Muslim Friendly Standards In Japan

Some people may wonder what the meaning of Muslim Friendly is! What does it mean to be a Muslim Friendly restaurant or hotel?

What are the Muslim Friendly Standards and how they differ from Halal Standards? Which organization has initiated and set-up these standards?

How come some restaurants are said to be Muslim Friendly, but they serve alcoholic drinks as well as pork products, and there are many of them.
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Meaning Of Muslim Friendly In Japan

One priority among Muslims is halal food, where animals are prepared according to established rules, and no pork, lard or alcohol is involved in the cooking.
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Muslim consumers today are likely to be younger, savvy, and interested in convenience, choice and quality, but look for products and services that fit in with their beliefs. As Muslim travelers become more affluent, they are prepared to pay for premium food, while travel has given them a taste for international cuisine, too.

In Japan up to 2011, generally there were no Islamic standards to certify any restaurant. To certify a restaurant which provide non halal food but willing to provide a food which can be halal for Muslims was almost impossible.

Nippon Asia Halal Association "NAHA", first time ever came up with the idea that if food can be prepared in Halal dedicated environment then it will help Muslims as well as Non-Muslims to provide a food which Muslims can trust to eat.

​Based on that idea Nippon Asia Halal Association set the following criteria for the Muslim Friendly Standards:

1. Muslim Friendly Standards are only for restaurants and hotels, it cannot be for products.
2. All ingredients used for Muslim friendly standards Food are Halal Certified for meat and meat products.
3. Ingredients like spices, fish, vegetables, rice, water, which no need to have halal certificate will be accepted as halal.
4. Ingredients like, ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, miso, dressings, must be checked for all its ingredients to be halal, like emulsifiers, stabilizers, preservatives and any other additives. (Some people think Muslim Friendly Standards are loose to check; this is not true).
5. Storage facility for halal ingredients must be dedicated and marked Halal, like refrigerators and freezers for all halal ingredients must be separate.
6. Dry ingredients which are in canned must have halal certificate for critical ingredients or at least have Halal Traceability. If any can't be checked due to certain reasons will not be considered as Halal.
7. Storage for dry ingredients must be on dedicated racks; mix storage with Halal and not Halal are not allowed.
8. Utensils like, knife, cutting boards, frying pan, fryer in bigger restaurants, bigger pans, spatulas or any other tools used for Halal Food must be Halal dedicated with proper marking system.
9. Washing place, washing foam, washing timings, after washing, storage of all pans and utensils must be on dedicated place and racks. These utensils are not allowed to store with non halal utensils.
10. Cooking place must be dedicated.
11. Bigger tools like convectional ovens must be Halal dedicated. If due to certain reasons, it cannot be dedicated for Halal then must be dedicated for Non Halal and not allowed to use even to cook fish or vegetables.
12. All plates, spoons, glasses, must be Halal dedicated.
13. Storage of spoons and plates must be dedicated place.
14. In Muslims Friendly restaurants, it is allowed to serve Alcoholic drinks and Pork food but dedicated line must be confirmed.
15. Alcoholic drinks like sake, mirin, or even very tiny part of pork ingredients contamination are not allowed.
16. These restaurants have shorter expiry for its certificates so that audit can be done frequently.
17. Most of the time, these restaurants are checked every 2 months.
18. Using all these facility to serve Muslims food which they can trust is important.
19. Even with all these conditions, choice to eat there is of each individual. It is recommended for those who have higher TAQWA level not to eat in any restaurants, even fully Halal Certified restaurants as traceability is difficult.
20. For those who are visiting Japan, it is recommended that eat only in certified Muslim Friendly restaurants as we have observed some restaurants declare Halal on their menus (THE OVEN in ODAIBA TOKYO), but they use same knives and same cutting boards for chicken and pork.
21. Trainings to Non-Muslim staff must be provided to care about integrity of Halal.​​

Nippon Asia Halal Association "Purpose to provide all above standards is to make Muslims’ life in Japan, kind of Non-Muslim and Pork and Alcohol Loving country, a bit easier. We do our full efforts (IJTIHAD) to check all tiny details. May ALLAH forgive us for our unintentional mistakes. We ask any advice to improve our services to Muslims".

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Sources

• Nippon Asia Halal Association