Bodu Bala Sena rejects ACJU proposal

27 February 2013 04:48 pm

Rejecting the proposal made by All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) to hand over the Halal certification process to the Government, the Bodu Bala Sena said it did not prove a solution and called complete eradication of the Halal certification from the country.

Speaking at a news conference today Chief Secretary to the Bodu Bala Sena Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera said taking over the process is not an option because it results in separation between the communities.

“If the government took over the process and continued the certification, it would create further trouble. According to the standard operation procedure for Halal Certification it is not practical to produce Halal and non-halal food in one factory,” the Thera said.

Speaking further the monk opined regarding why it won’t work in practice.

“The entire production should be a Halal affiliated one. Employees can’t interact in between the Halal and non-Halal sections. Production, storage and transportation of Halal and non-Halal products in one factory is prohibited. According to the Islamic law, production of both in the same factory is unacceptable process,” he said.

The outspoken monk further said that since Islam is not the state religion, laws governing Muslims should not be applied to the country.

“Sri Lankan Standards Institution (SLS) only gives a certification based on the chemical compounds of a product. But Halal is based on Islamic laws. Islam is yet not the state religion. Therefore their laws do not apply to ours. In such a situation we can’t allow the government to takeover the certification process,” he added. (Olindhi Jayasundere and Lahiru Pothmulla)