Halal products reserved for Muslims only in Sri Lanka on extremist pressures

COLOMBO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Under pressure from Buddhist extremist elements in Sri Lanka companies with Halal certification have been advised by Muslim religious leaders to limit Halal products to the Muslim community, an official said here on Thursday.

The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama, which is the preeminent Muslim religious organization in Sri Lanka with over 3,000 religious intellectuals as members, has requested companies with Halal certification to make available two sets of the same product one Halal and one non-Halal.

The non-Halal product will be sold to non-Muslims while the Halal product will be bought by Muslims.

The Jamiyyathul Ulama is also the organization that issues Halal certification in Sri Lanka.

The move comes after months of anti-Halal protests by Buddhist extremists led by the Bodu Bala Sena, which held massive rallies and called for the boycott of Halal products by the Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka.

The Bodu Bala Sena, which also includes prominent Buddhist monks among its membership, had demanded that the Halal Certification should be withdrawn by the end of March, ahead of the Sinhalese New Year festivities celebrated by millions of Buddhists.

"Since the Halal Certification has been misunderstood the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama has decided to request the manufactures who have already obtained the certification to confine the certification to the products offered for sale to the Muslim Community only," said the organization President M.I.M Rizwe.

A Cabinet committee has also been appointed to look into the controversy and Rizwe insisted they would extend full-cooperation and make any necessary compromise to maintain the peace and stability of Sri Lanka.

Rizwe insisted that this would be the best solution since it gives Muslims and non-Muslims the option of choosing the product that they want.

He also emphasized that the Muslim community has lived in peace with the Sinhala Buddhist majority for centuries and urged to dispel any misunderstandings that would lead to the disruption of this harmony.

Just four years ago Sri Lanka ended a separatist war that was waged for three decades by Tamil extremists that aimed to carve out a separate homeland.

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