Tag: haram

Keep Alcohol Out of Kampong Glam URA

If you have not done so, you might want to check out Facebook community, Alcohol Free Kg Glam Conservation Area.

For the local Arab and Malay Muslim community who have longed for the ban of alcohol in the vicinity of Kg Glam, this is the page where you can be heard and where you can obtain latest updates on the matter. The more ‘likes’ the page receives, the more the relevant authorities will have to listen to our voices. Isn’t this the hallmark of a more consultative government that PAP aspires to be?

Politics aside, this is a serious matter which has been brought up and championed by numerous individuals such as Habib Alwi Al Habshi and Dr Ameen Talib, the owner of Cafe Le Caire. Despite their best efforts, there has yet to be a satisfactory response from the authorities.

Alcohol has never been a part of Kg Glam’s heritage. It should not be part of its future. There are many examples of alcohol-free zones around the world, including in Western countries like Australia and the UK. Here, the authorities have also acted to enforce an alcohol-free zone in Little India following the riots. They have also acted to weed out sleazy activities and booze in Joo Chiat and Clarke Quay after much lobbying by the residents.

So why not in Kg Glam? Today, people drink alcohol openly without any regard for the majestic place of worship that anchors the area, Masjid Sultan. Some blatantly consume alcohol even in front of ‘halal’ banners in the area.

This is a man-made situation. It was never this way. A reminder of what Kg Glam used to be, taken from URA’s own website (www.ura.gov.sg/uol/conservation/conservation-xml.aspx?id=KPGL).

Kampong Glam probably derived its present name from the gelam tree. The bark of the gelam tree was used by the Orang Laut to make awnings and sails. Its timber was often used for constructing boats and also served as firewood. Its fruit was ground and used as pepper – mercha bolong; and its leaves boiled and concocted into the Cajeput oil, a medication for rheumatism and cramps.

The area is well known for two major landmarks: Sultan Mosque, Singapore’s most important mosque, and the Istana Kampung Gelam, the former Sultan’s palace. Aside from the Sultan’s family, residents of the area included the Arabs, Boyanese, Bugis and Javanese, and by 1824, at least 1/3 of the residents were Chinese.

Different streets were settled by Muslims from different parts of South-East-Asia. Other major community and religious landmarks are the Hajjah Fatimah Mosque (National Monument), the Malabar Mosque and the Madrassah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah.

The commercial landscape of Kampong Glam was characterised by many traditional businesses that catered to the Malay/Muslim community and beyond: frame makers, tombstone carvers, textile wholesalers, spice traders and perfumers, sandal makers, Muslim food caterers, and retailers of gemstones, rattan handicraft and religious paraphernalia.

Many streets also had their own unique trades. North Bridge Road was known for many tailors and Chinese-run goldsmith shops. Sultan Gate used to be dominated by stone masons and blacksmiths. The Beach Road waterfront before reclamation was the focal point of trading and shipping services that thrived on the arrival of Bugis ships and traders. Haji Lane, named after the ‘Hajj’ – which is the pilgrimage undertaken by Muslims to Mecca and Medina, and the stretch of Bussorah Street nearer to Sultan Mosque were residences and also centres for pilgrimage services, serving Muslim pilgrims from around the region.

Kampong Glam was also a centre for publications dealing with Islamic and Malay literature, and education for the Muslim community. Madrassahs, educational institutions based on Islamic principles were set up. One such institution is the Madrassah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah.

Kampong Glam has a rich history which should be acknowledged by the authorities. This is how we want to remember Kg Glam.

Not like this.

So friends, please do your part to ‘like’ the page. Share it with your friends and family and encourage them to ‘like’ the page too.

Contributor: Aku Tak Mau Glam-our

December 28, 2014
Trend Jilboobs Menular Di Malaysia Setelah Diharamkan Di Indonesia

Dilihat dari asal katanya, jilboobs itu adalah gabungan dari 2 buah perkataan, iaitu jilbab dan boobs. Jilbab adalah pakaian muslimah yang menutup aurat, sedangkan boobs adalah bahasa Inggris yang berarti (maaf) payudara dalam bahasa Melayu Malaysia. Jadi, jilboobs adalah model berpakaian muslim jilbab tapi menonjolkan lekuk-lekuk payudara.

Ini Jilboobs, Trend Yang Diharamkan Di Indonesia Majlis Ulama Indonesia mengeluarkan fatwa haram wanita mengenakan pakaian Muslimah tetapi menonjolkan bentuk badan,kini terend jilboobs sudah mulai menular ke malaysia terutama para artis2 malaysia,sudah pun mengamalkan terend jilboobs ini.

