Mili Gazette, a media outlet specifically for Muslims, has come out resolutely in the defence of the discriminatory Islamic practice of Halal certification. It claimed that the hashtag ‘Boycott Halal Products’ which has been trending on microblogging site Twitter is “a sugar coated way of persecuting Indian Muslims and exhibiting bigotry”. They labelled the opposition to Halal as ‘Islamophobia’. They claimed that no one should be bothered by the discriminatory practice of Halal and insinuated that the only reason anyone could possibly have any objection to Halal products is due to Islamophobia.
All most 99% companies seeking halal certificate must be getting it without changing anything in their process. A halal certificate on a non-meat product should not bother anyone one bit. And for meat products, why are Right wing Hindus even bothered?
— Milli Gazette (@milligazette) May 11, 2020
Mili Gazette stated further, “Bigots claim: “We will not follow Sharia Rules. Why impose Halal on Non-muslims”. Imposing? Is anyone forcing ppl to buy halal “garam masala”? Moreover, where is there a sharia rule to make “garam masala”? It is just that no ingredient in it, is something forbidden in Islam. They added, “Bigots claim: Halal Certified product means kind of tax, are we living in Muslim country & paying Jizya? A tax? Certification is a one time fee, may be renewed at some intervals. But certainly not a “tax”. But here bigots want to parrot the word “jizya” and spread hate,” said the Islamic media portal.
Halal Certification is Discriminatory: Here is how
The implication here is that nobody is forcing anyone to buy Halal products and completely obfuscates the fact that Halal meat can only be prepared by Muslims and involves the chanting of Islamic prayers. Non-Muslims cannot participate in the production of Halal meat at any stage of the manufacturing of the product. Thus, when Muslims insist on only Halal food, they are also choosing who gets to make the product. Thus, effectively, it creates a monopoly for the community in the meat production industry and actively discriminates against individuals of other faiths in employment opportunities.
Thus, it is easy to understand why people of other communities might have a problem with that. It is not ‘Islamophobia’ to fight against discriminatory practices. Furthermore, Halal also mandates that animals must be slaughtered according to Islamic practices. Furthermore, the point that Mili Gazette purposefully obfuscates is that the trend is not directed against Muslims but the specific practice which discriminates against non-Muslims. To call it ‘Islamophobia’ only reveals the corrupted mindset of such individuals.
Mili Gazette also claims that there’s nothing wrong with Halal certification of non-meat products that charges a fee. But it is only natural that other communities will not be willing for businesses to cower before Islamic organisations in order to secure a certification the cost of which will be earned back from Muslim and non-Muslim customers alike. Therefore, whether it’s a one time fee or repetitive, non-Muslims should not be expected to subsidise the discriminatory religious practices of Muslims.
Mili Gazette Justifies Economic Boycott of Muslims
By justifying Halal, which is a discriminatory practice that discriminates against non-Muslims in employment, Mili Gazette is also justifying the economic boycott of the Muslim community since it is entirely up to people from other faiths to decide whether they wish to justify the discriminatory religious faith of the Muslim community. When Mili Gazette asks, “Why are right wing Hindus even bothered?,” they should not be bothered either if Hindus advocate the boycott of Halal products. Furthermore, if Muslim businesses can advocate for a practice and defend one that discriminates against people from other communities when it comes to employment, they cannot complain if non-Muslims refuse to hire Muslims in their business establishments.
Recently, the Chennai police had arrested an owner of a pure vegetarian Bakery for putting out cautionary information stating that it employed no Muslims to prepare food items. Reportedly, the owner of Jain Bakeries and Confectioneries in Chennai’s T Nagar had put out an advertisement on Whatsapp pointing out that all their orders are “made by Jains” and no Muslim staff were engaged for the purpose. Quite evidently, it was a blatant misuse of law by the Police as the owner had done absolutely nothing that is not practised by Muslims on a daily basis. Thus, it appears that the Mili Gazette and Chennai Police believe that it is permissible for the Muslim community to discriminate against non-Muslims but should non-Muslims decide to return the favour., then it is ‘Islamophobia’ and they must be arrested.
