Even as Muslim clerics are divided over the ban imposed on the sale of halal-certified products by the Uttar Pradesh government, All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Samajwadi Party have opposed the ban.
The SP termed the ban as a move to polarise voters ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The AIMPLB said that there was nothing illegal in halal certificates. Its spokesperson Qasim Rasool Iliyas said that in Islam there were restrictions on certain things which could not be eaten. He said halal certificates made it easy for the Muslim community to buy Sharia compliant food products that were permitted in the religion. He said that agencies issuing halal certificates were duly recognised.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind has issued a statement after the ban imposed on halal certified products by the UP government. Jamiat has been giving halal certification and an FIR was lodged against it in Lucknow on Saturday. The organisation said that it had a valid certificate regarding halal and authorisation from the commerce ministry. It said that halal certificates were being issued with transparency and honesty.
However, prominent Muslim cleric of Barelvi sect, Maulana Shahbuddin said that halal tag could be given to meat products only and not to everything. He said that in the Shariat the world halal was being used only for the meat of animals hence its use for any other item was not proper. He said that consumption of other things could be legal or illegal but the halal tag could not be used for it.
Maulana Sufiyan Nizami of Darul Uloom Firangi Mahal, Lucknow said that Muslim must have the liberty on what to eat or consume as per their religious belief and there should be no restriction on halal certified products. He said that the ban on halal certified products would hamper exports and would adversely impact the economy.
All India Shia Chand Committee chairman Maulana Saif Abbas said that putting halal tags was meant to target a particular community. “Throughout my life I have never heard of the word ‘halal’ or ‘jhatka; except for meat. Neither there is any mention of halal in Shariat other than for meat,” Maulana Saif said.
He said that there were certain agencies which had been issuing halal tags for even clothes which should be prohibited. Maulana Saif demanded stern action against agencies issuing such certificates.
The opposition parties, including Congress and Samajwadi Party, have termed the ban as a move to polarise voters before the Lok Sabha polls. UP Congress Minority department chairman Shahnawaz Alam said that sensing defeat, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was adopting the tricks for polarisation of voters.
SP spokesperson IP Singh said that such bans would not help in easing the real problem of the people and the BJP was not going to gain anything from it.
