ABSTRACT
Halal is an Arabic word that literally means ‘permissible’ or ‘lawful’. Conventionally, halal signifies ‘pure food’ with regard to meat in particular by proper Islamic practice such as ritual slaughter and pork avoidance. In the modern world, halal is no longer an expression of esoteric forms of production, trade, and consumption but part of a huge and expanding globalized market. In the modern food industry around the world, a number of Muslim requirements have taken effect, such as an injunction to avoid any substances that may be contaminated with porcine residues or alcohol, such as gelatine, glycerine, emulsifiers, enzymes, flavours, and flavourings. My narrative explores modern forms of halal understanding and practice among Malay Muslims in London, that is, the halal consumption of middle-class Malays in the diaspora. The state in Malaysia has systematically regulated halal production, trade, and consumption since the early 1980s. Malaysian state bodies such as Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM), or the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (in English), regulates halal in the interfaces between Islamic revivalism, the state, and consumer culture. The Malaysian state’s halal logo issued by JAKIM displays in Arabic the word ‘halal’ at the centre and ‘Malaysia’ at the bottom. In shops around the world, consumers can find state halal-certified products from Malaysia. The main motive for focusing on Malays in multi-ethnic London is that the Malaysian state’s vision of and commitment to promoting halal specifically identifies London as a centre for halal production, trade, and consumption. The fieldwork for this study is based on extended periods of fieldwork in Kuala Lumpur and London between 1996 and 2010. During fieldwork in London, I spent a great deal of time in halal restaurants, in butchers’ shops, grocery stores, supermarkets, and hypermarkets selling halal products.
