Trolls Are Boycotting Australian Companies Because They Don’t Understand What Halal Is

​ For the past ten years Australia's Byron Bay Cookie Company has c​arried a halal certification. The mark serves as a guarantee that their products contain no alcohol and that their factory has been checked and is operating with a certain level of cleanliness and hygiene. Halal certification is a pretty simple thing, comparable to being gluten-free or non-GMO; it's a reasonably pedestrian set of rules that provides an extra stamp on a package to convince customers that a product is somehow superior to others. The mark means that it's OK for observant Muslims to consume that food, but many companies see that certification purely as a way to sway shoppers into thinking their products are superior than the competition's.

"Halal certification opens doors to Australian companies looking to export into Muslim countries," said Muhammet Eris of the Supreme Islamic Council of Halal Meat in Australia. "One of the reasons the companies take up Halal certification is to access the growing halal consumers market." Halal Au​stralia estimates the total worth of that market at between $1.2 trillion and $2 trillion.

Until recently, Byron Bay Cookies' certification had been a footnote. But last month the company began receiving abuse from something called Boycott Halal in Australia, a Facebook group, and organization, that seems really confused about what halal actually means. Its supporters are fixated on the idea that products that carry the halal certification are sending money to fund Islamic terrorist groups. According to their theory, international companies such as Nestle, Bega, Cadbury, Mars, Sanitarium, and Kellogg's are all terrorist enablers, which means you're funding hate crimes every time you sit down to breakfast. ​​

The notion that those who sell halal products are somehow funneling your grocery money to violent groups isn't new—it's a racist conspiracy theory that's been kicking around since before the Illuminati took over hip-hop. But with cultural tensions rising in Australia, and the blaring, undiscriminating mouthpiece that is Facebook, it's increasingly becoming a pain in the ass for Australian businesses.

South Australia's Fleurieu Milk and Yoghurt Company recently dropp​ed their halal stamp following issues with social media trolling and concern it would have negative effects on local sales. The decision, which has already cost them a $50,000 deal with the Emirates airline, was a response to boycott threats from anti-halal groups. Predictably, many other customers were upset about the move, highlighting a catch-22 that has forced other brands such as Coon to su​btly hide their certifications.

Now even the Northern Territory's drink of choice, Pauls Iced Coffee, has becom​e a target for the anti-halal crowd. Like many larger companies that carry the certification, Pauls chose to become certified to allow its product to be sold in countries like Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. But unlike Fleurieu and Byron Bay, the bulk of Pauls feedback has come from people who say they're long-time customers.

While it's easy to brand people boycotting these brands as racist trolls, it's just another example of deep-seated misinformation propagated against Islamic culture.

Companies don't need to have ties to Islam to receive halal certification

To receive a halal certification, a company doesn't need to have ties to Islam. Animals just need to be slaughtered in a prescribed hu​mane way, and alcohol, lard, rennet, stock, tallow, some kinds of seafood, and some animal byproducts must also be avoided. Obviously, just like with free-range and organic labels, the title doesn't always guarantee an animal had a good life and a quick death—but it's not a bad start.

Being deemed halal requires a fee to be paid annually to the Halal Certification Authority Austr​alia (HCAA), which the organization says pays for the required scholars, food technologists, vets, microbiologists, pharmacists, and inspectors who are part of the process.

I spoke to a number of halal certified butchers and other food producers and found that none were required to pay any fee at all, however—they can simply use a halal slaughterhouse or supplier, since a letter from that supplier confirming the product was from a halal source allows them to call themselves halal at no extra cost.

There has never been a proven case of the HCAA giving money to any terrorist or violent organizations. In terms of practical day-to-day activities, it has more in common with an agency in charge of inspecting free-range farm than a religious organization.

For now Byron Bay Cookies have no plans to remove their certification. This is not just so they can continue to troll the trolls, but also because exports are a large part of the company's operation. "Export has allowed us to become one of the larger employers in Byron Bay," said a representative in a statement. "This is why halal certification is important to our business."

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