Give us ‘Halal’ Sanitizers: Muslims demand alcohol free sanitizers amid Coronavirus

In a rather quizzical demand that has emerged in the wake of Wuhan virus or colloquially known as Coronavirus scare. Muslims around have started to demand Halal Sanitizers, yes you heard it right, Halal Sanitizers! For Muslims, the divide between black and white exists in the form of two words viz. Haram and Halal. Haram means prohibited and Halal stands for permissible. In a Muslim household pork and alcohol consumption is considered Haram and its use is forbidden by all means. But religion has a strange way of associating itself with every aspect of human life. Now, in the face of a pandemic staring mankind, even small preventive measures like using a hand sanitizer is not free of religious segregation.

Traditionally, consumers and Islamic jurists have identified ethanol as non-Halal (Haram, forbidden) substance, and hence Halal certified products are usually alcohol-free. Face masks and hand sanitizers are being highly endorsed by doctors around the globe to neutralize the effect of coronavirus. But people from the Muslim community are stepping out in search of non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Some 61 percent of Malaysians are practicing Muslims and that means consuming alcohol is a no go and therefore the aversion to hand-sanitizers.

According to media reports, locals are selling so-called ‘Halal hand sanitizers’ in Malaysia, as Muslims choose these over the alcohol-based ones under the impression that usage of only these would be permissible in Islam.

Many of them are marketing the product as “Muslim friendly”, since ethanol is used as a substitute for alcohol. But get this, ethanol is also one of the components used when creating alcoholic beverages. As an industrial raw material, ethanol is also involved in the manufacture of adhesives, toiletries, detergents, explosives, inks, chemicals, hand creams, plastics, paints, thinners, textiles, vinegar amongst others.

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As per Islam, consumption of alcohol is prohibited. However, they need to understand that in the case of sanitizer, alcohol is being used as a medicine to kill the virus which is not prohibited in Islam.

The layman needs to understand that alcohol-based sanitizers help destroy the protein envelope that surrounds the novel coronavirus. When the protein envelope is killed, naturally, the virus dies down too. However, there must be at least 60 percent alcohol content in hand sanitizers for them to be effective against the virus.

Hence the myth of non-alcoholic/Halal sanitizers is purely a hoax and people should not fall in the trap of opportunists in time of a pandemic. Pseudoscience as such should not be promoted in any way whatsoever.