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Muslims Declare Jihad Against Cadbury Over Pork In Its Chocolate:

Now Demand Cadbury Pay for Blood Transfusions



“Of pig DNA and social justice,” Malaysian Insider, May 29, 2014 (thanks to Christian):

Lately, the Malaysian populace, specifically Muslim Malays, were taken aback by the detection of porcine DNA by the Ministry of Health in two products by the chocolate manufacturer Cadbury.

Following the incident, Jakim (the supreme authority on Islamic affairs in the country) suspended with immediate effect the halal certificates for the chocolate bars Dairy Milk Hazelnut and Dairy Milk Roast Almond.

It has stirred anger amongst Malaysian Muslims, as they are of the perception that their trust in Cadbury to market halal products has been betrayed.

The widespread displeasure in the company has resulted in a multitude of criticisms and negative reactions. Most recently, an organisation claiming to collectively represent Islamic NGOs in Malaysia declared jihad against the company.

In a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, the president of Pertubuhan Kebajikan Darul Islah Malaysia (a welfare body) called for holy war against Cadbury for their alleged attempts to ‘weaken’ the Muslim community in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, the Allied Coordinating Committee of Islamic NGOs demanded that Cadbury bear the cost of blood exchange transfusions for Muslims who had consumed the chocolate prior to the aforementioned exposure.

In addition, there were those who suggested that they rinse their mouths with soil water (as an analogy to the cleansing practice decreed by a minority of scholars for the contact of human skin with pigs).

Furthermore, the president of Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (the Muslim Consumer Association of Malaysia) urged Cadbury to shut down its factories and beseeched Muslims to boycott its products.

Even more extreme were those who proposed that the factories be burned down altogether.

It is most certainly decreed in Islam that pigs and products thereof are forbidden for consumption by Muslims; Cadbury Malaysia was clearly in the wrong to have used porcine elements in their confection, in light of this fact.

This move, which circumstantially involved false advertising, deservedly drew enormous surprise from the nation’s adherents of the Islamic faith.

However, the over-reaction in this circumstance has made it appear as if Muslims are excessively sensitive in matters of accidental consumption, to the point that other, more pressing injustices (such as gambling, corruption, the imbibing of alcohol, adultery, and the throwing away of babies) have been overshadowed.

The effect is doubly sordid when common sense says that those who commit sin without knowing, surely cannot be blamed….



Below is background about the halal certification scam. Note how Muslim groups are shaking down Australian companies for money for unnecessary halal certification. Another concern is with halal meat entering the marketplace without having to be labeled as such.

This is an issue for many groups, including those Christians who believe that the Christian Bible prohibits the consumption of meat sacrificed to idols; many Christians would view halal meat as meeting that definition, since in halal slaughter, an imam offers the animal up as a sacrifice to Allah. Others object to halal because of concern about the jihad links of some organizations that provide halal certification, such as the Hamas-linked Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

According to Sikh teachings, it is a grave sin (out of 4 grave sins ) to eat Halal food. So, according to my Sikh colleague Avneet, if a restaurant hides this then it is a violation for observing Sikhs. They should be given notice, at the very least.

Before Thanksgiving 2011, I broke the story that the turkeys Butterball were selling were halal but not labeled as such. Heads were exploding on the left, ‘Geller’s turkey jihad and such’ (e.g. here, here) — but I was right, sales plummeted, and Butterball stopped that practice by Thanksgiving the following year.

“CADBURY COPS A JIHAD,” The Pickering Post, May 29, 2014 (thanks to Kenneth):

It was first reported in the US this week that Cadbury is in real trouble with its export market. After having paid the Indonesian Halal Certification mob the correct protection money, the Malaysian Health Ministry has found traces of pork DNA in its products. All hell has broken loose.

Now I understand that porcine fat is used in many foods, including chocolate and ice cream, where a smooth “texture” is needed but poor Cadbury (which is very quiet about its certification) is copping it from all Islamic quarters.

Cadbury has agreed to recall all pork “tainted” items from stores overseas, a massive undertaking amid cries of foul play. More than 20 Muslim groups have called for a boycott on all Cadbury’s products, saying that a holy war needs to be waged against the confectionary giant for attempting to “weaken” Muslims.

At a news conference called to announce the boycotts an hysterical Malay woman yelled, “Will Cadbury wash away the tainted blood in our veins? I want to wash away the tainted blood of my children who have consumed the chocolates… how will money even compensate for that?”

