Why is it that, time and time again, the Halal market place is full of reports of unethical behaviour by the certification bodies? For all their cries of ‘doing it for the community’ and their affiliations to this or that mosque, why are transparent ethical business practices nearly always absent?
Islamic finance and halal industry are twins separated at birth. The Halal industry, as an asset class, is looking for compliant liquidity. Islamic finance, as a movement connected to the real economy, is looking for impactful intra-OIC (compliant) investment and financing opportunities.
New Halal Legislation is being planned for implementation in the UK by January 2013 and is currently undergoing ‘consultation’. These new laws pose some of the biggest threats to the continuance of Halal in a generation.
Muslims, like other people with strong beliefs, do not see themselves exclusively focused on or defined by such issues. Islam has spread throughout the world because of its dynamic nature, where it influences local customs and is ‘influenced’ by the older local culture.
With the threat from terrorism receding, Britain’s Islam-baiters have jumped on the anti-halal bandwagon, and not just the neo-fascists of the British National Party and the English Defence League, but mainstream commentators, too.
Given they are barred from charging interest and must abide by a strict religious code, Islamic financial institutions are often dismissed by sophisticated western bankers as living in the dark ages. However, Islamic finance, a cash-rich sector, has much to teach the west’s financial system.
It’s 2012. We’re bored to death with debates about the hijab. Why women wear it. All this talk neglects the role of fashion in the hijab’s popularity. It’s just easier to be a fashionable Muslim in Britain these days – walk down Oxford street and stereotypes of the hijab as bland and restrictive are laughable.
From humble beginnings in the 1990’s, Islamic finance has become a trillion-dollar industry. The market consensus is that Islamic finance has a bright future, owing to favourable demographics.
The Arab world today is home to more than 100 million young people between 15 and 29, representing 30% of the total population, with hopes, plans and the desire to work.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board reports that in recent years, the number of Middle Eastern visitors to the region has grown by as much as 20% annually. How the Chinese have been able to adjust to these Muslim visitors can be seen in Hong Kong, where many of these business people go through.
Even as Iran’s nuclear program raises the likelihood of yet another conflict in the Middle East, the bigger threat is a potential food crisis in the making, says Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute.
Pakistan’s private sector and commerce ministry have miserably failed to capture even a small share of the global halal market because of indifference, lethargy, poor business vision and short-sightedness.
Despite an immense diversity of cultures, governments, and economies, Islam binds Muslims together in their daily lives, including consumption choices. The global halal market is worth $2.1 trillion today and is growing at an annual rate of $500 billion.
But it’s a market strewn with confusion, as separate Muslim countries try to establish recognised standards and producers from outside the Muslim world also hurry to enter the market. That leaves many Muslim consumers crying out for reliable brands that will help them guide their choices.
Priming it is a rush by China, India, South Korea and Gulf petro-economies to snap up land abroad to secure their food supplies. But who is buying land where – and what they are doing with it – may never be fully answered, for many transactions are never publicly announced.
Most Islamic countries are being left behind in social progress as compared with other nations. There are essentially five reasons for this situation.
Today is my last day at Goldman Sachs. After almost 12 years at the firm – first as a summer intern while at Stanford, then in New York for 10 years, and now in London – I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.
Just over 1 percent of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims reside in Western Europe, yet this minority has had a disproportionate impact on religion and politics in its new home. Approximately one out of every 25 Western Europeans is Muslim.
Islamic Finance news – IFN Today, Thursday, 24th May 2012
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