Publication Trends on Halal Tourism: A Bibliometric Review

Halal tourism has grown in popularity due to the rise of the Muslim population; howbeit it is still a relatively new field. This study aimed to evaluate halal tourism’s publication trends, research areas, prolific sources, most cited documents, co-authorship concerning authors, institutions and countries, and keywords co-occurrence. Using the Scopus database, 118 halal tourism publications were disseminated between 2010 and 2020. This study found an increase in halal tourism in 2018, and the rate increased to 42 in 2020. It can be construed that halal tourism draws in a variety of research areas. Indonesian scholars have been contributed to 26.42% of the overall publications, which leading 34 other countries. Authors’ keywords of ‘Islamic tourism’, ‘Muslim tourists’, ‘halal hospitality’, ‘customer satisfaction’, ‘halal certification’ and ‘religiosity’ have substantially impacted the online search for information. This bibliometric study offers a comprehensive and in-depth glance at halal tourism, which could aid industry and academia.

An Ideal Halalan Tayyiban Food Quality Management (HTFQM) Principles

Technically, HTFQM system has applied conventional standards in addition to halal standard to control the quality. Such application is said to have a more significant impact on both technical and shariah aspects, thereby increasing the marketability of halalan tayyiban food products locally and globally. Some cases reported that this may allow some producers to make an immediate profit by committing an offense in food quality management such as food adulteration. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are to discuss the ideal principle of HTFQM that can be applied as a basis in daily activities and not only just for product quality. Based on the Quranic verses related to halalan tayyiban concept, the principles of HTFQM could be formed by taking into consideration all the aspects of the physical and spiritual as well as material and supernatural elements. The seven principles are the features of food according to Islamic law (P1); the good source of food (P2); the quality, safety and hygiene of food (P3); obedient to the commands and prohibitions of Allah SWT (P4); not excessive or extravagant (P5); the implications of good moral and spiritual (P6); and the goal of prosperity in the world and Hereafter (P7).

Positioning Tayyiban in Halal Food System: Production, Processing, Consumption, Marketing, Logistic and Waste Management

The Halal food industry is founded based on the concept of Halalan Tayyiban (HT), as commanded in the Quran. However, the current approach of HT, as reflected in the current Halal standards, requirements, and practices, may overlook some components that are supposed to be integral part of the concept. This article utilises the modern food system approach to frame the discussion for a holistic overview that links the cycle of the current food system and the HT concept towards obtaining its conceptual clarity. The attributes of HT in six different components of the established food system – production, distribution, processing, marketing, consumption, and waste recovery; are contextualized. An explicit conceptual clarity of HT shall create a ripple effect towards a change of mindset and behaviour of all stakeholders leading to the attainment of the wholesomeness of HT. Beyond the conceptual clarity, HT attributes can be elegantly positioned in the modern food system as vehicles to provide safe, high quality, good and wholesome food; in an ethical and sustainable ecosystem.

Permissible Medicine and Rationalization of Halal Pharma

Permissible medicine “Halalopathy” represents a compatible relation between therapeutic drug and human beliefs/lifestyles. Production of permissible drugs is achieved by evaluating ingredients and monitoring the production process to be compatible with a certain specific standard depending on the requirement of the lifestyle or belief of the patient. If drugs and beliefs are compatible, a domino chain effect will be initiated; trust will be developed, and the placebo effect will be activated. Consequently, a compatible system between mind and drug is established, faith in the treatment is intensified, entropy is lowered, potential energy is increased, and self-assurance is enriched. The compatibility concept is based on finding a connection between human’s belief and therapeutic drug where certain genes will be turned off epigenetically. Halalopathic medicine represents a new therapeutic concept in which holistic values - material, human, moral and spiritual values - are used to deliver the right treatment to the right patient.

The Spillover Effects of Covid-19 on Halal Industry: An Overview and Way Forward

This study explores the spillover effects of Covid-19 on halal industry in order to provide a way forward for this industry. Covid-19 pandemic was first discovered in Wuhan city of China before subsequent spread to other countries around the world. To minimise the loss of life and health, governments and global leaders have initiated a series of measures, such as national emergency lockdown, movement restriction (Movement Control Order (MCO), social distancing, suspension of public gatherings beyond a certain number, etc. Albeit essential, these measures have resulted in a major economic crisis with devastating effects on businesses and industries, including halal industry. Against this backdrop, this study, therefore, intends to expose relevant parties in halal industry to the effects of Covid-19 pandemic to better initiate appropriate mechanisms to stabilise this industry and place it on its earlier projected growth trajectory. To achieve its aim, the researcher draws on the real-world observations and relevant publications in this area of study to discuss the spillover effects of Covid-19 on halal industry with specific focus on three sectors, namely halal food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, and Muslim friendly travel. Having discussed the spillover effects of Covid-19 on halal food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, and Muslim friendly travel, the way forward and the implications for the halal industry are offered.

