The rapid expansion of the halal industry and its markets has occurred not only in the heavily Islamic regions of Southeast Asia and the Middle East, but also in more unexpected countries such as Turkey, Japan, and South Korea, plus many others around the world. Yet despite both the increasing number of practicing Muslims and the demand for halal products worldwide, a base of scholarship on the subject has never emerged. The industry has been more market driven rather than knowledge driven. As such, industry operators have frequently drawn attention to the absence of such an authoritative text, one that would elucidate the shariah credibly of halal as well as its market presence. Mohammad Hashim Kamali's Shariah and the Halal Industry is designed to fill this gap. The first of its kind in the English language, the book is written in an accessible and reader-friendly style by a world-renowned authority on Islamic law and jurisprudence. The book serves as a reference on the shariah foundations of halal and meets the needs not only of industry operators and decision-makers, but also of students, scholars of Islam, and the many practicing Muslims who are customers of the halal industry across the globe. The book can also serve to educate the general public and non-specialist readers on Islam and shariah law at-large.

The global halal market has emerged as a new growth sector in the global economy and is creating a strong presence in developed countries. The halal industry has now expanded well beyond the food sector further widening the economic potentials for halal. This paper will help to deepen understanding of the concept of Halal principles and products.

The increasing demand for halal products, including goods and services, every year, especially for food and beverages, has resulted in a growing need for products with halal guarantees. Along with the increasing trend of the global demand, it has resulted in an increase in producers of halal food and beverages in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries. In addition the demand for halal tourism is also increasing. Indonesia is one of the largest Muslim countries in the world. However, there are still many Muslim consumer actors and Muslim producer actors who do not yet have an awareness of the importance of complying with the provisions of Islamic law in consuming and producing goods and services. There are still many restaurants and hotels that serve food and drinks that are not certified halal. There are still many food, medicinal and cosmetic products that are not halal certified. But now many secular countries such as France, Canada, Australia, the United States, Britain are also halal certified with the aim of meeting the Muslim demand for halal products for food and beverage, including for halal tourism. Starting from the development of the halal industry both in the fields of food, beverages and services, an International Seminar was held, which provides a more complete understanding of halal products, current halal developments and can serve as motivation to produce halal products, providing research results from the topic of halal development. The international seminar, entitled International Conference on Halal Development, listed speakers from several countries able to provide an overview of the halal development of several countries. This book contains a selection of papers from the conference.

Until now, books addressing Halal issues have focused on helping Muslim consumers decide what to eat and what to avoid among products currently on the marketplace. There was no resource that the food industry could refer to that provided the guidelines necessary to meet the Halal requirements of Muslim consumers in the U.S. and abroad. Halal

The global halal market has emerged as a new growth sector in the global economy and is creating a strong presence in developed countries. The most promising halal markets are the fast-growing economies of the Asia, Middle East, Europe and the Americas. With a growing consumer base, and increasing growth in many parts of the world, the industry is set to become a competitive force in world international trade. The halal industry has now expanded well beyond the food sector further widening the economic potentials for halal. This book will help to deepen understanding of the concept of Halal so as to familiarize non-Muslims about Halal principles and products.

Exploring the question in detail Kamali explains the basic principles of halal and haram and discusses, particularly in relation to the meat industry, key issues surrounding their implementation. In doing so he gives important insights into, and relevant understanding of, many of the misconceptions and challenges confronting Muslims today. The issue of additives for instance has caused considerable confusion in food consumption. Not surprisingly, perceptions of what constitutes halal also vary among the schools and scholars of Islam. Other factors such as custom and climate also tend to be influential. In addition the work at hand examines issues in halal certification procedures, and matters of concern to uniformity in halal industry practices.

Rethinking Halal reflects an anthropological revolution, that of the scientising, standardising, and normalising of social life through certification which is part of a process of ‘positivisation’ that directly affected Islam and Islamic normativity.