It's come to my attention that many of us may be unintentionally supporting vile extremists. I was informed of this by a family friend and, in a state of shock and disbelief, proceeded to do some research. After discovering the entirety of the issue, I feel compelled to inform others. Before I explain further, please note that I'm mostly talking from an Australian perspective and do not know the extent to which this information will apply to others in other countries.
The issue: AFIC
AFIC (Australian Federation of Islamic Councils) is a Muslim group that operates in Australia, offering businesses that sell food and some animal products the chance to have their goods Halal certified - for a fee. Halal is an action that can be taken or a food that can be eaten under Islamic law. It is most commonly used in regard to food that may be eaten by Muslims. This food must be kept, killed, packed and served in very specific ways - some of which are brutally cruel and include immense suffering of animals, but that's not what I'm here to talk about today. This certification from AFIC, as far as I can tell, is a $25000 (AUD) a year charge. This gives the company the right to state that their product conforms with Halal and they may display the AFIC logo on the goods certified. This cost is then passed on to the consumer, no doubt.
While I've nothing against Muslims (or most any religion) and while I must protest the cruelty involved in many Halal foods, my issue with AFIC is one of terrorism, racism and child abuse. Allow me to elaborate. The current head of the AFIC board is one Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly, convicted smuggler, who has ties to Hezbollah, a violent terrorist group, is on record saying the September 11 attack in the U.S. was "God's will," is anti-Australian and an extremely hard-line, fundamental Muslim. He endorses child brides and Islamic law be enforced in all countries. He is anti-Semitic and has denied the Jewish Holocaust. He is also quoted saying that women may often deserve rape if they show their skin, going so far as to say 90% of the blame for rape is a woman's. He also called Australian women "Cat's meat" and was caught on camera damaging a mosque, before then proceeding to call the police and report the vandalism - why he did this is unknown, though it is thought he did it to anger Muslims and to fuel any friction between them and Australians.
Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly, being the lead board member for AFIC has much say in where the vast sums of money they receive from companies is to go. From what I can gather, some of it is spent on Muslim schools for Muslim education in Australia, while the rest is used to fund various extremist parties that wish to enforce Islamic law, such as the terrorist group Hilaly is linked to. I can't stress enough how much we need to deprive this man and his parties of support.
I wish to urge everyone to do their own research, to uncover all the information they can, to share this information, and to come to their own conclusion. I, for one, will carefully check every food product I buy and will no longer support any item or brand paying or endorsing or supporting AFIC and their campaign of religious extremism.
The brands that I am aware of that pay AFIC the $25000 a year charge include Kraft, Vegemite, Cadbury and San Remo Pasta.
http://www.boycotthalal.com/afic
http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/stop-paying-a-fee-for-halal-food-certification-to-the-islamic-council
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_El-Din_Hilaly
The issue: AFIC
AFIC (Australian Federation of Islamic Councils) is a Muslim group that operates in Australia, offering businesses that sell food and some animal products the chance to have their goods Halal certified - for a fee. Halal is an action that can be taken or a food that can be eaten under Islamic law. It is most commonly used in regard to food that may be eaten by Muslims. This food must be kept, killed, packed and served in very specific ways - some of which are brutally cruel and include immense suffering of animals, but that's not what I'm here to talk about today. This certification from AFIC, as far as I can tell, is a $25000 (AUD) a year charge. This gives the company the right to state that their product conforms with Halal and they may display the AFIC logo on the goods certified. This cost is then passed on to the consumer, no doubt.
While I've nothing against Muslims (or most any religion) and while I must protest the cruelty involved in many Halal foods, my issue with AFIC is one of terrorism, racism and child abuse. Allow me to elaborate. The current head of the AFIC board is one Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly, convicted smuggler, who has ties to Hezbollah, a violent terrorist group, is on record saying the September 11 attack in the U.S. was "God's will," is anti-Australian and an extremely hard-line, fundamental Muslim. He endorses child brides and Islamic law be enforced in all countries. He is anti-Semitic and has denied the Jewish Holocaust. He is also quoted saying that women may often deserve rape if they show their skin, going so far as to say 90% of the blame for rape is a woman's. He also called Australian women "Cat's meat" and was caught on camera damaging a mosque, before then proceeding to call the police and report the vandalism - why he did this is unknown, though it is thought he did it to anger Muslims and to fuel any friction between them and Australians.
Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly, being the lead board member for AFIC has much say in where the vast sums of money they receive from companies is to go. From what I can gather, some of it is spent on Muslim schools for Muslim education in Australia, while the rest is used to fund various extremist parties that wish to enforce Islamic law, such as the terrorist group Hilaly is linked to. I can't stress enough how much we need to deprive this man and his parties of support.
I wish to urge everyone to do their own research, to uncover all the information they can, to share this information, and to come to their own conclusion. I, for one, will carefully check every food product I buy and will no longer support any item or brand paying or endorsing or supporting AFIC and their campaign of religious extremism.
The brands that I am aware of that pay AFIC the $25000 a year charge include Kraft, Vegemite, Cadbury and San Remo Pasta.
http://www.boycotthalal.com/afic
http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/stop-paying-a-fee-for-halal-food-certification-to-the-islamic-council
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_El-Din_Hilaly
Quick Edit: With my own message above this in mind, I've edited the title. The man's religion, while relevant in ways, is not the main issue and there's not really good reason to word the title the way I did.
