we don’t want to meet with her.

Fourthly, casting doubt in people’s minds and hearts or creating such scenarios, is a serious offense, according to the Shari’ah. The MJC has explained and clarified itself as to what extent it was involved with the ORION – ON A CONSIGNMENT BASIS. But allow me to contextualize it once more: The MJCHT is not the Halal certifier of the entire ORION Cold Storage because it is essentially a non-Halal facility. The principle is similar to certifying supermarkets, for example. The Halal certifier does not certify the entire supermarket, as Halal, because the facility deals and trades with other non-Halal products, as well. So, the Halal certifier is responsible for the products and sections it is certifying that it is as Halal, ensuring that the Halal classified places in the supermarket remains Halal and not contaminated with non-Halal products, etc.

In the case of the ORION, if I may repeat myself, the MJCHT identified specific sealed consignments as Halal, checked it out and cleared it (i.e. confirmed its Halal status), resealed it and approved it to be relayed to its buyer as Halal in a sealed condition.

You saw on 3^rd Degree  what ORION did insofar as re-labeling; absolute deceit and criminality. Actually, the MJC never knew about this criminality, except a few hours before the matter was brought to court. Remember, the MJCHT’s responsibility and accountability is only the Halal Consignments that come into ORION. Let me demonstrate the onus of criminality further. You are in a trading relationship with a clothing manufacturing company. You order genuine leather, levi’s – all original manufactured products – and instructs the manufacturer to send the consignment, which you have paid for to your third person (your buyer). The manufacturer imports all Chinese products of what you ordered him to do and re-label the Chinese products with his labels and send the re-labeled (without your knowledge, of course) to your prospective buyer. The onus of criminality falls on whom??

I hope you understand now what the MJC has been explaining and clarifying the “CERTIFICATION ON A CONSIGNMENT-BASIS”.

I now rest my case, and am not going to further engage any of you. And like I said, HALAL / HARAM is a religious matter. Allah, Most High will be the JUDGE, not you.

Jazakumu-Allah

Shaykh Achmat Sedick

 Moulana Yunus Patel’s letter to the MJC

Muslim Consumer Council