The premier global halal industry event
the
executive review 10 - 11 november 2010
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Contents 04 World Halal Forum Charter 05 World Halal Forum Message 06 Feature Article: Finding A Common Ground 30 Media Partners 33 World Halal Forum in the International Media
Speakers 12 Jumaatun Azmi 13 Darhim Hashim 14 Abdalhamid Evans John Pointing 15 Dr. Mah Hussain-Gambles Philip Pfeffer 16 Rafi-uddin Shikoh Richard Werran 17 Stuart Shotton Dr. Adrian Evans 20 Sir Iqbal Sacranie Koen De Praetere 21 Mohamed El-Fatatry Dr. Shuja Shafi 22 Fazal Bahardeen Muddassar Ahmed Zahed Amanullah
Panelists 24 Abu Bakr Rieger Ahmad Adam 25 David Smith Jonathan Bilal Wilson 26 Nazia Hussain Roziatul Akmam Osman 27 Jon Hayes Mohammad Nazir 28 Azeddine Bahi Khalid Hussain Naved Syed
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World Halal Forum Charter
The Halal market has emerged as a global force. Halal transcends traditional industry-sector boundaries and definitions, and is fast becoming the new market paradigm with its own unique set of issues, challenges and opportunities. The World Halal Forum has been established to achieve the following:
To provide a focal point for the global Halal industry To gather Halal industry experts, leaders and specialists To share their views, knowledge and expertise To be an arena for discussion, networking and collaboration to stimulate the growth and development of the Halal market To facilitate the resolution of problems and issues of concern within the Halal industry To coordinate and assist subject-specific industry groups and technical committees to support excellence, innovation and improvement in the Halal market To develop and promote the concept of Halal to realise its full potential as a globally recognised symbol of quality and safety To assist and support the development of world-class Halal industry standards covering the entire value chain
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World Halal Forum Message
Assalamu’alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh Welcome to the 2nd World Halal Forum Europe.
In the past months, Europe has seen much uproar on Islamic-related matters in the industrial and socio-political scenes. There was the Swiss ban on minarets now being discussed in the UN with a resolution narrowly passed on condemning defamation of religion and the Belgian legislation enacting a nationwide ban on wearing the burqa in public now awaiting Senate approval. In the UK, KFC’s decision to venture into the Halal market sparked polarised responses from its customers. Animal welfare groups criticised the non-stunning policy of Halal slaughter while Muslim groups voiced their doubts over the Halal integrity of the fast-food chain due to KFC’s choice of Halal certification authority, which allows stunning before slaughter. Along with reports of falsely-labelled Halal poultry, this spurred calls for a single body with clear guidelines on animal slaughter to regulate the UK Halal food industry. In France, the opening of eight Quick “Halal-only” burger outlets ignited a political storm prior to the French elections, mainly on grounds of perceived discrimination towards non-Muslims. Inevitably, the tension surrounding this escapade faded away and these outlets flourished with increased sales. Another issue is the impending EU legislation which will, if allowed without opposition, require all meat products derived from non-stunned animals to be labelled accordingly, affecting not only meat producers within the EU, but also countries like New Zealand and Australia which export meat and meat-derived products into the region. There are also moves to introduce stun-to-kill, as being more efficient than stun-to-stun, and Controlled Atmosphere Killing (i.e. death by gassing) in the EU. These may prove to be less humane than non-stunning slaughter. However, there have also been positive developments in the EU’s Islamic arena. Islamic finance is now seen as the most robust financial system since the recent economic crisis, with London and Paris both competing to be the regional Islamic finance hub. In the UK, there have been plans to set up the first Super Halal Industrial Park in Europe to cater to the ever increasing demand from the growing European Muslim population, estimated to reach 49 million by the end of the year (Global Halal Food Market Report, 2010). Port of Rotterdam still maintains its Halal-specific warehouse facility, just waiting to be utilised, and mainstream supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose already include Halal sections. Halal conferences and exhibitions have mushroomed throughout Europe, i.e. the Paris International Halal Exhibition, the Düsseldorf Halal Conference, and World Halal Forum Europe. ANUGA in Germany, one of the biggest food and beverage trade shows, even listed Halal as one of its nine trend topics. This reflects the increasing awareness and growing demand for Halal products by consumers in the region, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The times seem propitious. EU governments are increasingly seeing the need to regulate Halal as it is no longer a purely religious issue – Halal touches on trade, consumer rights and minority rights. We are confident that over the next two-days, sound discussions and deliberations around the theme “Halal Products – Going Mainstream” will inevitably shape the future of Halal in Europe, Insya Allah. JazakAllah Khair
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World Halal Forum Europe:
Finding a common ground
Since its inception in 2006,
the World Halal Forum (WHF) has endeavoured to be an arena to support, strengthen and assist in the development of the global Halal industry. From its starting point in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, WHF events have travelled abroad to Australia, China, the United Arab Emirates, South America, South Africa, Europe and other parts of South East Asia, in the past five years. It became evident from the start that the Halal marketplace is unique. The consumer base is huge; it transcends geographic, cultural and even religious boundaries; its stakeholders include national governments as well as many of the world’s largest multinational corporations and smallest entrepreneurs. Opinions are strongly held, and feelings run deep. It is evolving, under developed and only partially defined. It is a potent – and at times combustible – mix of religion, commerce and politics that spans the Muslim and non-Muslim world. It is probably accurate to say that the Halal sector actually represents a new economic paradigm; one that is likely to play a larger role in the next decade than most of us realise. For the WHF secretariat, perhaps the most challenging task has been to do with maintaining focus and a realistic sense of proportion to keep the big picture in sight while inevitably focusing on the details. At the closing of the inaugural WHF in Kuala Lumpur, there was a near-unanimous call for an international body to represent the interests and concerns of the Halal industry. The main issue that was on everyone’s lips concerned the development of internationally acceptable Halal standards; and to this end, the International Halal Integrity Alliance (IHI Alliance) was formed. 6 - E X E C U T I V E RE V I EW
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Developing standards is a complex issue, and is a preordained journey into the realm of the smallest of details, particularly in an effort to work within ISO-compliant methodologies. The IHI Alliance has proceeded down this path and has made measurable progress in the past few years. And lest we be too quick to criticise the IHI Alliance for being slow, remember that a government standards development agency can take four years to develop a national standard relating to matters much less complex than those undertaken by IHI Alliance. With the international standards development project underway, the WHF ventured overseas to explore the issues in Halal markets in other parts of the world. Europe, with its diverse and expanding Muslim population, is a key region within the global Halal marketplace and it presents its own challenges and opportunities.