Perkasa Selangor chief, Abu Bakar Yahya told reporters:
“They (Cadbury) have betrayed us Muslims by putting ‘haram’ elements through the foods we consume in our body, to weaken us Muslims.

“That is why Muslims are weak, divided… because the person eats pork it is difficult to guide him to the right path.

“When the day of judgment comes, that person will be wearing a pig-face because of what he has eaten. We need to unite, we must declare jihad!”

We could be in for some fun and games here because all Australian halal certified food manufacturers use pig fat in at least some items.

Certifiers here and in Indonesia couldn’t give a damn about compliance, they are too busy warring over the lucrative halal scam estimated to be worth almost $1 trillion world-wide.

But Islamic consumers are now likely to turn on the certifiers who say they conduct a vigorous compliance regime on all food chains… they don’t, they never have. They just collect the money.

The Indonesian Council of Ulama, MUI, (which also orders Fatwa rulings) is a Mafia style body that runs the certifying protection racket throughout much of Asia, forcing Australian companies to pay outrageous amounts (up to $30,000) to have their food certified as halal.

But MUI has opposition, “Australian Halal Food Services” (AHFS) and this mob has been undercutting MUI. Now MUI is banning Australian export of all foods, including meat, from Australian companies found dealing with AHFS.

As a result many Aussie companies have removed the halal logo from their products but still pay the protection money.

We would like to reassure our consumers that all Cadbury chocolates manufactured in Malaysia and currently on shelves, are halal-certified by JAKIM, which includes the locations and raw materials used in the production of these products. We employ stringent quality procedures to ensure that our products are of the highest standard of safety and quality. As a responsible brand, we take this matter seriously as we are committed to adhere to international standards and serving the highest quality products to all our customers across our portfolio. How bad is the situation? Things were already pretty bad for the brand when it was fielding negative comments on social media, where Malaysian Muslim consumers vented their feelings of betrayal and disgust. Even some non-Muslim consumers weighed in to question Cadbury’s manufacturing practices. The more extereme have even threatened to burn down Cadbury’s factory in Malaysia. However the issue escalated Tuesday when more than 20 Malay-Muslim groupscalled for a nationwide boycott of Cadbury products and said that a “holy war” needed to be called against the chocolate manufacturer for “weakening” Muslims in Malaysia.

While many parties are urging Cadbury to apologise profusely, the hard truth is that until Jakim delivers its final report and the brand is sure of its innocence or guilt, legal reasons forbid the company from delivering a formal apology. “The best that Cadbury can do in this situation is to be as open and transparent as possible,” advised Khan. In a prior role, Dr Mohd Asri Zainul when the network launched its Islamic practice,

Ogilvy Noor. Speaking from this experience, he added, “From research I have been involved with, I know that Muslim consumers look for transparency, ethical behaviour and good corporate citizenship in corporate brands, no matter what the category.” When Cadbury has got to the bottom of its investigation, and assuming the contamination turns out to be real, the brand must first apologise to all consumers, not just Muslim consumers, continued Khan. “They must acknowledge what has happened and explain in reasonable detail how and why it happened. Then, of course, they must assure the public that concrete steps are being put in place to address the issues, against a specific timeline.”

Ghoshal and co-founder Trisha Varma agree with Khan’s assesment, “Cadbury Malaysia will have to step out of their offices and appear before the public. We all know that if someone betrays our trust, putting up statements on social media does not impress us and neither makes us forgive them.” It would also serve Cadbury’s interests to go beyond the call of duty and proactively re-check all of its manufacturing lines and products, workplace environments, distribution channels and retail environments to provide compliance assurance to consumers and business partners, said Khan. “They should invite the media and special interest groups into their offices and factories to see first-hand.”

Lastly, when all the dust has settled, Cadbury should consider taking a lead role in raising the bar in terms of halal compliance, suggested Khan. “Cadbury is a strong brand in Malaysia and will weather this storm.” One country that has incurred a declaration of jihad and a resulting boycott if all its products in Muslim nations is Denmark. The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoon controversy in 2005 led to the boycott of Danish products. However, one company, Arla Foods, successfully reached out to the Muslim community via full-page ads condemning the cartoons. This led to prominent Muslim leaders urging that Arla Foods be withdrawn from the list of boycotted products. While not exactly surviving a jihad, some brands in Malaysia have weathered similar situations in the past. Both burger manufacturer Ramly Burger and coffee shop Kluang Coffee faced accusations of selling food that was found to be non-halal.