Halal is one of the most important aspects of Islamic life. Although it is a standard that Muslims around the world live by, many non-Muslims are still unaware of halal food and its significance for the Muslim community. As it is observed, ‘Most Americans and Europeans have at least a rough idea that kosher refers to Jewish dietary laws. But almost unknown to Americans and Europeans is the meaning of halal – the Islamic counterpart of kosher’. The halal food market exists where there are Muslim consumers with tastes and preferences that are governed by halal rules on food and beverages. Despite the observation, that ‘Halal meat is a special kind of food which in theory ought to have disappeared with the secularization of Islam’, the demand for halal foods grows in relation to the growth of Islam. In 1996, the United Nations estimated the world population of Muslims to be at 1.482 billion (World Muslim Population, 2001). Over the last few years, however, the number of Muslims has increased up to nearly 1.6 billion, making one in every four people in the world today a Muslim (World Muslim Population, 2001). Islam is the world’s second largest religion and the majority of Muslims can be found in Asian countries as well as the Middle East and North Africa. The halal food market, estimated to be worth US$150 billion per year, therefore presents great opportunities for multinational food corporations, food retailers and food-service providers around the world. Halal food and drinks must conform to Islamic dietary laws as specified in the Koran, the Hadith (sayings) and Sunna (tradition) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as well as in the fiqh (teachings) of the four Islamic Jurists: Hanafi, Shafi’ie, Maliki and Hambali. Other sources of laws are the Ijma’ (collective approval) and Qiyas (syllogy) of Islamic scholars. Halal and haram are the two major terms used in Islamic dietary laws. While halal means ‘Permitted, allowed, authorized, approved, sanctioned, lawful, legal, legitimate or licit’ for Muslim consumption, haram, on the other hand, means: ‘Not permitted, not allowed, unauthorized, unapproved, unsanctioned, unlawful, illegal, illegitimate or illicit’.
Symbolism and Symbolic Aspects of Food Tourism