Black Soldier Fly Larvae as Animal Feed: Implications on The Halal Status of Meat Products

In the mid-twentieth century, research conducted found that the presence of black soldier fly (BSF) larvae caused the reduction of housefly breeding and manure accumulation in a chicken barn. As a result, the commercialization of BSF larvae for agricultural use and biowaste treatment ensues. Facilities were built to produce BSF larvae and masse were rearing, processing and harvesting take place. The larvae are fed with municipal and agro-industrial wastes and faeces. Feeding animals with BSF larvae became widely practised for the perceived benefit of serving as a vital source of protein for animals. BSF larvae prove to be a precious commodity to the agricultural industry for its utility in waste treatment and animal feed. However, it presents a problem to halal food production due to its diet that contains faeces; this raises concern over the lawful status of the animals fed with BSF larvae. Will the status be compromised? Should it be categorized as al-jallalah animal? In Southeast Asia, there is not any Islamic institution issuing a fatwa concerning this, except for Indonesian Ulema Council, even so, it is severely insufficient as it was only mentioned in passing. The lack of discussion and research on this issue in Islamic and academic scholarship despite its ubiquity in food production and consumption demonstrates the necessity to invest more resource in research and enhance coordination between the jurisprudence and technical fields.

Halal Standards Globally

The global Muslim community, with its fastest-growing size, has made the global halal industry to become one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. The industry, as of 2018, with its significant annual growth rate, has a global market value of US$2.2 trillion. However, a number of inhibitors have slowed down the growth rate of the industry. One of the pressing issues within the halal industry is the lack of a universal halal standard. There are many halal standards that exist globally, and they vary from country to country. For example, Malaysian Standard, Halal standards by Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), Halal Standard of Indonesia, United Arab Emirate (UAE), Brunei, Singapore, Pakistan, and others. Some of these standards are widely recognised and acknowledged by many countries across the world. Hundreds of Halal Certification Bodies (HCBs) of many countries are using these standards as reference for halal certification after getting recognised by the respective organization. Additionally, the number of applications by HCBs is increasing globally due to the rising demand for halal products and services. Most of these HCBs have received recognition from more than one accrediting bodies. This is because of the consumer trust and reliability on different standards. A lot of commonalities are observable amongst these standards because of the same primary source of Islamic law, i.e. Al-Quran and Al-Hadith. On the other hand, a significant gap or diversity is found in the implementation of the definition of halal and halal standards globally. Such diversity and differences in these standards have become a major obstacle of market entry by the industry players and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to expand their business. In this regard, a universal halal standard is crucial as the global halal industry targets the same consumers (Muslim population) to meet their faith-based needs. To address this issue, the foremost important step to be taken is to identify and realize the commonalities and differences among these halal standards globally. Simultaneously, it is also needed to know the factors of creating similarities and diversities. Such realization will enable the policymakers and Islamic scholars to come forward and work together to develop a universal halal standard globally. The objective of this paper is to critically analyse this matter by investigating the four most popular halal standards, which are the standards of SMIIC, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. To achieve the objective, this paper adopts the methodology of content analysis by reviewing the literature on halal standards globally. Additionally, the four most popular halal standards were investigated to realize the commonalities and differences. This study will be the first to compare the halal standard of SMIIC with other well-established halal standards globally. Interviewing Islamic scholars from different countries for respective standards was beyond the scope of the study because of time and other constraints.

Differentiation of L-cysteine Sources using FTIR and Raman Spectroscopy

L-cysteine is a food additive that is used in bakery ingredient. It is used as stabilizer to soften the texture of bakery dough. However, the primary sources of L-cysteine could be controversial as it might derive from animal and human parts. This study aimed to differentiate the L-cysteine sources by using Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. Raw materials of pig bristles, human hair, cow horn, duck feather and chicken feather were analysed. The result found that the ATR-FTIR is preferable rather than Raman spectroscopy in differentiating the primary sources of L-cysteine. Data pre-treatment was carried out to provide a more suitable for analysis and easier interpretation. Accordingly, principal component analysis (PCA) transformed the transmittance of ATR-FTIR into a number of principal components (PCs).Five distinct groups were successfully differentiated in PCA. The proposed method offers as fast and environmentally friendly approach to distinguish the primary source of L-cysteine sources. Hence, this method would beneficial to be used for origin determination of L-cysteine food additives.

Bibliometric Analysis on Halal Cosmetics Over Twenty Years

Purpose – Halal cosmetics area is progressively increasing these days. This bibliometric analysis is intended to systematically evaluate the research to brief researchers about the trend of halal cosmetics field. This paper also discloses the limitations of the studies in the area. Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopted bibliometric and network analysis to evaluate the research area. A total of 82 documents obtained from the Scopus database are extracted and analysed. Findings – The paper reports the type of documents available, the years published, authorship and geographical distribution of the published documents in the halal cosmetics area. From the keyword analysis, it is found that the most used words are halal cosmetics, halal, cosmetics, purchase intention, Malaysia, and Islamic marketing. Research limitations/implications – This bibliometric study is conducted using Scopus database; however, Scopus might possibly omit some publications, thus, authors might not report the missing studies. Halal cosmetics are still in the early years of publications, and only 82 published documents were analysed in the study. Originality/value – There is no study reported on the network analysis and bibliometric study techniques in the area of halal cosmetics.

Enhancing Brand Awareness Via Halal Brand Personality

This paper develops a multi-disciplinary measure of the Halal brand personally construct by means of literature review. This study explains that Halal brand personality involves (i) purity, (ii) excitement, (iii) sophistication, (iv) safety and (iv) righteousness on brand awareness. The concept of Halal brand personality is vital for service providers to create an awareness about their products and services in the consumers’ mind as this could be the catalyst for service providers to achieve sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). This is because the extraction of the five factors that contribute to the Halal brand personality is being regarded to be an assurance for halal products and services. It symbolizes the value that are not just for Muslims, but for non-Muslims as well.