Iced coffee maker targeted by anti-halal social media campaign
A Northern Territory Muslim leader has defended the use of halal-certified food amid a social media campaign against the maker of a popular iced coffee.
The often hot conditions in the NT mean iced coffee is a popular beverage among people who live in the jurisdiction.
But a campaign mainly on Facebook has begun urging people to stop drinking Paul’s Iced Coffee because it is certified as halal, meaning it is able to be consumed by Muslims.
The campaign often implies that payments made to businesses that conduct halal certification end up supporting Muslim terrorists or involves cruelty against animals.
Vice-chairman of the Islamic Council of the Northern Territory Sadaruddin Chowdhury said the campaign was misguided.
Mr Sadrudin said halal certification was undertaken by private companies, and allowed companies to sell food into Muslim countries such as Indonesia or Saudi Arabia that do not allow non-halal food into their country.
If that is a hidden agenda probably they are probably succeeding in that, making Muslims’ lives in Australia a little bit more difficult
Sadaruddin Chowdhury, Islamic Council of the Northern Territory
Funds from the sale of halal-certified products were no more likely to be used for terrorism than money made by any other business, he told ABC Darwin 105.7.
“Any money can end up with ISIS (Islamic State) if that intention is there by that particular person,” Mr Chowdhury said.
“For that reason law enforcements authorities are who are looking after these things.
“It is not as though it is easy to send this money to somebody without the scrutiny of the law enforcement authorities.”
One of the requirements of halal food is that the animal must be killed in a humane manner and not for pleasure, Mr Chowdhury said.
He said that while removing the certification would be unlikely to harm the companies, it would make life difficult for Muslims in Australia, who would not know which goods adhered to their religious beliefs.
“If that is a hidden agenda probably they are probably succeeding in that, making Muslims’ lives in Australia a little bit more difficult,” Mr Chowdhury said.
Recently, South Australian company Fleurieu Milk and Yoghurt dropped a deal with Emirates Airlines because of a social media backlash.
“The publicity we were getting was quite negative and something we probably didn’t need and we decided we would pull the pin and stop supplying Emirates Airlines,” said Fleurieu’s sales manager Nick Hutchinson.
“Ninety per cent of it has been social media, but I have received calls from people that are quite unhappy, I guess, about our decisions and so forth, and [we have also received] a lot of emails.”
Other products targeted by one group included some varieties of peanut butter, chewing gum, chocolate bars and meat pies.
Parent company of Paul’s – Parmalat – was contacted several times to comment on the situation but did not return calls or an email.
Parmalat’s Australian website says gelatin used in all Paul’s produce is derived from beef hide and is halal approved.
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