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Last Updated: Sep 25th, 2006 - 11:36:04 |
I'm lovin' it - halal style
Fareena Alam
May 9, 2006 04:20 PM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/fareena_alam/2006/05/im_lovin_it_halal_style.html
Soon after Q-News launched, in 1992, our founding editor, frustrated by the simplistic, facile and two-dimensional coverage of British Muslims as well as by the Muslim obsession with the externalities of religion, pointedly asked: "Is there more to us than beards, scarves and halal meat?"
It's a question that is still relevant today - but one I would be reluctant to ask here, in Kuala Lumpur.
Frankly, it is not beards and scarves people here are concerned about: it's the halal meat that is getting people excited. Except the chatter is no longer just about halal meat: it's about "halal" everything - financing, pharmaceuticals, TV dinners, deodorants, toothpaste and vitamins.
This is an emerging global market worth at least US $590bn (£316bn) a year - a far cry from the "uncle and auntie" butcher millions of Muslims in the west have come to rely on.
This week, at the World Halal Forum, the first major gathering of the global halal industry, the talk is about ethics, values, lifestyle and branding. The Qur'anic injunctions on which foods are permissible and prohibited now form only one part of the discussion; the need for a global standard of halal certification is being pushed forward by a market-driven industry that wants more.
On the podium and in the conference hall, the "noble principles of halal" are being discussed. As heartfelt and well intentioned as this is, there is an economic reality at hand: the halal industry is worth a great deal of money, and with a ready consumer base of more than 1.2bn Muslims worldwide and a growing number of non-Muslims who are eager to buy alternative, ethical products, it is one businesses are eager to cash in on.
Naturally, anyone who is anyone the food industry is here. Multinational corporate food behemoths McDonald's, Nestlé and Carrefour rub shoulders with the Indian bovine meat lobby. They have all descended on KL to fight for a piece of the global halal pie, which is so big most people consider $590bn an underestimate.
The big story here is that Malaysia is staking its claim to a leadership role on halal standards and in creating a worldwide marketplace for halal products that not only obtain religious sanction but also are branded as part of a new global Muslim lifestyle choice multinationals are eager to sign up to.
This is politics writ large: Malaysia's charismatic and erudite PM, Abdullah Badawi, sees his country as a leader of global Islam. While the Arab street fumes at the occupations of Palestine and Iraq, and its largely authoritarian leaders muddle on, Malaysia is making a bid for Islamic leadership in significant economic and political arenas that will lend it legitimacy among Muslims in majority Muslim countries, as well as among Muslim minorities.
As one industry expert said to me privately last night, Malaysia is "heaven-bent" on moving the centre of Islamic power and dynamism away from the Arab world and creating global institutions, with Kuala Lumpur as a Muslim capital. The "global halal hub" is part of this plan.
Last night, at the Halal Journal Awards and World Halal Forum launch (organised by the visionary team at KasehDia, a "communication arts company" founded and managed - incidentally - by Badawi's daughter, Nori Abdullah), the PM talked about a new "halal development corp" and the importance of global halal certification standards, which have thus far eluded Muslims, east and west. The message was all about Islamic corporate values, corporate responsibility and creativity in branding.
The halal market has been compared to the kosher food industry. Recent market studies in the US showed that 16% of kosher products are purchased by Muslims unable to obtain quality halal products. For every halal product on the shelf, there are 86 kosher ones - an indication of the tremendous shortfall in supply just waiting to be filled.
Over 60% of the halal industry in Malaysia alone is owned by non-Muslims. The Aussies and Kiwis got in on the halal action years ago when the vast majority of their abattoirs - 95% in New Zealand - went halal in order to cater to the insatiable demand for beef and lamb in south-east Asia and the Middle East, where over 90% of non-poultry meat is imported.
Multinational corporations are talking a different language here. They are willing to look at an overhaul of their approach to the Muslim world in order to win new markets.
Tesco and Carrefour realise that they have millions of customers in the UK and France who may ditch their local halal retailers - if the price is right.
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