This event is a fragment of an extended conversation that is going on all over the world right now.
The United Kingdom (UK), in particular, is one of the key countries within the European Halal landscape. There are issues within the UK Halal sector that are unique to the UK; there are others that are common to other European countries; others that run parallel to the Halal sector in the US; and others that are global concerns. All of them are important and many of them are urgent. We are also well aware that wherever we go, the WHF is entering in the middle of the movie, so to speak, not at the beginning. Many people have for many years been involved in the Halal sector both in the UK and Europe, and know the history, the challenges, the disputes and alliances better than the members of the WHF secretariat. While we have made a concerted effort to study and analyse the local and regional issues, we are well aware that in the time frame of a two-day event, it is impossible a) to cover all the issues, or b) to please all the parties involved. In this respect, we are of course setting ourselves up for various criticisms, and some of it, no doubt, will be justified. All we ask is that they be constructive. However, it is important that we all try and hold the bigger picture in our shared awareness during the WHF Europe and beyond. This event is a fragment of an extended conversation that is going on all over the world right now. E X E C U T I V E RE V I EW - 7
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AD volystar
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The issues under discussion and debate here are local versions of the same issues that have an extended global resonance. The WHF Europe 2010 programme has been developed on the basis of years of committed involvement in this global conversation, and we have attempted to reflect this in the theme and topics. Standards development, slaughtering procedures, informative labelling, accreditation agencies, consumer confidence, marketing methods and new frontiers…these are all global issues with local applications, and they are the engines that will drive the Halal market forward over the coming years. There are differing views on many of the topics, and a shared history of ongoing alliances and conflicts between many of the stakeholders. The WHF is non-partisan and is supportive of the sincere efforts by any party to improve, strengthen and optimise the Halal sector. Our focus has been to create a neutral arena in which to bring together a group of concerned stakeholders and specialists, to act as catalysts to help unfold the next chapter of this fascinating story in the best way possible. For some people, this arena represents a commercial opportunity; for others, it concerns a religious principle; for others, it is a political platform; or even a socio-economic, scientific or cultural phenomenon. At the WHF, we welcome all of these positions, and consider them all valid so long as the basic parameters of Halal are being upheld and not undermined. To move forward, it will require a collective collaboration from all sides, and we ask that, wherever possible, we leave our preconceptions at the door and actively look for opportunities to form new alliances based on shared common interests and values.
Where we disagree on a detail, let us step back to a point of common agreement. Where we differ, let us make an effort to see from another perspective.
Where we disagree on a detail, let us step back to a point of common agreement. Where we differ, let us make an effort to see from another perspective. We need each other. We need the politicians, the farmers, the producers and manufacturers, the retailers and the truckers; we need the certifiers and auditors; we need the entrepreneurs, the academics and the media; we need the scientists and environmental health practitioners. We need the consumers, the housewives doing the weekly shopping, and the friends going out at night for a curry, or a pizza, or a Halal take-away… E X E C U T I V E RE V I EW - 9
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The Halal arena is, by default, a cross-cultural, multi-faith, international commercial phenomenon that, by definition, takes its guiding parameters from the divine revelation brought by the last and final Messenger from the One God. “Oh Mankind! Eat what is good and lawful on the earth.” The revelation from God calls on us all to consume permissible, healthy food, and by extension, the same parameters must apply to business practices and other related activity of anyone of us involved in the Halal sector in any way. If we cannot honour this, we should leave and pursue other activities. If we choose to stay involved in the Halal arena, let us renew our commitments to purify our intentions, and expand the horizon of our aspirations, and to raise our game. There is a new and unwritten chapter of this that is waiting to be written by many of the people in this room. Resolving the conflicts and inefficiencies in the Halal arena will open up new business opportunities and can make a valuable contribution to economic health and social harmony. It will require us to set aside our differences and identify areas of common agreement and mutual interest, and to act accordingly. The efforts that are made in the Western world to take the Halal movement forward over the coming years will have ripples that will extend around the world.
If we choose to stay involved in the Halal arena, let us renew our commitments to purify our intentions, and expand the horizon of our aspirations, and to raise our game.
It is our intention for the World Halal Forum Europe to play a positive role in this movement, and we welcome the participation of all the participants. Thank you all for your energy and commitment, and we look forward to your contributions and involvement in the years to come.
