Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind president Maulana Mahmood Madani, who also heads the Jamiat Ulama Hind Halal Trust, said, if asked, they are willing to stop Halal certification with immediate effect. Speaking on the controversy he said that they are being made a butt of jokes.
He said, “If we are asked to stop Halal certification, we will stop doing it today, right now. We are ready. ‘Aaj, abhi band kar dengey‘. We are not earning much from this, and are facing insults (beizzati). We are being made the butt of jokes (mazaak udaya ja raha hai).”
The Maulana explained, “It was the Ministry of Food Processing, different government departments, ISO and more than 50 importing countries, which wanted Halal certification of products, and we were approached, and a Halal certification system was developed with their advice… We did not set Halal conditions, the conditions were set by the importing countries. You want to export food products and yet you are objecting. This cannot go together. You stop Halal certification. I have no problem. It was not we who set up this organisation. It was set up after much ‘khushaamad‘ (requests). Importing countries were complaining that products coming from India were not Halal-certified. We are only helping our government departments.”
On Halal cerfication, he said, the UP STF (Special Task Force) questioned him for two days and again for another two days. “Others were also summoned but they did not appear for questioning because of an exemption granted by the Supreme Court. I too had SC exemption, but I chose to answer questions.”
Maulana Madani said, “Even toothpaste and water have to be Halal certified because we have to check whether gelatin, made from animal bones, or animal fat is used or whether ‘naa-pak’ (unholy) substances are used while treating water.”