Halal Certified Products (Photo : Reuters)
An Iowa-based halal certified food supplier, Midamar Corp, was charged with fraud for allegedly misleading Muslims around the globe for many years now. According to The Associated Press, the company falsely marketed their beef products, in which, did not meet the pre-requisites of the Islamic Law.
Midamar Corp., Islamic Services of America and its directors, Jalel and Yahya "Bill" Aossey, were charged with conspiracy of using false documents, selling misbranded meat, along with 91 other counts of money laundering and wire fraud.
All accused pleaded not guilty to the 92-count of indictment on Monday. Contrary to what is being charged to them, they claim that all animals are slaughtered in traditional Islamic customs, wherein, they have a highly trained and skilled Muslim slaughterman that recites "Tasmia" prayer.
Despite the claims of Midamar Corporation, it is said that the main supplier of the company, a meat-packing plant based in Windom, Minn., uses penetrative captive bolt stunning which violates strict halal standards.
ABC News cited that when orders arrived in Midamar Corp., employees are said to use nail polish remover to remove the required label and replaces it with fraudulent labels specifying that the meat came from an Omaha plant.
Midamar's Lawyer, Michael Lahammer, said that the company has a stellar record of delivering quality products for 40 years and that the labeling issues had been fixed in 2010.
According to Atty. Lahammer, "The government has no right to regulate what is a religious matter."
The company also states that, "The allegations of halal fraud are due to a 'one size fits all' approach taken by the government authorities."
Halal is not only applied to food and drink, it is applied to any object or action tolerable in accordance to Islamic law. Halal is one of the five Akham that describes the morality of an action in Islam.