Hajj Abdalhamid Evans Project Director, World Halal Forum Europe 2010
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SPEAKERS
Jumaatun Azmi
World Halal Forum/ KasehDia Sdn Bhd, Malaysia
A dynamic female entrepreneur and the new face of a moderate, progressive Muslim leader, Jumaatun is the Founder and Managing Director of KasehDia Sdn Bhd. Under her leadership, KasehDia – a niche communication and consultancy firm committed to the application and promotion of Islamic concepts in a contemporary manner – has created world-renowned events and publications, and consulted the government on Halal matters. Her most notable contribution to the global Halal industry is the creation of the World Halal Forum, the world’s premier Halal industry event that charts the course of the whole industry. She is the publisher of The Halal Journal, a trade publication on the Halal industry distributed globally; and the awardwinning Halal Food Guide series which has covered eight countries. Jumaatun’s most recent venture is in film-making, with the first movie, HAQ, due for debut in January 2011. Together with the company, her prolific efforts in fortifying the fragmented Halal industry and for spearheading a unique approach to creative communications has been applauded in local and international media including Forbes, Guardian UK, The New York Times, Asia Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, Time Magazine, and The Economist to name a few.
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SPEAKERS
Darhim Hashim
International Halal Integrity Alliance, Malaysia
Darhim Dali Hashim is the CEO of International Halal Integrity Alliance Ltd (IHI Alliance), an international NGO created to uphold the integrity of the Halal market concept in global trade through recognition, collaboration and membership. Darhim brings to IHI Alliance a wealth of corporate and Halal industry experience. Previously, he worked in various senior management positions including leading a diversification strategy for a conglomerate into the agricultural sector. This led to an opportunity to head up an integrated livestock and Halal meat operations. He was invited to share his knowledge and experience on Halal Journal TV, Pakistan’s ATV and Business Plus channels and was also interviewed for Time and Forbes magazines. Darhim introduced Halal at various platforms including the CIES International Food Safety Conference held in Barcelona, Spain, the World Bank’s East Asia Pacific Regional Agribusiness Trade & Investment Conference in Singapore, the 18th EFLA Congress on Private Food Law in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and the Meat Industry Association Annual Conference in Christchurch, New Zealand.
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SPEAKERS
Abdalhamid Evans World Halal Forum Europe, UK
Abdalhamid Evans is the Project Director for the World Halal Forum Europe. He is also the Managing Director of Imarat Consultants – a niche consulting agency that specialises in the Halal sector, and is also the founder of HalalFocus.com – an online news service for the Halal market. He worked with KasehDia in Malaysia from 2004-07, during which time he participated in the development of The Halal Journal magazine and the World Halal Forum, as well as provided consulting services for the Malaysian government in their efforts to position Halal as an engine of growth for the national economy. Abdalhamid is a seasoned writer and a regular contributor at Halal industry events around the world, and is widely regarded as a thought-leader in the global Halal movement.
John Pointing Kingston University, UK
John is a barrister with over 15 years’ experience working in the environmental sector. His practice includes advising and appearing for local authorities, commercial clients and private individuals. He also has many years’ experience teaching law and providing professional training in environmental health law for environmental health professionals and solicitors. Since 1992, he has run workshops for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) on a wide range of legal issues affecting environmental health practice. He is a senior lecturer in law at Kingston University, and has undertaken research into various aspects of regulatory law, notably in the fields of statutory nuisance and food safety law. This has resulted in a number of publications, both in peer-reviewed and professional journals. He is co-author (with Rosalind Malcolm) of Statutory Nuisance: Law and Practice (OUP, 1st ed. 2002, 2nd ed. 2011) and Food Safety Enforcement (CIEH, 2005). He has also acted as legal adviser to Defra and drafted the legal sections of the Noise Management Guide for Local Authorities and the Odour Guidance for Local Authorities, published in 2006 and 2010 respectively.
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SPEAKERS
Dr. Mah Hussain-Gambles Saaf Pure Skincare, UK
Disillusioned by beauty marketing claims, Saaf Pure Skincare was born out of Dr. Mah’s desire to create a range that her friends and family could safely use, and to reconcile family commitments with a full-time activity. Saaf is the first to have created both organic and Halal-certified skincare range, delivered in an eco-ethical business model. Dr. Mah was one of the finalists of the 2010 Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, and she was also selected to visit Barack Obama’s Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship the same year. She was awarded British Innovator of the Year award in 2009 and is listed in Real Business Britain’s 100 Most Entrepreneurial Women. Currently an Ambassador for Enterprise UK, the national campaign to increase entrepreneurial behaviour in the UK, Dr. Mah received an MBE in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Philip Pfeffer
Chadbourne & Parke (London) LLP, UK
Philip is a partner in the international law firm of Chadbourne & Parke LLP, and is currently managing the litigation and regulatory aspects of the firm’s products’ liability practice in Europe and the Middle East. He is also a member of the firm’s international disputes resolution practice, focusing on international investment treaty law disputes and international trade law matters. Philip has participated in the defence of numerous individual and class action products liability lawsuits, and has litigated other types of matters ranging from multi-national commercial disputes to human rights actions. He is a member of Chadbourne’s Pro Bono Committee and serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law in New York. Philip currently represents the interests of both Halal and Kosher stakeholders who are seeking nondiscriminatory food labelling regimes that provide consumers with the information they need while, at the same time, not restricting the trade in such products, running afoul of international trade agreements or de-normalising religious practice. He has engaged with numerous governments to discuss international trade law violations that could flow from the current EU labelling proposal for meat products derived from slaughter without stunning.
