Mazhar Hussaini resigns from IFANCA
Mohammad Mazhar Hussaini, a co-founder and former executive director of the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA), has resigned from the organization he helped establish almost 20 years ago.
"Given the direction that IFANCA has taken, I personally do not think I can continue to be a part of this organization any longer," he wrote in his November 20, 2000 resignation letter to IFANCA's members and Board of Directors.
In an interview with Sound Vision, Hussaini said he was disturbed by the organization's current focus on making money rather than educating the public about Halal issues which is part of IFANCA's original mandate.
"They are interested in charging fees and certifying products (as Halal) and getting the commission," he says. In contrast, Hussaini noted that in the early years of the organization, IFANCA was more community and education-oriented, organizing seminars and workshops about Halal food issues, as well as helping to feed the needy during Ramadan. These kinds of activities no longer take place.
Although IFANCA has been doing Halal certification since the early 1990s, Hussaini said this was done for a nominal fee. In the last few years though, certification has become its main activity.
IFANCA has recently been dogged by controversy after it decided to do Halal certification for the Canada-based Al Safa Halal meat company, which is owned by non-Muslims, last October. The organization took on Al-Safa Halal afer the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) revoked its certification of the company.
A large number of Muslims strongly feel that the Halal food industry should be controlled by Muslims, similar to how the Kosher industry is controlled by Jews. As well, some have pointed out that while Muslims can and do buy Kosher meat, the opposite is not true. This lack of reciprocity creates an imbalance and weakening of the Muslim economy in North America.
Since his resignation, Hussaini says he has continued writing and doing Dawa work in his community. He is the author of a number of children's Islamic books including My Little Book About Allah and My Little Book About the Quran.
Hussaini has no regrets about leaving IFANCA.
"If it's not serving the purpose for which we found it for, the cause is more important than the organization because the organization is just a means for it," he says.
"I hope and pray that IFANCA will restore itself for the purpose that it was originally founded for and serve the interest of the Muslim Ummah," he concluded in his letter.
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