Source: http://byultras.blogspot.sg

November 30, 2014
“Halal” Butcher in Switzerland Sold Pork to Muslims for 3 Years

A “halal” butcher has been taken to court after selling pork to Muslim customers for over three years.

According to Morocco World News, the Swiss butcher reportedly sold 3.1 tons of pork to his Muslim customers, telling them it was halal and trying to pass it off as calf meat.

Upon inspection of his facility, it was discovered that what he was selling as calf meat looked nothing like it should.

“If customers had known it was pork, they would not have bought it because Islam forbids the consumption of this type of meat,” the prosecutor handling the case said.

Now, the man is facing six months of jail time and is being fined 18,000 Swiss francs, which equates to roughly £11,880.

He was charged with “fraud and misrepresentation.”

As Morocco News noted, the butcher was engaging in two-fold deception in selling pork as if it were veal.

Firstly, Muslims were buying and consuming pork, which is against their religion.

Secondly, he was making higher profits since pork is cheaper than calf meat.

Source: www.5pillarz.com

November 11, 2014
French Company Produces Halal Test-Kits

PARIS: A French start-up is hoping to take a slice of the multi-billion Halal food market with a device allowing diners to find out within minutes whether a dish contains pork.

Capital Biotech has received orders from as far afield as Turkey, Chile and Indonesia for its “Halal Test” which tests within 10 minutes whether a food contains pork meat, forbidden for Muslims and Jews.

Launched only a fortnight ago, the company has won nearly 100,000 (US$135,000) in orders, a “surprise” according to co-founder Jean-Francois Julien.

The company acknowledges that the test, a one-use device costing 6.90 euros (S$11.16), does not constitute a complete “Halal” test, which also requires information about how the animal was slaughtered. But it “allows you to dispel a one-off doubt, for example when you are on holiday or when a new “Halal” product hits the market,” said Julien.

To use the device, the cautious diner mixes a small amount of food with hot water and inserts a small strip into the mixture. The strip tests for pork proteins and takes less than 10 minutes.

France’s five million Muslims (the largest population in Europe) have been hit with food scandals – in 2011, “Halal” sausages were discovered to contain pork – and want to be sure they are not eating forbidden food, said Abbas Bendali from marketing firm Solis.

Capital Biotech believes however that 70 percent of its sales will eventually come from professionals who want a quick way of testing whether food is suitable for non-pork eaters.

Bendali said the cost of the device would inevitably deter individuals “at a time of economic crisis.” “It’s difficult to invest seven euros to test a bowl of pasta that costs three,” he said. Muslims are more reassured by “a genuine Halal certificate,” he said.

A FIRST, BUT CAUTION

But the firm is not limiting itself just to pork, hoping to make itself the firm of reference for tests on all types of food allergies. It intends to launch soon a range of tests for soya, egg or almonds – all potential allergens – in ready meals.

The firm will then roll out tests for gluten, peanut or milk. In the long-run, the start-up plans to extend its quick-fire testing to pharmaceutical products. However, Faycal Bennatif, marketing director of the world’s top biological analysis group Eurofins, told AFP it was not down to the consumer to perform quality tests on food products.

In the wake of the horsemeat scandal that rocked Europe last year, Eurofins has been inundated for requests to test meat products but has not developed a quick-fire test. “We work with DNA sequencing in the lab which is not at all the same method,” said Bennatif, adding he was “dubious” as to how efficient the new quick tests were.

Capital Biotech’s “Halal tests” do not require authorisation to be launched on the market, estimated at 5.5 billion euros (US$6.8 billion) in France alone, although authorities will examine the reliability of the testing method.

Expert in allergens, Jocelyne Just said the tests were a “first” but should be treated with caution “in the sense that a patient can be allergic to one food form but not another, for example to raw milk but not pasteurised.”

As for Capital Biotech, the start-up already has its eye on the next market by securing domain names for “kosher tests”.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

November 6, 2014
World’s First ‘Halal’ Whisky Goes on Sale

Scottish whisky manufacturers are in disagreement over an ‘alcohol free’ product, which is going to be the first of its kind to hit the market.

ArKay-Halal-Whisky

The whisky brand ArKay is said to have an exceptional taste of whisky without the ‘alcohol content.’

It is also being promoted as ideal for teetollars or those worried about drinking and driving.

More importantly, the new product has a possibility of huge sales around the world in Muslim countries and in the Middle East as it has been declared as Halal certified, reported Daily Mail.

However, the Scotch Whisky Association’s spokesperson said ‘it is not possible to make alcohol-free whisky.’

‘This company is trying to exploit whisky’s reputation with highly irresponsible marketing,’ added the spokesperson.

Real Scotch whisky is a simple creation of water and barley, which grows well in the cool climate and summer rains that are common north of the border.

Source: Tribune Online Report

October 30, 2014