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SPEAKERS
Rafi-uddin Shikoh Dinar Standard, USA
Rafi-uddin Shikoh is leading the development of DinarStandard™ – a growth and investment strategy consultancy focused on the emerging Muslim markets. Rafi-uddin has been leading the delivery of Muslim market analysis, feasibility studies and growth strategies for clients. He has also led DinarStandard.com publication reports such as the DS100™ ranking of Top 100 Businesses in the Muslim World, Leading Brands of the Muslim World, Top 10 Opportunity Trends, and various other reports and features. As an emerging expert on Muslim markets, he is regularly quoted in media such as The Economist, Forbes, LA Times, BBC World News, BrandChannel, Arab News (Saudi Arabia), Khaleej Times, Sabah (Turkey), The Star (Malaysia), Geo TV (Pakistan) and many more. Rafi-uddin has over 12 years of marketing strategy, e-business strategy consulting and technology management experience with small to Fortune 500 sized companies in the USA such as Marsh & McLennan, Hartford, Sun Microsystems, Acxiom and Thomson Reuters. He has an MBA from UNC-Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, and a BSc. in Marketing from Southwest State University, Minnesota, USA. He was born in Pakistan and spent 14 years of his early schooling in the Sultanate of Oman.
Richard Werran Cert ID Europe Ltd., UK
Richard entered the food industry after qualifying as a Food Technologist in 1979. He has worked in dairy and baby food sectors in technical and NPD until joining Lucas Meyer (UK) – Europe’s leading producer of soya lecithin, a food additive, used widely throughout the food industry – as a Technical Sales Manager. From 1993, Richard led the company until its sale in 1999 to Degussa. Genetic Modification brought great change to the food industry and because of Richard’s firsthand experience regarding soya and various appearances on television he was approached to join Cert ID as CEO. Cert ID is a global certification body providing traceability programmes to major retailers, food and feed manufacturers. Cert ID today is the acknowledged leader in Non-GMO certification, ProTerra sustainable and responsible sourcing, and is accredited by UKAS under EN45011 to deliver BRC Global Standard for Food Safety certification. Richard is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Scientists and Technologists (IFST), a Fellow of the Society of Food Hygiene and Technology (FSOFHT), a CIEH Registered Trainer, BRC Third Party Auditor, and ISO 9000 Lead Auditor.
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SPEAKERS
Stuart Shotton FoodChain Europe Ltd, UK
Stuart is currently Consultancy Services Manager for FoodChain Europe Ltd, who offers practical legal advice relating to all aspects of food and retail law. Stuart has a wide range of enforcement and retail experience, having spent nine years within Trading Standards before joining Iceland Foods Limited as Food Labelling Manager where he was responsible for the nutrition, labelling and product recall strategy for one of the fastest growing retailers in the UK. Having operated as “poacher” and “game-keeper” in relation to food law, he is uniquely placed to offer an insight into labelling debates with the aim of ensuring businesses are not prosecuted and consumers are not mislead. Professional Affiliations and Qualifications: • Diploma in Consumer Affairs • Certificate in Legal Metrology • Diploma in Health & Nutrition • Member of the Trading Standards Institute
Dr. Adrian Evans Cardiff University, UK
Dr. Adrian is a research associate at the School of City and Regional Planning at Cardiff University. He is also a member of the DIALREL project (an EU-funded project which aims to encourage dialogue about religious slaughter) and the Welfare Quality project (an EU-funded project which addresses issues of farm animal welfare). His current research interests include food consumption and retail, especially in relation to animal welfarefriendly foods, and the interactions between science, society and religion in relation to animal welfare. His work on the ‘practical ethics’ of food consumption and on facilitating science-society dialogue within the Welfare Quality project have been published in leading academic journals. He is also co-author of the DIALREL report relating to Halal consumers’ attitudes and opinions towards religious slaughter, which is available at www.dialrel.eu.
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the world halal forum
2006
2009
2009
2010 18 - E X E C U T I V E R E V I E W
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2006 - 2010
2007
2008
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SPEAKERS
Sir Iqbal Sacranie Muslim Council of Britain, UK
Sir Iqbal Sacranie has been actively involved in voluntary capacity with community and charitable work for over four decades. He chairs and sits on various national and international charitable and community organisations, and is currently Chairman of Muslim Aid – an international relief and development agency serving in more than 70 countries. He is Deputy President of the World Memon Organisation (WMO), an umbrella body of the Memon community worldwide. Sir Iqbal was the founding Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), a national umbrella and representative body of British Muslims, was re-elected as Secretary General and completed his four-year term in June 2006. He is now Special Advisor to the Council. He is a member of International Advisory Panel (IAP) of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF). Leeds Metropolitan University bestowed on him an Honorary Doctorate of Law in recognition of his services to charities and the community. Sir Iqbal was appointed as a member on the Board of Governors in 2008. He is a recipient of a number of national and international awards, such as OBE in 1999 and was knighted by the Queen in 2005 for services to charities and the community.
