World Halal Forum Facilitates Meeting of Ulama and GM Scientists

The recently concluded World Halal Forum 2010 (WHF) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia had a half-day session on "Genetically Modified Crops and Halal" which brought ulama and GM scientists together to discuss the permissibility of GM foods in the context of Islam. This issue commands serious attention as Islam places much importance to the way food is prepared and its origin. The session was attended by a number of prominent scientists, shariah experts from around the world, and members of the academe. The topics discussed were GM technology, its impact, the global status, benefits to developing countries, safety issues, and Islam's perspective of GM technology. 

After much deliberation, the experts and participants concluded that GM crops and products from halal origin that have undergone food and environmental safety tests are acceptable in the Islamic world as halal, there is need to strengthen awareness on biotechnology to enable decision-making, and the involvement of ulama in discussions related to biotechnology should be enhanced.

For the full report visit https://outlook2.irri.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.worldhalalforum.org/register_report.html