The International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) participated in the sixteenth meeting of the General Assembly of the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Tuesday 27 Rabi’ al-Awwal 1443H corresponding to November 2, 2021G in Medina, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Academy was represented in the meeting, on behalf of His Excellency the Secretary General, by Mr. Mondher Al-Chouk, Director of Cabinet Affairs and Protocol at the Academy.

Mr. Al Chouk delivered the speech on behalf of His Excellency the Secretary General at the opening session of the conference, praising the distinguished relationship between the Academy and SMIIC since its establishment, especially the positive cooperation that exists between the Institute and the General Secretariat of the Academy in achieving the legal standards for the Halal industry in sacrifices, food, and beverages in order to realize the aspirations of the Muslim Ummah in promoting the halal industry that is regulated by Islamic standards, to emphasize the existing partnership between the two parties, and the Academy’s role in developing standards by clarifying the Shariah rulings.

He also praised the role played by the OIC in identifying a unified Islamic body to undertake direct work in halal issues, as the organization established the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries “SMIIC” for this purpose, and its membership includes forty-five (45) Islamic countries, and fourteen (14) specialized regional and international organization. The Academy has cooperated with the Institute since its establishment more than ten years ago in expressing the Shariah ruling on halal standards and specifications and their many annexes.

In his speech, His Excellency called on Islamic countries to work on adopting the Shariah standards for halal products, such as foods, medicines, and clothing, benefiting from the resolutions of the Academy in this regard. He also called on them to cooperate and complement each other in the field of producing and trading halal products so that their food, medicine, and other products are self-produced and in accordance with the provisions of their religion and Shariah. He also recommended opening specialized departments for teaching halal and Islamic economics in faculties of commerce, business and finance in institutes and universities to keep pace with the increasing demand as the halal industry grows in the future.

In its current meeting, the General Assembly discussed a number of technical, financial and administrative issues of importance and impact on the general policy of the Institute, as well as the presentation and discussion of several reports on the performance and achievements of the General Secretariat of the Institute, and reports of specialized technical councils for standardization, accreditation and metrology, in addition to discussing and approving the financial statements for the previous year and the estimated budget for the following year.