Islamic Council can lose halal income

The knowledge minister's claim that Nikab is a barrier to communication is not based on any research that supports the claim, according to the Islamic Council Norway (IRN). Photo: IRN.no

Islamic Council Norway can lose halal income

Nortura is considering dropping cooperation with Islamic Council Norway on halal certification. The Council can thus lose its largest source of income.

 

Nortura’s assessment comes in the wake of the fact that the Ministry of Culture has decided to temporarily hold back NOK 650,000 in operating support to the Islamic Council (IRN), writes Vårt Land.

– We are not at all served by a partnership with someone who does not have the confidence of the wider society, writes communications director Ellen Flø Skagen Nortura in an email. She says the company “of course follows closely what IRN does” and how trust it is trusted by the Norwegian society.

The agreement on halal certification gives IRN revenues of around NOK 1.4 million a year and is the Council’s largest source of income. After the council in March was criticized for employing a woman using nikab as a communications manager, Nortura also considered whether the cooperation should be continued.

– The Minister of Knowledge’s claim that Nikab is a barrier to communication is not based on any research that supports the claim, IRN states on their website

No real competition

Researcher Sindre Bangstad at the Department of Church, Religious and Life Research believes it is first and foremost pragmatic considerations that lie behind the cooperation. He says today there are no real alternatives to using IRN.

– They spent quite a few years setting up this scheme. It will take time for any competitor to establish the skills needed. This Nortura probably knows well.

Halāl, Wikipedia

Chicken, Photo: Pixabay

Halāl (Arabic: حلال‎‎ ḥalāl, “permissible”), also spelled hallal or halaal, refers to what is permissible or lawful in traditional Islamic law. It is frequently applied to permissible food and drinks.

In the Quran, the word halal is contrasted with haram (forbidden). In Islamic jurisprudence this binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification known as “the five decisions”: mandatory, recommended, neutral, reprehensible, and forbidden. Islamic jurists disagree on whether the term halal covers the first three or the first four of these categories. In recent times, Islamic movements seeking to mobilize the masses and authors writing for a popular audience have emphasized the simpler distinction of halal and haram.

The term halal is particularly associated with Islamic dietary laws. The Dubai Chamber of Commerce estimated the global industry value of halal food consumer purchases to be US$1.1 trillion in 2013, accounting for 16.6 percent of the global food and beverage market, with an annual growth of 6.9 percent. Growth regions include Indonesia ($197 million market value in 2012) and Turkey ($100 million). The European Union market for halal food has an estimated annual growth of around 15 percent and is worth an estimated US$30 billion.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today