World Halal Summit Kicks Off in Istanbul
Sheikh Thafier Najjaar, president of the World Halal Council, said Muslims should consume halal food according to the orders of Allah.
Halal is defined as something being "legitimate according to Islam”.
"We should be careful about the healthiness and halal-ness of our foods. This is our duty as Muslims. If we follow the rules [of Islam] we will be powerful. We, as Muslims, are the guards of halal. This is an order of Allah,” Najjaar added.
He also said the sector should prioritize producing halal food rather than grabbing profit.
Abdulkahir Qamar, fatwa (ruling) director of the International Islami Fiqh Academy (IIFA), said they were working to develop a common ground for halal food.
IIFA is a well-recognized institute that has been working in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), culture, and economics for more than three decades, he said.
"We are working to find solution facing by Muslims across the world,” he added.
Justice Khalil-ur-Rahman, chief of the Panjabi Halal Development Agency in Pakistan, noted that demand for halal food in the Muslim world was increasing.
He stressed the need for more investment in the halal-food production sector.
The summit is being held in Istanbul’s Lutfi Kirdar Congress Center in collaboration with the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) and the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), and will continue until Dec. 17.
A Halal Expo, a pioneering event that guides the sector by combining the World Summit with the Halal Fair, is also happening simultaneously at the same venue.
Turkey’s economy, culture and tourism, and foreign affairs ministries are backing the events. They have been joined this year by the Banking Regulatory and Supervision Agency (BDDK), the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (TYDTA).
Source: Anadolu Agency