Koen De Praetere Volys Star, Belgium
After publishing on climate control in animal houses, Koen De Praetere joined Vandemoortele, a major European oil and fats producer. He held various European management positions in automation, quality and process control. After finishing the construction of a new production facility in East-Germany, Koen headed business expansion in Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia. Prior to moving into the poultry business, he successfully managed the introduction of SAP within various plants. Currently, Koen is General Manager at Volys Star, a Belgium-based pioneer of innovative, value-added poultry products. Under his lead, Volys Star has transformed from a local player to a more regionally diversified company, producing for the European market as well as for the Middle East and Asia. Engaging in various Halal Seminars and Working Groups, Koen acquired and shared in-depth knowledge of Halal manufacturing, allowing Volys Star to further penetrate Halal markets worldwide. Awarded the Armand Blanc prize of the International Commission of Agricultural Engineering, Koen holds a Master’s degree in Agricultural and Food Sciences and a Master of Business Administration.
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SPEAKERS
Mohamed El-Fatatry Muxlim Inc., Finland
At 16, Mohamed became the youngest higher-education instructor in United Arab Emirates by creating and teaching the web development course at the Emirates Institute of Technology. By 21, he founded Muxlim Inc., the world’s largest Muslim lifestyle network reaching millions in 190 countries. During his work at Muxlim, he became the first immigrant to receive the President of Finland’s Internationalisation award in its 45-year history. From a Computer Science background, Mohamed has been called the “Linus Torvalds” of the Muslim world in Finland and has been named the “Egyptian Technology Figure of the Year”. He was among 200 business leaders recognised by President Obama at his “Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship” and was named by Georgetown University and the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center among the world’s “500 Most Influential Muslims” two years in a row. Recently, Mohamed became the youngest Business leader named among Chief Executive Magazine’s “Leaders of Tomorrow”. He is a regular speaker at events and conferences such as the Global Islamic Branding & Marketing Forum (UK), New Media Event (UAE), as well as an expert contributor to United Nations, and Nobel Peace Forum, among others. Mohamed has written the digital chapter of a Financial Times book titled “Islamic Marketing Handbook”.
Dr. Shuja Shafi
Muslim Council of Britain, UK
Dr. Shuja Shafi has led a lifelong career in medicine and has also been a community activist. He is currently the Deputy Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain and Chair of its Health and Food Standards Committee. He has overseen MCB response to FAWC’s report published in 2003, served as a member of the Advisory Board of DialRel – the EU Project that published “recommendations to good animal welfare practices during religious slaughter”. Dr. Shuja represents the Muslim Council of Britain on aspects of food and Halal issues at the Food Standards Agency’s Muslim Organisations Working Group and the Halal Steering Group of EBLEX. As Director of Public Health Laboratory, he was responsible for clinical, public health and food microbiology and laboratory accreditation; he served as Assessor for accreditation of clinical laboratories for over 15 years. He has wide experience in developing policies, protocols leading to assurance systems and national accreditation schemes. He has taught medical and bio scientist students and served as Regional Advisor for the Royal College of Pathologists for 10 years. Dr. Shuja has over 100 publications and his recent one is on health protection and field studies on the epidemiology of respiratory infections at the Hajj.
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SPEAKERS
Fazal Bahardeen
Muddassar Ahmed
Fazal is the CEO of Crescentrating Pte Ltd, which set up the world’s first travel portal dedicated to the Halal-conscious travellers, and “Crescentrating” of the travel and tourism services for their Halal-friendliness. Prior to this, he was with Alcatel-Lucent where he held senior management roles based in Europe and Asia. Fazal completed the Executive Program from Stanford University & National University of Singapore, Strategic Leadership Development Program from Ashridge Management School, and International Management in Telecoms Industry from London Business School. He has an International Masters in Management from Management School of Lyon, in addition to the Masters Degree in Computer Applications and Bachelors Degree in Telecommunication Engineering from the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications. Fazal also has a Diploma in Islamic Banking and Finance from the International Islamic University of Malaysia.
Muddassar Ahmed is a Founder and Chief Executive of Unitas Communications Ltd. He is the founding Chairman of the Concordia Forum, the Hikmah Club, as well as the US Exchanges Alumni Association UK, and he also chairs the European Cedar Media Group. He is also the Trustee/ Director of The Adab Trust, White Fire Films and The Newham Public Affairs Committee. Previously, Muddassar worked as a freelance TV Producer and Presenter, having worked at BBC, Channel 4 and Islam Channel Productions. He was also a steering group member of Mosaic, the Muslim led network founded by The Prince of Wales; Committee member of The Interfaith Alliance in Newham; Ethnic Minority Officer for the Labour Party in London; Youth Officer for the Alliance of Mosques in East London; and the founding General Secretary of MLM UK.
Crescentrating.com, Singapore
Unitas Communications, UK
Zahed Amanullah HalalFire Media, UK
Zahed Amanullah is the Managing Director of HalalFire – a media and consulting company based in the US and Britain, where he also serves as the Executive Editor of altmuslim.com – an online news magazine dealing with issues related to Muslims in the West. He is a founding member of AMILA (American Muslims Intent on Learning and Activism) and a board member of CEDAR, a network of European Muslim professionals. He has been involved with a number of American Muslim organisations including the Islamic Center of Southern California and the Muslim Public Affairs Council before relocating to London, England in 2003. Zahed has been featured in a number of media outlets, including BBC TV and radio, the Guardian (UK), CNN International, and many others. He also served as an advisor to a variety of organisations including Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and the US State Department on matters dealing with extremism, integration, technology, and media. Born and raised in Southern California, he is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. 22 - E X E C U T I V E RE V I EW
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panelists
Abu Bakr Rieger
European Muslim Union, Germany
Abu Bakr Rieger is a lawyer, and together with other colleagues in the field of law founded the NGO, Muslim Lawyers. In 2000, Abu Bakr Rieger established the Muslim media house, IZ Medien GmbH in Berlin. He is the publisher of Islamische Zeitung, which is well-known in German-speaking Europe, as well as Globalia Magazine, a publication in English. Currently, he is the president of the EMU (European Muslim Union) foundation. This organisation has its administrative headquarters in Strasbourg, France. EMU organises regional conferences and gatherings in Europe and is committed to a non-partisan co-operation of the European Muslims. He is married and resides in Cologne, Germany.
