Detonation Range

“Have you ever seen this symbol on the back of your food products?”

This question heads a forwarded e-mail which concisely details the horror of the ‘Halal Foods Authority’ and their association with Australian branches of food corporations such as Cadbury. Wikipedia defines Halal as a term referring to “any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law.” For the purposes of this article, it is used specifically regarding food and preparation procedures. The author of the e-mail does not approve of the appearance of the pictured logo, writing:

This is a Muslim Association that collects money from the Australian Food Industry for this symbol, so that Muslims will purchase the product. Yet we are told the Muslim population are only one and a half percent of Australia’s total!

The Halal Certificaiton Authority are an organization which is affiliated with the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service. Their purpose is to certify companies as having complied with Islamic standards of food preparation and therefore permit companies to display a logo which indicates this fact. While they do charge a certification fee, the suggestion that they simply ‘sell’ the logo is false. A Halal information website states:

Procedures vary but usually include an application form, site inspection & discussion, and ongoing supervision by representatives from the certifying organisations during the production of halal products. A certification fee is charged.

Regardless, the implicit argument that since Muslims are a minority in this country, then Halal certification is wrong is a strange one. Evidently the 1.5% of Australia’s total population that desire Halal foods is an attractive market sector for Cadbury. The author seems to suggest that minority groups are insufficiently important to justify a company meeting their culinary desires, a position which I find quite absurd. Lactose intolerant citizens are also a minority, as are people who are left-handed and those who prefer organic foods. How dare Sanitarium, Officeworks and natural foods stores sell soy milk, left-handed scissors and organic food respectively!

On a recent radio talk-back show a well known  host was alerted to this practice. He hit a stone wall when trying to find out HOW MUCH money was paid to this organization and WHERE the money went.

Allegations of corruption in an organization affiliated with the Quarantine and Inspection Service and which claim to be in accordance with Federal legislation are a serious matter and genuine suspicions should be investigated promptly by the proper authorities. However, talk-radio hosts do not exemplify this category. I am unsurprised that he ‘hit a stone wall’ attempting to investigate the private financial business of this organization, and would suggest that in future concerned citizens contact the Australian Federal Police on such matters.

It was explained that by buying those marked products at least you are supporting a religion that is actively trying to destroy the Australian way of life or at the other extreme the money MAY be supporting terrorism.

This is a plain appeal to prejudice and stereotypes. It is hard to imagine a more preposterous reification than suggesting that Islam is attempting to destroy the Australian way of life. It is certainly true that the number of adherents to Islam in the ‘Western World’ is increasing, however Australian citizens are not obligated to behave in certain stereotypical ways and are protected by a right to freedom of religion. Indeed, it may even be that some Muslim citizens do dislike traditional Australian culture, but this certainly does not mean that each and every Muslim is working hard to ensure the collapse of this supposedly universally agreed ‘way of life’ and it is ridiculous to suggest such a thing.

Similarly, the knee-jerk association of Islam with terrorism is both childish and idiotic. While current high-profile terrorist groups may be Islamic, this does not mean that all Islamic groups and companies are funding terrorism. It is possible that an Islamic association may be supporting terrorism, but it is by no means an assumption one can freely make with no evidence whatsoever. It is possible that I may be funding terrorism, but it would be very strange for someone to accuse me without any evidence. This reaction is similar to seeing an Islamic person on the street, behaving perfectly innocently, and thinking “they might be a terrorist!”.

Many Australian Companies are paying this money including BEGA, CADBURY and many other well known companies.  Check before you buy AND BECOME AWARE..

DO YOU KNOW WHERE THAT MONEY IS GOING?

I fear I must answer this question with a resolute “No.” I do not. I suspect the writer of this e-mail is similarly unaware. Do I really know where my money is going when I buy anything from a major corporation? People are well within their rights to boycott any products they choose, but I sincerely hope that no rational person will cease buying Cadbury chocolate on the rationale that they have identified a desirable market and are responding to it appropriately, gaining a certification from an organization which is no more likely to be supporting terrorism than any other, despite this e-mail’s alarmist message.