Halal Matters

Abstract

In today’s globalized world, halal (meaning ‘permissible’ or ‘lawful’) is about more than food. Politics, power and ethics all play a role in the halal industry in setting new standards for production, trade, consumption and regulation. The question of how modern halal markets are constituted is increasingly important and complex. Written from a unique interdisciplinary global perspective, this book demonstrates that as the market for halal products and services is expanding and standardizing, it is also fraught with political, social and economic contestation and difference. The discussion is illustrated by rich ethnographic case studies from a range of contexts, and consideration is given to both Muslim majority and minority societies. Halal Matters will be of interest to students and scholars working across the humanities and social sciences, including anthropology, sociology and religious studies. Easily the most authoritative study of the subject, this collection of essays on halal, an ostensibly ritual designation and practice, allows us to see how it becomes the crucial category by which Muslim subjects and markets around the world are both created and understood. Faisal Devji, University of Oxford, UK We are reminded on an almost daily basis of the enormous depth of misunderstanding about Islam that seems endemic in Europe and North America. In addressing the politics and pragmatics of halal assemblages in a global context, Halal Matters shines like a small light amidst this vast darkness of misperception. The editors of this volume are to be commended for attending to the complexity and nuance that comprises contemporary halal markets, the political projects of the states that authorize them, and the concerns of the Muslim consumers that they interpellate. Hopefully, this volume will make a small step toward fulfilling the values of tolerance, equality, and freedom that liberal societies purport to uphold. Daromir Rudnyckyj, University of Victoria, Canada The call by Muslims to investigate and certify products and practices formally, and subsequently then label them as Halal has given rise to a new cultural phenomenon - which is on the increase in Muslim minority and majority geographies across the globe. This book makes a vital contribution, offering a critical perspective, rooted in the social sciences, that addresses current issues of contestation and potential growth areas. Jonathan A.J. Wilson, University of Greenwich, UK