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NOVANEWS
Industry advocates say halal certification opens lucrative export markets, but anti-Islam groups claim halal is part of a secret plot to conquer the world
Halal certifier Mohamed El Mouelhy says anti-Islam campaigners have personally accused him of funding terrorism.
The head of one of Australia’s largest halal certification industry groups announced he is suing an “Islam-critical” organization that claimed halal certification businesses are funding a “Muslim conspiracy” to take over Australia.
“It’s good to put those bigots back in their holes. They are racist, bigots. There is no other word for it,” Mohamed El Mouelhy told SBS news Wednesday. El Mouelhy heads the Halal Certification Authority, a business that provides halal approval to Australian companies. Halal is an Arabic word used to describe foods allowed under Islamic dietary laws.
Mouelhy stated the case in the New South Wales Supreme Court centers around two videos posted online by the Q Society – a group of self described “Islam-critical” campaigners.
Q Society is one of a handful of anti-Islam groups that have been lobbying Australian businesses to dump halal certification. The campaign has gained momentum amid a surge of Islamophobia in Australia.
The case isn’t about money, Mouelhy explained, as his business hasn’t been harmed by anti-halal campaigners. Instead, he argued the two online videos are damaging to his reputation.
“My integrity is being questioned. I don’t like that, because I’m an honest man,” he said.
Mouelhy’s suit names not only the Q Society, but also its national President Debbie Robinson, board members Peter Callaghan and Ralf Schumann and anti-halal campaigner Kirralie Smith. Smith is both a member of Q Society and runs the anti-halal website www.halalchoices.com.
One of the videos involved in the lawsuit allegedly features Smith speaking at a Q Society event. During the video, Mouelhy is allegedly portrayed as “reasonably suspected of providing financial support to terrorist organizations” and “part of a conspiracy to destroy Western civilization from within.”
In 2014, the Australian Crime Commission conducted an extensive investigation into money laundering nationwide and found no evidence of links between the Halal industry and terrorist organizations.
Smith’s website also contains other videos accusing the halal certification industry of profiteering off “gullible customers.”
During a separate video on the website, Smith claimed that giving businesses the freedom to pursue halal certification is undermining freedom of religion.
Smith’s website claims to merely educate Australian consumers about Islamic food customs. However, Q Society’s activities aren’t limited to Halal. In 2011, the group spearheaded a petition aiming to block Muslims from using a suburban community center in Melbourne for Friday prayers.
The Q-Society also organized a meeting in the town of Bendigo in 2014 aimed at stopping the construction of a mosque. The ‘Stop the Mosque in Bendigo’ Facebook page claims there is nothing bigoted about denying a Muslim community a mosque.
On its website, Q Society claims Islam is a “totalitarian ideology” and claims Australia is already being subjected to Shariah inspired gender segregation, forced imposition of halal foods, and “huge mosques and their minarets built as a show of Islamic supremacy.”
“It’s good to put those bigots back in their holes. They are racist, bigots. There is no other word for it,” Mohamed El Mouelhy told SBS news Wednesday. El Mouelhy heads the Halal Certification Authority, a business that provides halal approval to Australian companies. Halal is an Arabic word used to describe foods allowed under Islamic dietary laws.
Mouelhy stated the case in the New South Wales Supreme Court centers around two videos posted online by the Q Society – a group of self described “Islam-critical” campaigners.
Q Society is one of a handful of anti-Islam groups that have been lobbying Australian businesses to dump halal certification. The campaign has gained momentum amid a surge of Islamophobia in Australia.
The case isn’t about money, Mouelhy explained, as his business hasn’t been harmed by anti-halal campaigners. Instead, he argued the two online videos are damaging to his reputation.
“My integrity is being questioned. I don’t like that, because I’m an honest man,” he said.
Mouelhy’s suit names not only the Q Society, but also its national President Debbie Robinson, board members Peter Callaghan and Ralf Schumann and anti-halal campaigner Kirralie Smith. Smith is both a member of Q Society and runs the anti-halal website www.halalchoices.com.
One of the videos involved in the lawsuit allegedly features Smith speaking at a Q Society event. During the video, Mouelhy is allegedly portrayed as “reasonably suspected of providing financial support to terrorist organizations” and “part of a conspiracy to destroy Western civilization from within.”
In 2014, the Australian Crime Commission conducted an extensive investigation into money laundering nationwide and found no evidence of links between the Halal industry and terrorist organizations.
Smith’s website also contains other videos accusing the halal certification industry of profiteering off “gullible customers.”
During a separate video on the website, Smith claimed that giving businesses the freedom to pursue halal certification is undermining freedom of religion.
Smith’s website claims to merely educate Australian consumers about Islamic food customs. However, Q Society’s activities aren’t limited to Halal. In 2011, the group spearheaded a petition aiming to block Muslims from using a suburban community center in Melbourne for Friday prayers.
The Q-Society also organized a meeting in the town of Bendigo in 2014 aimed at stopping the construction of a mosque. The ‘Stop the Mosque in Bendigo’ Facebook page claims there is nothing bigoted about denying a Muslim community a mosque.
On its website, Q Society claims Islam is a “totalitarian ideology” and claims Australia is already being subjected to Shariah inspired gender segregation, forced imposition of halal foods, and “huge mosques and their minarets built as a show of Islamic supremacy.”
