Special Theme: Halal in the Contemporary Phase: Certification Systems and Practices on Food
A Consideration of the Halal Industry and Audit Culture
2019 Volume 83 Issue 4 Pages 613-630
Details
2019 Volume 83 Issue 4 Pages 613-630
The main purposes of this paper are to explore the possibility of halal industry studies and to suggest some relevant anthropological approaches, with a special focus on its audit culture aspect.
Firstly, the halal industry is a generic term covering a wide range of industries prepared to sell and provide whatever commodities and services Muslims are assumed to need and consume. Whereas the concept of halal is based on the religious values and norms of Islam, the halal industry is generally characterized by the fact that it involves non-Muslims as well as Muslims, both as producers and consumers. The halal industry is anthropologically interesting chiefly because it is where Muslims and non-Muslims interact with each other, with a focus on the Islamic value system of halal (what is permitted by Allah) and haram (what is forbidden by Allah). It is also noteworthy because a series of such sociocultural contexts seems to be bringing about a sort of transformation in the meanings of the daily commodities produced and consumed by the people concerned, their daily acts and behaviors throughout the processes of production, distribution and consumption, and ultimately the economic paradigm shift and world-view change centered on the people's daily lifestyle as well. There is a strong need, therefore, to apply a holistic and integrated approach to the halal industry and halal behaviors in general, through a broad perspective covering the economic and sociocultural processes of production, distribution and consumption.
Secondly, the products and services provided by the halal industry worldwide are generally authorized by a halal certification and audit system organized and managed by certain certification bodies. The relationship between the halalness of products and services on one hand, and its certification provided through some audit system on the other, tends to be propagated as inseparable like the two wheels of a cart.
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