Ahmad Adam
American Halal Association, USA
Ahmad Adam is the President/ CEO and Founder of Crescent Foods, Chicago, USA. With an engineering degree and extensive experience in building businesses from the ground up, he founded Crescent Foods in 1995 to supply the highest quality 100 per cent grain-fed Halal chicken products nationwide, across the US market. Crescent products are available at select Wal-Mart supercentres, some Costco regional locations, multi- and single-unit supermarkets, as well as ethnic grocery stores and restaurants. Ahmad Adam is also the Founder/ President of the American Halal Association. With a clear commitment to the mission of developing Halal as a socio-economic force, Ahmad has been the driving force behind the formation of the American Halal Association, a not-for-profit trade association to protect, strengthen and serve the Halal industry in North America. He is also the Executive Director of Halalconnect, a new consumer and Halal industry magazine. An active member of the Muslim community in Chicago, Ahmad is well-known and respected for his work for Islam, both in the Mosque and in the community.
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David Smith
Global Fortunes and Foresight, USA
A futurologist, and Chief Executive of Global Futures and Foresight (GFF) – a strategic futures research organisation, David’s 30 year diverse business career has made him recognisable as one of the world’s leading futurists. GFF has prepared views of the future for the Middle East travel and tourism industry, the world insurance markets, and visions of the future for the food, real estate, information technology, and communications industries. Since founding GFF, David has worked with many of the world’s largest organisations as well as academic institutions and industry associations. Their insights have led many organisations to embrace change and prepare innovative strategies to renew themselves and generate new growth. GFF has developed proprietary methods to help their clients prepare themselves for the future and by doing so reduce their risk and better enable them to adapt to the fast-changing world. His clients number some of the largest and most prestigious firms around the world, and he is a regular international conference speaker and writer, and a passionate believer that we are not victims of what the future might hold if we prepare ourselves in advance. David is married with four sons and is a keen weekend sailor and photographer.
Jonathan Bilal Wilson University of Greenwich, UK
After graduating with a BSc in Chemistry and an MBA both from the University of Dundee, Scotland, Jon has amassed 13 years of collective academic and commercial practitioner experience in Marketing Communications, Advertising, Branding, and Management Training. Jon’s research interests centre on brand management and cultural surrogate hybridisation – with recent cross-continental research work capturing the views of professionals hailing from global branding and advertising agencies, as well as the music industry and global broadcast organisations. Work and research commitments have seen Jon travel to China, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, USA and much of Europe. Amongst others, Jon published a journal paper entitled “Shaping the Halal into a Brand”, in 2010 with extracts also uploaded onto Oxford Saïd Business School’s, Islamic Branding and Marketing Forum website.
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Nazia Hussain
Ogilvy Noor, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, UK
Nazia joined Ogilvy & Mather to set up the company’s offer in Cultural Strategy in 2008. She had worked in Dhaka, Dubai, Istanbul, Moscow and Shanghai by the time she joined Ogilvy & Mather in London. Prior to Ogilvy, she had been at Added Value, JWT, and The Brand Union. Believing there are no global consumers, only global brands, Nazia’s focus is on unpacking the cultural contexts that inform peoples’ consumption behaviour worldwide. Her clients include the Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, Nestlé, British Airways, Pernod Ricard, Diageo, Reckitt Benckiser and SAB Miller. Nazia is also Head of Strategy at Ogilvy Noor, the world’s first Islamic Branding consultancy. With Muslim roots and a global outlook, Nazia is perfectly placed to advice on the rise of today’s generation of connected and consumption-savvy Muslim youth. She is lead author of Ogilvy Noor’s study, ‘Brands, Islam and the New Muslim Consumer’. Born in Bangladesh, Nazia grew up in Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong before graduating from Oxford with a First in English. Her passion for China then led her to an MPhil in Chinese Art, Literature and Cultural Anthropology, during which time she lived in Beijing and became fluent in Mandarin.
Roziatul Akmam Osman CCM Halal Council, Malaysia
Roziatul Akmam Osman is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and currently holds the position of General Manager at CCM Water Systems Sdn Bhd (CCMWS) – an engineering company principally involved in designing, installing and providing maintenance services for water purification and waste water treatment systems. CCMWS is a subsidiary of Chemical Company of Malaysia Berhad (CCM), one of Malaysia’s leading public-listed government-linked companies and a key player in the fertilisers, chemicals and pharmaceuticals industry. Rozi is also the Secretary of CCM Halal Council, providing the leadership role spearheading CCM Group’s Halal initiatives, and is CCM’s key liaison person for all matters relating to the Group’s Halal initiatives.
