MJC

Muslim Judicial Council Halaal Trust

Formed in 1992 (originally as the IHT, before rebranding), NIHT is an internationally recognized halaal certification body based out of Lenasia, Johannesburg, with further offices in Durban and Cape Town, and a logistical presence extending into the Eastern, Western, and Northern Cape. Its growth accelerated notably from the year 2000 onward, expanding from a regional certifier into a nationally established authority. NIHT certifies an unusually wide range of operations — restaurants, bakeries, food outlets, manufacturers, cosmetic brands, pharmaceutical labs, and abattoirs alike — and positions itself around building a working relationship between Ulama (Islamic scholars), businesses, and Muslim consumers, aiming to reduce inconsistency between different halaal certifiers in the industry. NIHT-certified products are exported into several Muslim-majority countries, and the organization has an active working relationship with South African government bodies on halaal marketing and compliance matters. Established in 1945 by the Muslim Ulama of Cape Town, the MJC Halaal Trust holds a genuinely unique distinction: it's recognized by the International Trade Centre's "Halal Goes Global" report as the first and oldest halal regulatory body in the world, not merely in South Africa. Its founding predates virtually every other national halal certification system — Thailand, for comparison, didn't establish its own equivalent body until 1969, decades later. That early head-start translated into serious international reach: MJC is recognized and accredited by major halal authorities across the globe, including JAKIM (Malaysia), MUIS (Singapore), MUI (Indonesia), and certifying bodies in Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Australia, Pakistan, and India. Domestically, it holds recognition from the South African government, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Department of Trade & Industry, and Wesgro (the Western Cape's official trade and investment promotion agency).