Halal certification charter signed in secret in Mecca

  1. 6,113 Posts.
    Some of the region’s most influential Muslim leaders met in secret in Mecca last year at the behest of a Saudi-born Wahhabi leader to sign an agreement that would set up a new umbrella organisation and an investment fund to control much of the booming halal certification market.
    The accord, obtained by The Australian, brought together the unlikeliest of figures under the “honorary presidency” of World Muslim League general secretary Abdallah Ben Abdel Mohsen al-Turki.
    Dr Turki had brought the figures, including embattled Australian Federation of Islamic Councils president Hafez Kassem and “Mr Saudi” in Australia, Shafiq Khan, to Mecca to conquer and divide the multi-million-dollar halal certification market.
    Leaders from Fiji and New Zealand, hardline preacher Sheik Omar El-Banna and Australia’s Grand Mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohammed were all present and all signed the document.
    “The federation shall seek to set up an Islamic investment fund to invest in good-return projects, especially in the area of halal food of all kinds, as well as investing in the establishment of an Islamic abattoir,” the agreement says.
    The federation more broadly would “adhere to the middle-of-the-road approach to Islam in all aspects of life, without melting in the others or staying on the sidelines” and would introduce “Islam through books, leaflets, lectures, conferences and the internet”.
    Though the agreement also enshrines the establishment of a “fund to support Islamic associations, centres and schools in the South Pacific Islands” and other groups, The Australian understands the real concern was to control more of the halal market.
    According to those familiar with the meeting, it was discussed that 70 per cent of the profits from the investment fund would be distributed among the various signatories and 30 per cent would go to the World Muslim League. The agreement has never been made public and one signatory, when confronted with a copy, tore it up on the spot.
    .............
    None of the parties to the agreement responded to detailed questions put by The Australian.
    “The intention was that a bank account would be created, a kitty, and these people would be the custodians of the fund,” one man told The Australian.
    “They worked out the distribution formula and some of that money would go to the league. Whether that goes to their Australian office (in Melbourne) or back to Saudi Arabia, we do not know.”
    etc.etc.etc.
    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-...-secret-in-mecca/story-fnubfp6c-1227367563146
 
arrow-down-2 Created with Sketch. arrow-down-2 Created with Sketch.