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Jon Hayes
Australian Meat Industry Council Halal Committee, Australia
Jon Hayes is the Managing Director of Norvic Food Processing, operating a medium size multi-species abattoir in Wodonga, Victoria. The Wodonga abattoir processes beef, sheep, lamb, goats and veal. The abattoir is export-registered and is accredited under the Australian Government Authorised Halal Program. Jon has been in the meat industry for 37 years and plays an active role representing the Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC). He is currently the Chairman of the AMIC Halal Consultative Committee. He also sits on the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) Halal Consultative Committee and AQIS Export Meat Industry Advisory Council, and is a committee member of the AMIC National Sheep Lamb and Goat Council as well as the AMIC Australian Processor Council. Jon has represented the Australian Meat Industry Council and has attended World Halal Forums in Australia, Europe, Malaysia, and Brunei over the past five years.
Mohammad Nazir Nazir Associates, UK
Mohammad Nazir OBE, is the CEO of Nazir Associates, which is a leading International Business Consulting Business. He has extensive background in the Halal sector including the development of the Halal industry in the UK and worldwide. He also has interest in a number of companies including Islamic Commercial Finance. Amongst many of his other public and private sector strategic development engagements include Chairmanship of West Midlands Ethnic Minority Business Forum and Chairman of Quality and Performance Committee on the board of West Midlands Strategic Health Authority.
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Azeddine Bahi
Lyon Grand Mosque, France
Since 2007, Azeddine has been the Managing Director of the Association Rituelle de la Grande Mosquée de Lyon (ARGML), which is the entity in charge of Halal control and certification for the Grand Mosque of Lyon. This Association has over 40 Halal supervisors who monitor Halal productions within food manufacturing companies in France and abroad.
Khalid Hussain
Pak Supermarket Washwood Heath Ltd., UK
Khalid Hussain is the CEO of Pak Supermarket Washwood Heath Ltd. He is a leading expert in the retail business, a sector he has worked in since leaving education. His retail career started with setting up a leading ethnic and Halal retail high street store. This expanded to the establishment of Pak Supermarket, the UK’s biggest Halal retail supermarket, in 2008 for which he has won many awards. He is now successfully competing with the mainstream supermarkets in the Birmingham area.
Naved Syed Janan Meat, UK
Naved Syed is the Managing Director of Janan Meat Ltd. He is also a member of the EBLEX Halal Steering Committee, member of FSA Muslim organisation working group, and Chairman of UK Halal Corporation. He is an active member of the project steering group for the Advantage West Midlands Qurbani Project, arranging for meat to go to flood victims in Pakistan in partnership with Noor TV. Naved is a strong campaigner for Halal in the UK and is regularly on radio and TV talking about the various aspects of Halal slaughter, and the methods used for it. He has opened his slaughter facility for public viewing to help people fully understand the process of Halal slaughter and the humane way the animals are treated.
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media partners
The Halal Journal Business, Lifestyle, Trends
The Halal Journal is a bimonthly publication for the global Halal industry, one that we believe will be the greatest market forces in the coming decades. As the realm of Halal extends beyond the obvious references to food and touches on all matters that relate to human life, The Halal Journal focuses on all topics of interest and concern to decision makers (both private and governments) that affects trade and businesses; as well as lifestyle trends. It is currently distributed worldwide through individual and corporate subscriptions along with partner events.
Zabihah.com
Your guide to Halal eating
The origins of zabihah.com is the website of American Muslims Intent on Learning and Activism (AMILA), which zabihah.com founder, Shahed Amanullah, created and maintained. As part of that website, a short guide to Bay Area restaurants that served Halal meals was created in 1998 as a service to the membership, who enjoyed eating out and wanted to try to stick to Halal food. Response to the Halal restaurant guide was tremendous, revealing a pent-up demand for locating and rating Halal food. In order to reach a greater population and expand the capabilities of the service, zabihah.com was created in July 1999. With the consumers’ support, zabihah.com has become an indispensable resource for Muslim communities worldwide.
HalalFocus.com
HalalFocus.com is a news resource for the global Halal industry providing daily market news updates, cutting edge commentary and in-depth analyses on the developments within this fast moving international Halal sector. The Halal sector covers the full range from farm-tofork, and it is developing rapidly. In order to take advantage of the opportunities that this market offers, make sure you know what is going on in countries around the world that are taking Halal seriously from governments, multinationals, down to small enterprises.
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Dinar Standard
DinarStandard™ is a growth strategy and intelligence service provider focused on the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) markets, uniquely leveraging original market and consumer insights delivered through consulting, research, database, and publication offerings. The DinarStandard.com publication is a free online business strategy resource which provides actionable insights and tools for businesses.
Islamische Zeitung Islamic Newspaper
For more than a decade now, the Islamische Zeitung has been the biggest German-language newspaper for and by Muslims. Every month, the print edition provides information on the lives of Muslims, the fundamentals of Islam, and current debates. An important subject area is also the organisation and deepening of a dialogue between the Muslim world and Europe. Due to its high quality, the Islamische Zeitung is regarded as the primary source of information on the lives of Muslims in Germany. In numerous interviews, the Islamische Zeitung presents an exciting and on-going dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims.
Unitas Communications
Unitas Communications is a specialist Public Relations, Public Affairs, and Event Management agency, specialising in the interface between the Islamic and Western worlds. In 2010, Unitas Communications launched its periodic current affairs publication called Dialogue. This quarterly current affairs review from Unitas attempts to provide both an overview of the key news stories from the past month, as well as a more in-depth look at a key area of policy or major event. The magazine also contains an interview with an influential figure from the world of the media or politics each month, an events diary and media profiles.
