But see conclusion at the end of this article:
Conclusion: The clarification from JAKIM only says that greetings like “Merry Christmas” are not allowed on cakes to be exhibited in premises that have been certified halal or on products marked with the halal logo. This does not prohibit the sale of cakes with “Merry Christmas”to personal orders by customers.
Prohibition of sale of these cakes in response to personal orders by customers would be an outright infringement of the religious rights and freedom of Christians and non-Muslims. Indeed, one may still wonder whether the standing order, notwithstanding the clarification still constitutes an unwarranted restriction of the rights of Christians and non-Muslims freely to buy and sell merchandise among themselves. These incidents give the impression that Christian celebration is on the wrong side of the law – another example of “Salami Islamization”?
[Clarification added on 17 Dec 2023] – I received several friendly suggestions that I could have committed a typo error – it should be “salafi”. But I definitely mean “salami”. You cut salami piece by piece. It was first used as “salami politics” in political discourse. I use the word “salami Islamization” to alert us to JAKIM’s long term strategy of Islamization of Malaysia slice by slice.
Perhaps Berry Cakehouse is going beyond what JAKIM requires. We hope that Berry Cakehouse would resume its sales to customers who order cakes with decorations like “Merry Christmas”.
Latest update added on 17 Dec 2023 in light of clarification by JAKIM.
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Relevant earlier reports.
See the update in The Star 16/12/2023 at the end of the article
No ban on Christmas cakes for halal certificate holders, says Mohd Na’im
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Note JAKIM’s reference to its clarification given on 25 Dec 2020.
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Update in The Star on 16/12/2023
No ban on Christmas cakes for halal certificate holders, says Mohd Na’im
PETALING JAYA: There are no restrictions on halal certificate holders writing celebratory festive greetings on cakes for customers to take home, says Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar (pic).
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) said he has asked the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) to clarify the issue immediately.
“No barring of writing festival greetings on cakes sold by halal certificate holders for customers.
“I have instructed the halal department under Jakim to issue an immediate statement which explains the matter clearly, especially to halal certificate holders. This will be done as soon as possible.
“I have also asked them to produce a video on the issue to ensure everyone understands,” he said.
This followed an internal memo from a cake house purportedly telling staff not to write Merry Christmas or X’Mas on their cakes, even on request from customers.
Instead, employees were told they could provide a “Season’s Greetings” cake topper.
In the circular dated Dec 14, 2023 and signed by the bakery’s operations manager, the justification for the decision was to comply and meet the halal certification requirements by Jakim.
The bakery’s owner has yet to respond to queries about the purported circular.
On Nov 1, Jakim addressed a similar issue due to another article about using the “Merry Christmas” greeting on cakes.
“Jakim stresses that festive greetings are allowed on products if they were not made with the purpose of being displayed in the premise that has the halal certification or on products marked with the halal logo.
“This is because there are no provisions about the celebration of any festivals including Islamic celebrations stated in the Malaysian Halal Certification Procedure Manual (Domestic) 2020,” the department said at the time.
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Earlier incident on 24 Dec 2020
‘Merry Christmas’ Can Invalidate Halal Certificate, Says Jakim
The government’s halal authority today said the use of “Merry Christmas” on products would invalidate their halal certification, in a statement that is likely to reignite a debate on policies seen as regressive to Malaysia’s multicultural identity.
A spokesman for the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) confirmed to MalaysiaNow the existence of such a condition before a company is awarded halal certification, following an incident reported by a member of the public.MalaysiaNow earlier reported about a bakery which could not fulfil a customer’s request for “Merry Christmas” to be written on a cake he had ordered for delivery to a friend.Instead, the cake was delivered with the words “Happy Holidays”.The bakery owner said it was because he had to abide by the rules set by Jakim as part of the application process for getting halal certification.
“The bakery was not wrong as it is part of the regulations,” an officer from Jakim’s communications unit told MalaysiaNow.
