Sri Lanka Buddhist monks demand halal boycott.

[Skyline]

Can you tell more about it ? What's the major reason, the protest and what are legal and illegal ? How are the conditions ?

Sri Lankan standardization authority issues "SLS" on products, apart from that you can see "ISO" labels on products. These are standard issued based on quality of products. But recently (since 4-5 years) a muslim group called All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) issues certifications, there are some incident reported they forced some companies to buy that certification from them.

There are a lot of issues regarding this, now some people don't go to Muslims shops. Reject products with Halal label etc.

 

[k_arura]

Welcome move

 

[KRAIT]

@Skyline And how severe is the protest ? Is there too much tension among the religious groups or its at very small scale ?

What are the steps taken by the govt. against these organizations ?

Hope SL govt. suppress this so called authorization organizations and arrest the culprits, otherwise over time, they will become a severe headache for SL govt. and people.

 

[Farhad Hassan]

Ok, what I could find out was that there is some Islamic organization which issues halal certificates to the food products and such. And those nationalist Buddhist monks had problem with that while a Sri Lankan minister also spoke up about it.

To me it is pretty much obvious that those monks are only trying to fuel the ethnic tension while that minister was obviously just doing it to boost his political standing because no one is actually forcing the producers to get that certificate. They do it only so that their Muslim customers would feel comfortable buying their products. Its simple business. And if someone is ready to pay the fee, he can. If he is isn't. As far as I understand there is no obligation. So whats the fuss and why the protests? Only to fuel ethnic tension.

 

[Skyline]

@Skyline And how severe is the protest ? Is there too much tension among the religious groups or its at very small scale ?

What are the steps taken by the govt. against these organizations ?

Hope SL govt. suppress this so called authorization organizations and arrest the culprits, otherwise over time, they will become a severe headache for SL govt. and people.

Boycott Halal products trend started on Facebook, then spread to online forums. There isn't no major protests between two groups except 2-3 protests by Buddhists monks. But recently people are avoiding buy stuff from shops owned by Muslims.

There is a discussion going on in parliament but haven't taken any final decision yet.

 

[Skyline]

Ok, what I could find out was that there is some Islamic organization which issues halal certificates to the food products and such. And those nationalist Buddhist monks had problem with that while a Sri Lankan minister also spoke up about it.

To me it is pretty much obvious that those monks are only trying to fuel the ethnic tension while that minister was obviously just doing it to boost his political standing because no one is actually forcing the producers to get that certificate. They do it only so that their Muslim customers would feel comfortable buying their products. Its simple business. And if someone is ready to pay the fee, he can. If he is isn't. As far as I understand there is no obligation. So whats the fuss and why the protests? Only to fuel ethnic tension.

A company have to pay 175,000 rupees for Halal certification for a product per year. They say they have issued certifications for 4300 products and any company who take these certifications have to provide their recipes and have to buy halal materials. All these money goes to private religious group.

 

[Farhad Hassan]

A company have to pay 175,000 rupees for Halal certification for a product per year. They say they have issued certifications for 4300 products and any company who take these certifications have to provide their recipes and have to buy halal materials. All these money goes to private religious group.

That is the point my friend. If someone can't afford to pay the fee. They shouldn't. Whats the big deal? I mean only 10% of population (Muslims) won't buy those products and even that depends on their choice. But if someone feels comfortable with that why take such a thing away from them and that as well when no one is forcing anyone?

 

[Skyline]

That is the point my friend. If someone can't afford to pay the fee. They shouldn't. Whats the big deal? I mean only 10% of population (Muslims) won't buy those products and even that depends on their choice. But if someone feels comfortable with that why take such a thing away from them and that as well when no one is forcing anyone?

Sri Lanka standardization authority is the only legal authority who makes standards on products in Sri Lanka. No private group or institution have legal rights on regarding it.

 

[Farhad Hassan]

Sri Lanka standardization authority is the only legal authority who makes standards on products in Sri Lanka. No private group or institution have legal rights on regarding it.

So, was some legal action taken against the organization? Most probably it wasn't and even if it was taken it would have gone down because as I have repeated twice, there is no legal force behind that certificate. So when it doesn't even have a legal force how is it violating the authority of Sri Lanka standardization authority?

 

[KRAIT]

@Skyline This is how it start. First they say they are non-violent and to help protect interests of Muslims. Then they receive money and since state sometimes take long time to take action and due to freedom of speech, these groups get importance. Soon they will protest at large scale and demand some sort of reservation to use this practice and try to bring parallel system.

These fringe groups have become trouble for us too. Its not only Muslim community, there are Hindu extremists who are creating trouble and have got more bold due to govt. ineptness to stop them, or they overlooking it. Sometimes they cave to the demands to avoid more protest ut when they win, they will bring more things.

India is a perfect example for this and politicians uses these for vote bank politics. Hope you guys handle this soon otherwise you will have more problem like we had.

 

[Skyline]

So was some legal action taken against the organization?

Currently on discussion final decision haven't taken yet.

 

[v9s]

Sri Lankan standardization authority issues "SLS" on products, apart from that you can see "ISO" labels on products. These are standard issued based on quality of products. But recently (since 4-5 years) a muslim group called All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) issues certifications, there are some incident reported they forced some companies to buy that certification from them.

There are a lot of issues regarding this, now some people don't go to Muslims shops. Reject products with Halal label etc.

If that's what they're doing, i'd support the boycott too, even as a Muslim.

There's a special place in hell for people who use religion for personal gain.

 

[Black Widow]

How will it affect Pakistan-SriLanka relations?

 

[Skyline]

How will it affect Pakistan-SriLanka relations?

Why Pakistan?

 

[Ayush]

Why Pakistan?

maybe because pak is an islamic republic??i think that's why he asked you this question??
@Skyline,hope you guys curb this thing,before it gets bigger.the earlier conflict was an ethical one,and involved only tamil nadu.

but if this turns into a conflict,it will involve even more countries,as it will become an islamic religious issue.