Jakarta: Indonesia’s top Muslim body has called for applying halal rules on pharmaceutical products such as medicines and vaccines, calling for halal certification and labels in the Muslim majority archipelago. “Pharmaceutical products are the same as food products and therefore, must be halal, before being consumed by Muslims,” Marouf Amin, the Chairman of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), was quoted by Abtara News. The MUI chairman added that the government must respect the right of the Muslims to not consume haram medicines and vaccines, adding that consuming halal products was part of Muslims belief and faith. “Certification of pharmaceutical products is part of the efforts to protect Muslims from consuming haram (not allowed) medicines,” he said. “The halal and haram issues must be comprehensively regulated by law. Therefore, the government must draw a Bill on the Halal Product Guarantee,” added Amin. The halal regulation was more urgent in medicine and vaccines, products that control the lives of many Indonesian Muslims.
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