In a startling development and one which is miles away from any scientific sanity, the most populous Muslim country in the world – Indonesia has announced that any COVID-19 vaccine would have to be ‘Halal’ certified by the country’s Islamic clerical body. This came in the backdrop of more than 1 million doses of the experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac arriving in Indonesia on Sunday evening. Halal is the Arabic word for permissible. Halal food or products, and in this case, vaccines are those which adhere to Islamic law.
Non-halal products, referred to as ‘haram are generally viewed as a taboo among Muslims. However, trumping science and issuing a redundant Islamic fatwa stamping authority over the permissibility of a vaccine no less is something that would be beyond comprehension for many.
Yet, in Indonesia, the Halal certification for any COVID -19 vaccine has become equally, if not more important than the phase III human trials. Already, there is an abundance of fearmongering complemented with the running of rumour mills which are adding to vaccine-related fears among the Muslim community worldwide. Such senseless Islamic authorisation of vaccines in Indonesia will only result in a global call by Muslims for ‘halal vaccines.’
“A study by the Indonesian Ulema Council Halal Product Guarantee Agency and Institute for the Assessment of Food, Drugs and Cosmetics has been completed and has been submitted to the council for the making of a fatwa and halal certification,” Indonesia’s Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said at a news conference.
Muhadjir, who is also a leading figure in the country’s second-largest Islamic organization Muhammadiyah, called the global COVID-19 pandemic a ‘life-threatening health crisis’. Therefore, drugs or vaccines without halal certifications can be used to avoid deaths when halal vaccines or drugs have yet to be found, reported the Jakarta Post. The Minister added that according to Islamic regulation, COVID -19 vaccines fell into the “emergency category”, therefore paving the way for them to be distributed in the country without the necessary approval from the Islamic clergy.
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Yet, why Indonesia is adamant about getting a halal-certified vaccine circulated in the country alone remains incomprehensible for many. At a time when a global pandemic rages on, basic sense would dictate that religious dictums and regulations take the backseat for the betterment of human society as a whole. Being rigid in the face of a killer-virus is stupidity of the highest order.
The Muslims around the world must make it a point to not derail their country’s fight against the pandemic by demanding halal certification for vaccines. What is needed is the immediate distribution of approved vaccines to as many people as possible. By throwing the halal certification condition, only roadblocks are being created in the path of breaking the virus chain from further proliferation around the world.