Welcome Speach by H.E. Mr. İhsan ÖVÜT at the Opening Session of the First International Virtual Halal Conference 06 April 2020
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam,
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
We are grateful to Allah Al-Mighty for blessing us with this occasion and givingus the opportunity to be united together at this important gathering dedicated for Halal.We have gathered here today for the issue of Halal, because Allah (S.W.T.) has ordered us to consume what is Halal and Tayyib.
I would to like to thank and congratulate all Halal Certification Bodies Worldwide forconsulting and organizing this online event during the historic period of the 20th century.
Distinguished Brothers and Sisters,
Three months ago, no one knew that Corona Virus existed. Now the virus has spread to almost every country, infecting nearly 1.5 millionaround the world. It has crashed economies and broken health-care systems, filled hospitals and emptied public spaces. It has separated people from their workplaces and their friends. It has disrupted modern society on a scale that most living people have never witnessed.
When we look at the origin of this Covid-19 outbreak, it can be easily noted that that the coronavirus outbreak has drawn the world's attention to the importance of food cleanliness and hygiene.
As Muslims, Halal and Haram are main focuses of our lives. Before we make an action or consume something, we have to consider whether it is Halal or not. Allah (S.W.T.) in Qur'an, has defined for us what Halal is and what is not.
I strongly believe that, in the wake of the outbreak, Halal food has proven to be the best option particularly with meat-related food products, due to the cleanliness and disease-free aspects it adheres to.
It is very clear that the whole situation has opened up opportunities for firms operating within the Halal food space, as consumers globally seek cleaner, safer food.
Halal is a universally applicable concept, which calls for, among many elements, cleanliness which directly refers to the Tayyip for sure. In parallel, the hundreds of campaigns that governments around the world are rolling out to urge people to fight the Covid-19 pandemic have several key themes, including cleanliness.
Esteemed participants,
However, globalization and industrializationhave made it more complicated for us to understand what we consume is halal or not and this has consequently brought the need for Halal Certification.
For halal certification, we need standards. When I say "standards", I refer to technical documents which are professionally developed with the contribution of several stakeholders and by consensus for sure.
Muslims make up more than 27% of the World's population and continue to grow. Simultaneously, the need for Halal products and services such as halal food, cosmetics, tourism, logistics, pharmaceuticals and finance has gradually increased and the developing technology and industrial changes have transformed the conventional Halal products into a huge "Halal Industry".
Therefore, there is a strong need to have common standards for all halal related products and services. And these standards should be developed by a standardization organization which every stakeholder agrees on.
Brothers and Sisters,
This is why SMIIC is established in 2010 as an affiliated institute to theOrganization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).SMIIC is mandated to act as a professional entity in studying standardization, metrology and accreditation fields and developing standards which will display the interests of Islamic World. Over the last 10 years, SMIIC has achieved great progress and increased the number of its members to 42 including 4 observers.
The main objective of SMIIC is to develop the relevant standards to facilitate the trade of the reliable, halal and clean products between the countries for Muslims and non-Muslims as well.
Up to date, SMIIC has published 13 OIC/SMIIC standards which were prepared in relevant Technical Committees of SMIIC in the most professional way. I would like to give the good news that OIC/SMIIC 1, OIC/SMIIC 2 and OIC/SMIIC 3; namely halal production, certification and accreditation standards, have been revised and new and more modern editions of these standards are now published and available on SMIIC website.
We have also developed and published OIC/SMIIC 4 standard as Halal Cosmetic standard, OIC/SMIIC 9 standard as Halal Tourism standard and OIC/SMIIC 6 standard as application of OIC/SMIIC 1 to places where Halal food and beverages are prepared, stored and served. We have also ongoing projects for halal supply chain, tourism, food additives, gelatine, animal feed, test methods etc. and once the required procedures have been completed, these standards will be published and available for your use.
Esteemed participants,
With these remarks, I would like to underscore that OIC/SMIIC Standards are the basis of many standards on Halal and widely used by Halal Certification Bodies all around the world. There may be differences due to technical issues and interpretation of Sharia Rules but we have more common points then these few disagreements. And this is exactly what SMIIC has been working on since its establishment.
With this regard and in light of explanations on OIC/SMIIC halal conformity assessment standards,I would like to invite interested parties of the halal industry to support and promote SMIIC and its activities and contribute to its technical work as stakeholders. Your professional experience and knowledge are of great importance for SMIIC to produce the best standards for the sectors' use.
National standards are vital, however common international standards are more important for effective implementation. It is inevitable to cope with various problems unless agreed on common halal criteria and standards.And SMIIC is the only official and professional entity to be regarded as the competent authority in this regard.
I believe that this forum and your kind efforts will place emphasis on creating Muslim consumers' awareness of consuming halal products, engaging in halal production and services in all fields.
I once gain would like to take this opportunity to thank the organizers for this online eventand I pray for Allah's grace and blessings for a successful outcomes for the unity among all of us.
I ask the Allah Almighty to protect the entire world from this coronavirus and re-open of the Al-Masjid Al-Ḥaram and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi for the prayers very soon.
Thank you.
Was salamualaikum verahmatullah vebarakatuh.
By Mr. Shahid Nessar Karwani