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Global Islamic Finance Magazine (GIF)
Global Islamic Finance Magazine (GIF) was firmly established in 2007 as the leading Islamic Finance title for bankers, business professionals, brokers, insurers, corporate, advisors and providers of financial services. It focuses on the rapidly growing Islamic Banking, Finance, Economy and Business. Through close contact with those active in the Islamic finance sector, GIF brings critical news not found elsewhere. Its market intelligence to assist businesses and in-depth independently-written feature articles provide potential leads and other resource information. GIF delivers news, reviews, research, comments and analyses to support finance professionals with timely, relevant and accurate market intelligence and sources of business funding.
EMU-TV
EMU-TV is an online media service that hosts video programmes and online clips produced by the European Muslim Union (EMU) Foundation about Muslims and Islam in Europe. A non-profit, non-government organisation, registered in the European Union and with scope of activity throughout the European Continent, the EMU is an umbrella organisation made up of various other organisations and area entities associated together to serve the Muslim community in Europe and to promote and facilitate the dialogue and mutual improvement of the host societies and the Muslims, where the Muslim communities live in minority.
Business Asia
The Business Asia is the first weekly newspaper of its kind. It endeavours to be inimitable in content and style, and aim to reach out exclusively to business people of Asian origin in the UK. At Business Asia, the team highlights the achievements of the Asian community in multicultural Britain. Extensive news, information, comment and analysis are brought to their 30,000 plus business orientated readers. Business Asia offers a wide variety of reading material on special interests: exclusive interviews of the business success and start-ups, social and cultural events, as well as entertainment and sports.
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WORLD HALAL FORUM IN THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
The World Halal Forum has been featured in over 242 media globally, ranging from newsprint, TV, Radio, online, and periodicals and journals.
“Jumaatun Azmi, organiser of the first World Halal Forum in Malaysia in May this year, didn’t want to host yet another scholarly debate among Islamic clerics about what the Quran does or doesn’t allow Muslims to eat. So instead of the mullahs, she invited McDonald’s Corp., Nestlé SA, Rotterdam Port and Tesco Plc, the British retailer, to the conference” Bloomberg reproduced in International Herald Tribune and The Edge “World Halal Forum will become an annual gathering, whose clout will be left wherever there are Muslim consumers” Radio Free Europe “The recently-held World Halal Forum in Kuala Lumpur paves the way for Malaysia in becoming a “Centre of Halal Excellence”” Business Times “Making a bid to become a Muslim world lead proponent of Halal” Asian Wall Street Journal “Malaysia hosted the World Halal Forum in Kuala Lumpur, a conference designed to bring together companies involved in making Halal food” AP-foodtechnology.com “The world’s first conference on Halal business – the World Halal Forum” The Star “The global Halal industry, if it can be called one, is fast getting up to speed at the World Halal Forum – a convention and trade show of religious zeal dressed in the smart suits of regulators and entrepreneurs” New Straits Times “The World Halal Forum in Kuala Lumpur was a chance for the Malaysian government to promote itself as a future hub for Halal products. But it was also a forum for industry leaders to give stern warnings to their colleagues about the need for proper certification procedures” The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC Connect Asia) “Nestlé Malaysia, Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco, and fast-food giant McDonald’s also joined experts and regulatory bodies at the forum to discuss Halal food and promote the booming business in Halal food” The New Nation “At the World Halal Forum, the first major gathering of the global Halal industry, the talk is about ethics, values, lifestyles and branding. The Quranic injunctions on which foods are permissible and prohibited now form only one part of the discussion; the need for a global standard of Halal certification is being pushed forward by a market-driven industry that wants more” guardian.co.uk
“The World Halal Forum (WHF) has formally requested the International Development Bank (IDB) to set up a specific fund to help develop the Halal industry in Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member nations and in non-Muslim countries with Muslim minorities” Bernama “Going beyond the usual academic and religious discussions, participants in the World Halal Forum, currently hosted in Kuala Lumpur, are looking at the sector in commercial terms, discussing how to regulate and promote the booming industry” Islamonline “For the first time ever, the World Halal Forum will see leaders of the global Halal industry converge to discuss the issues of business and trade” The Halal Journal “The forum helps prepare the government and private sector for the growing Muslim market worldwide. It is our philosophy to not only promote the Halal concept across in a universal way but also see a huge market potential” Malaysia SME “The World Halal Forum 2010 will focus on an action plan to address crucial issues facing the market, specifically in integrity” Berita Harian “Malaysia as a moderate and successful Islamic country is capable of taking a leadership role in providing a knowledge and trade platform as well as in pushing the global Halal agenda” Utusan Malaysia “At the World Halal Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak alluded to the thought leadership distinguishing Malaysia’s drive towards expanding and systematising what might be termed Halal-consciousness from a purely domestic concern to a truly global scale. Najib urged participants at the forum to act in concert on this altruistic endeavour” New Straits Times – Editor’s Comment Page “Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak urged Muslim nations to think beyond industries and move into the larger realm of a Halal economy. Speaking at the opening of the World Halal Forum 2010 at the KL Convention Centre, Najib said the Halal economy is a value-based economy rooted in trust, integrity, and fairness.” The Sun “Not many producers realise the importance of logistic activities and there is a lack of the existence or use of Halal-compliant logistic services. Hopefully this scenario will change soon. This was discussed at the 5th World Halal Forum 2010 held in Kuala Lumpur.” The Star
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