News:

For the past few weeks, the Malaysian media was dominated by the case of the Cadbury chocolate products. The Malaysian Ministry of Health (MMoH) confirmed that samples of Cadbury Hazelnut Milk Chocolate and Cadbury Dairy Milk Roast Almond contained porcine DNA.  A day later, the Department of Islamic Development of Malaysia (Jakim) suspended the halal certification for the two products.  Jakim Director-General, Datuk Othman Mustapha said that the action was taken following the analysis conducted by MMoH and that further investigation will be carried out to identify the source of the porcine contamination. A few days later, the Chairman of the National Fatwa Council confirmed that the Cadbury products are halal, as it was, before the alleged contamination. The ruling was based on the condition of ‘umum al-balwa', a condition of misfortune or hardship which is prevalent and difficult to avoid. To the surprise of many, Jakim later retracted their stand and said that the two samples of Cadbury's chocolate products contain no porcine DNA. And to add to the surprise, MMoH which previously defended their decision, also later claimed to have made a mistake on the announcement that there are traces of porcine DNA in the two Cadbury chocolate products!

Comment:

The whole episode on the Cadbury chocolates is full of irony. Controversial decisions of the National Fatwa Council, MMoH and Jakim in "re-legalizing" Cadbury's chocolates after they were diagnosed to contain porcine DNA are indeed strange and confusing. This had certainly tainted their credibility and had given rise to speculation that there was pressure and specific directions that caused the decisions of these institutions to change drastically. If this is true, it is not unexpected that an international company such as Cadbury will do anything it takes, with the backup of political stakeholders, to not remain silent in matters that would certainly cause significant losses to their business. In any case, it is rather too late now. Muslims in general will not even touch Cadbury products. Such is the sensitivity of Muslims in Malaysia in issues regarding food. They will go to great lengths to ensure that the food they consume is 100% halal.

This is good and well which certainly manifests the care shown by Muslims in Malaysia on halal food. However, why should this mentality stop only as far as halal food? It is certainly unfortunate that the sensitivity of Muslims on halal food had been blown out of proportion such that the unlawfulness of pig products is ‘everything' as if it represents the concept of ‘haram' in its totality!! Ironically, various other prohibitions are continually neglected, viewed as if they are not part of Islam! If Muslims are well aware of the prohibition of pork, then they should also leave all other unlawful actions of such riba, exposing one's ‘aurah', lying, hurting other Muslims by slander and defamation, keeping silent towards the tyranny of non-Islamic laws, fighting under the flags of ‘assabiyyah' and ‘wathaniyyah' and leaving the responsibility of carrying da'wah. It is certainly unfortunate that in issues related to the forbidden nature of pigs, Muslims are so perturbed but on other more dominant haram issues, many are oblivious or worse indifferent to them.

The quick actions of Jakim on this issue are to be praised and commended. But it is highly regrettable that action was carried out only on the issue of the unlawfulness of pigs. Why is it that only the issue of pigs which is raised and acted upon? Why isn't Jakim taking action on the unlawfulness of the riba based economic system prevalent in the country? Why isn't they taking action on the unlawful system implemented by the Malaysian government which has led to various other unlawfulness (haram) in the country? The reality is that the secular democratic capitalistic system implemented by the government, as a whole, is deeply engrained in the minds of Muslims, not just in Malaysia but also the whole Muslim world. The system is so strongly engrained that Muslims are oblivious to its unlawfulness and worse, the system as a whole is accepted as the norm! If this is understood, then it is easier to understand why Jakim, as a governmental Islamic institution has failed and will always fail in sanctifying and protecting Islam as an ideology.

Whether the leaders are oblivious or very much aware of the fact that the system they are implementing is a system which is diametrically opposed to the basis of Islam, the reality remains that the current system bears no intention to implement, protect or disseminate Islam as an ideology.  The government seems to be so concerned with this recent episode because the leaders are themselves Muslims who, like most Muslims in Malaysia have been  deeply cultured in the secular view of Islam where Islam is viewed as a personal issue, where governmental role as far as protecting Islam is concerned revolves only around a very limited scope of Islam. Islam is never viewed as a Deen in its totality and is never viewed as a solution to ALL of man's problems!

O Allah! Show us the right path! Give us victory in the re-establishment of the Khilafah "Caliphate" where all of Islam will be implemented and Your Deen is the only reference point for us in solving our problems.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by

Dr. Muhammad - Malaysia