‘O You who Believe, Eat of the Tayyibāt (pure and wholesome food) that We Have Provided You’—Producing Risk, Expertise and Certified Halal Consumption in South Africa

Abstract

This article is an analysis of the development of halal consumption in South Africa. Research on the contemporary consumption of halal has argued for an articulation of Muslim identity in a variety of settings. What evades these scholarly analyses is the production of halal as a commodity. How is it that halal consumption, as defined by Islamic dietary law, has been produced into a separately identifiable product? This paper argues that in South Africa the production of certified halal has been produced through an extensive campaign that identified the power of the Muslim consumer, consumption as an Islamic imperative, and the contemporary risks to halal presented by food technology and cross-contamination. Communicating with the Muslim consumer and identifying risks to halal consumption established a particular form of halal-certification expertise. The result was an increase in the visibility of halal and the establishment of halal-certification organizations as necessary intermediaries for the proper practice of halal. In the process taqwa was recalibrated to mean vigilance against uncertified consumption as the inspection of a halal label was introduced into the determination of halal.