He cited a labelling rule stated in Jakim’s manual on the procedures leading towards halal certification.
“Labelling and advertising of products and services should not involve the use of any religious or spiritual passage, symbol or noun such as the names of Allah, sunnah, idols and the like,” according to the document sighted by MalaysiaNow.
The “Merry Christmas” greeting has been a subject of debate in Malaysia, with some Muslim preachers claiming Muslims are prohibited from using the expression as it is a veneration of Christ.
But this is the first time it has emerged that the greeting could also affect a product’s official halal status.
Earlier, the customer, who declined to be named, said it was the first time he had encountered such a problem.
“But the management apologised to me saying it is part of the conditions during the audit process,” he added.
Jakim is legally empowered as the sole authority to issue halal certification for food and goods as well as eateries nationwide.
In the past, critics had questioned several conditions imposed by the department on food manufacturers and franchises seeking halal certification, including prohibiting certain names from being used on the product.
Popular pretzel chain Auntie Anne’s and fast food franchise A&W were forced to rename their popular products due to a requirement by Jakim that words such as “dog” and “beer” are not used on their menu.
Auntie Anne’s renamed its “pretzel dog” as “pretzel sausage”, while A&W was forced to change the names of two popular dishes for which it is known worldwide: Coney Dog and Root Beer, which were renamed as Chicken (or Beef) Coney and RB.
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Conclusion: The clarification from JAKIM only says that greetings like “Merry Christmas” are not allowed on cakes to be exhibited in premises that have been certified halal or on products marked with the halal logo. This does not prohibit the sale of cakes with “Merry Christmas”to personal orders by customers.
Prohibition of sale of these cakes in response to personal orders by customers would be an outright infringement of the religious rights and freedom of Christians and non-Muslims. Indeed, one may still wonder whether the standing order, notwithstanding the clarification still constitutes an unwarranted restriction of the rights of Christians and non-Muslims freely to buy and sell merchandise among themselves. These incidents give the impression that Christian celebration is on the wrong side of the law – another example of “Salami Islamization”?
[Clarification added on 17 Dec 2023] – I received several friendly suggestions that I could have committed a typo error – it should be “salafi”. But I definitely mean “salami”. You cut salami piece by piece. It was first used as “salami politics” in political discourse. I use the word “salami Islamization” to alert us to JAKIM’s long term strategy of Islamization of Malaysia slice by slice.
Perhaps Berry Cakehouse is going beyond what JAKIM requires. We hope that Berry Cakehouse would resume its sales to customers who order cakes with decorations like “Merry Christmas”.
Related Post:
JAKIM Was Established Without Constitutional or Legal Basis
Simple.Dont go to Berry’s.
Some people are relieved or happy the issue is ‘resolved’ in the light of statements from Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar, the Minister in the PM Dept (Religious Affairs) & JAKIM.
But note that the original regulation/policy is only clarifed, not retracted. Shops with halal certifications are still prohibited from exhibiting cakes with “merry Christmas” greetings.
In short, JAKIM’s power in halal certification now goes beyond matters of (halal, haram) contents. It now includes power over the cultural practices & religious beliefs of non-Muslim religions.
BEWARE, Once we agree or accept that JAKIM’s has the power to (unilaterally) decide what aspects of non-Muslim culture & religion are tolerable & acceptable as solely determined by the Muslim authorities – there is no limit as to how they may exercise their power. Today “Merry Christmas” is prohibited, tomorrow it could be any Christmas decoration, or carols. Who knows what cultural practices will next be prohibited or censored. Of course, such power invested solely to JAKIM would include the power to exercise it arbitrary. Some non-Muslim practices will be banned, others practices tolerated (with the right understanding) etc. After all, absolutely power corrupts absolutely since it is absolutely delicious.😃🤭
Related Post (link added on 21/12/2023)
JAKIM Was Established Without Constitutional or Legal Basis – https://krisispraxis.com/archives/2020/01/jakim-was-established-without-constitutional-or-legal-basis/