Hot dogs ‘must be renamed’ in Malaysia or risk being refused ‘Halal’ certification

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Food outlets selling hot dogs in Malaysia have been asked to rename their products or risk being refused halal certification.
Food outlets selling hot dogs in Malaysia have been asked to rename their products or risk being refused halal certification.
Food outlets selling hot dogs in Malaysia have been asked to rename their products or risk being refused halal certification.

The Malaysian Islamic Development Department, a religious government body, said it adopted the ruling after complaints from Muslim tourists.

Director Sirajuddin Suhaimee said the name might cause “confusion”.

“In Islam, dogs are considered unclean and the name cannot be related to halal certification,” he said.

Malaysian halal food guidelines say “halal food and halal artificial flavour shall not be named or synonymously named after non-halal products such as ham, bak kut teh, bacon, beer, rum and others that might create confusion,” local media said.

Muslim-majority Malaysia practises a moderate form of Islam but conservative attitudes are on the rise.

‘Pretzel Sausage’

On Monday, popular pretzel store franchise Auntie Anne’s was refused halal certification unless it renamed its “Pretzel Dog”. Mr Suhaimee said it was “more appropriate” to call it a “Pretzel Sausage”.

A representative of the US chain described it as a “minor issue” and said the firm was fine with changing the name on the menu.

‘Hot dog is hot dog lah’

Malaysian Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz slammed the ruling, calling it “stupid and backward”.

“Hot dog is hot dog lah. Even in Malay it’s called hot dog – it’s been around for so many years. I’m a Muslim and I’m not offended,” he told reporters, adding that there was no reason for the religious body to take offence with the word.

“It comes from the English language. Please do not make us seem stupid and backward.”

The ruling has also garnered ridicule and stirred debate among Malaysians on social media.

Hot dogs' may no longer be considered halal in Malaysia if their name is not changed
Hot dogs’ may no longer be considered halal in Malaysia if their name is not changed
“It’s just a name, what does it have to do with whether it’s halal or not? Muslims should be more concerned with ingredients and the way food is prepared,” wrote Eeman Yusof on Facebook.

“You can always count on the authorities to make us look stupid,” said another Malaysian Matt Razal.

Another Facebook user said: “Pet shops please rename your dogs as sausages.”

“It is complications like this that make our country move backwards,” commented YL Chew.

Activist and columnist Marina Mahathir, the daughter of former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad, criticised the request by the Department of Islamic Development – also known as Jakim.

“Oh we poor easily confused Muslims who have never heard of hot dogs before and who will have no choice but to buy one if one was on the menu,” she said in a Facebook post that was shared close to 2,000 times.

Malaysia often prides itself on being a moderate Muslim nation, which allows other religions freedom of worship.

In recent years, there has been greater emphasis on Islamic codes of conduct.

BBC

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Comments

7 responses to “Hot dogs ‘must be renamed’ in Malaysia or risk being refused ‘Halal’ certification”

  1. Malaysia, a model Islamic country where apartheid against the productive non-Muslim population (the Chinese and the Indians) is constitutionally entrenched. 🙂

  2. 5thDrawer Avatar

    “You can always count on the authorities to make us look stupid,” …..
    Yes Indeed … quite true.

  3. Rudy1947 Avatar

    I guess pigs in blanket aren’t going to be a culinary hit in Malaysia any time soon.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      Hot dogs will be … they are beef. :-))

      1. Rudy1947 Avatar

        Pigs in blanket are ofter made with a pork sausage, not just cocktail wieners.

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar

          True … Sausage Rolls are one of my fav’s. (Lean Pork, please.) And we know some think they need a blessing stronger than anyone can give. But they were talking about Hot Dogs. 😉

  4. PatienceTew Avatar
    PatienceTew

    Yes, under Islam ‘most’ dogs are haram. But, might the Afghan hound be secretly halal?? The people there consider their hound to be a kind of monkey, not actually a dog! Used to hunt lions with them.

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