Introduction
Halal Italia was founded in July 2010 on
the initiative of six Muslim professionals
with different qualifications, levels of
aptitudes and linguistic competence.
Halal Italia is a voluntary Italian
certification organization for the
most outstanding Italian products in
conformity with the rules as to what is
permissible (halal) under Islamic law
in the agricultural and food, cosmetics,
health, pharmaceutical, finance and
insurance sectors.
The promotion of high quality Italian
products is guaranteed by the rigorous
compliance with international halal
standards and European regulations
regarding the production processes
that require certification. Halal Italia also
supplies training, commercial assistance
and marketing services for the Italian
and foreign market to firms interested in
developing new products and exploring
new opportunities.
Thanks to its collaboration with the
Ethical Committee for Halal Certification
of CO.RE.IS. (Comunità Religiosa Islamica)
Italiana, it has been possible to ensure a
high level of reliability in the certification
service: the Ethical Committee is the
independent religious authority that
issues the certificates, while the staff
of Halal Italia carry out inspections on
the premises of participating firms.
The
Ethical Committee has prepared an
important tool:
a booklet containing the rules and
regulations for halal certification.
This contains an analysis of the Islamic
doctrine regarding food and body care
that has allowed Halal Italia to implement
the guidelines for the certification of the
production processes and staff training.
In the next few months it is planned to
publish the rules and regulations for
pharmaceuticals, which will open up
new prospects for the export and the
domestic market in a sector where there
is a high demand and where the ethical
value of the certification constitutes a
precious plus point.
Introduction CO.RE.IS. Italiana
For over twenty years, CO.RE.IS.
(Comunità Religiosa Islamica) Italiana
has represented the religious values of
Muslims in harmony with the cultural
identity of Italy and Europe.
Since 2006, Yahya Pallavicini, Imam of the
Al-Wahid Mosque in Milan, has been a
member of the Council for Italian Islam;
set up by the Ministry of the Interior, this
is the only official body catering for the
needs of Muslims in Italy.
The fruitful collaboration with, firstly, the
minister of the interior Giuseppe Pisanu,
then with the minister Giuliano Amato
and with the minister Roberto Maroni,
is indicative of the trust that is placed in
CO.RE.IS. at an institutional level.
In recognition of ‘its important
contribution to the development of
an intercultural and interreligious
dialogue over more than twenty years’,
in December 2008 the mayor of Milan
awarded the Ambrogino prize for civic
merit to CO.RE.IS. Italiana.
In 2009 CO.RE.IS. Italiana started its first
pilot project for halal certification in
Italy in collaboration with the Region
of Lombardy and PROMOS (the special
agency of the Milan Chamber of
Commerce for international activities).
Therefore, it registered the Halal Italia
mark, the first official one in Italy, and
set up an Ethical Committee for Halal
Certification consisting of Muslim
theologians and jurists and technical
experts.
The Ethical Committee of CO.RE.IS. has
the task of drawing up the rules and
regulations for halal certification for the
various production sectors and ensure
their application, taking into account
the common ground between the four
Sunni schools of Islamic law as well as the
Shi’ite one.
This activity was officially recognized in
an agreement signed on 30 June 2010
at the ministry of foreign affairs in Rome
between the Italian minister of foreign
affairs, Franco Frattini and the ministers
of economic development, agricultural,
food and forestry policies, and health
in the presence of the ambassadors of
the OIC (Organization of the Islamic
Conference) countries.