The Principles

The Principles of Islamic Marketing
This book is dedicated to my mother, Khadra, and to my father, Ahmad, with

love and appreciation.
The Principles of
Islamic Marketing
Baker Ahmad Alserhan

United Arab Emirates University, UAE
Contents
List of Figures vii

List of Tables ix
Prefacexi
Part 1 Understanding Islamic Marketing
1 Islamic Business Ideals 3
2 The Islamic Market (Souq)27
Part 2 The Islamic Marketing Mix
3 The Islamic Product (Tayyibat)53
4 Islamic Pricing Practices 69
5 Islamic Promotions and Promoting to Muslims 79
6 Islamic Logistics (Halal Logistics)99
Part 3 Issues in Islamic Marketing
7 Muslim Consumer Behaviour 113
8 Islamic Branding: Concepts and Background 137
9 Islamic Branding 2: Brands as Good Deeds 157
10 Islamic Hospitality 167
Index 189
This page has been left blank intentionally
List of Figures
3.1 The three levels of a product 56

3.2 Hierarchy of products in Islam and their implications for
procedures and consumers 61
9.1 Categories of Islamic branding 162
List of Tables
5.1 An approximate guide of some commerce-related words

in the Quran 83
9.1 Size of the Halal market 161
Preface
Beyond worship, the duty of people in Islam is to build Emaar (the earth). The
exact meaning of the Arabic term Emaaratu Alardh (building of the earth) means
to make it full of life or, to make it better in every sense. A term intrinsically
related to Emaar is Ifsad (ruination). The Islamic teachings state that the duty of
man is to build without causing ruination before, during or after the building.
If cutting a tree to make pencils – the greatest invention of mankind – leads to
soil erosion then cutting that tree becomes classified as ruination to the earth
and as such it becomes forbidden. A pencil manufacturer, thus, needs to think
of more innovative and less harmful ways to make pencils.
Islam takes a very long-term perspective in determining what is permissible

(Halal) and what is not permissible (Haram). Making gains today at a deferred
price that earth and its inhabitants will have to pay later is Haram. The religious
aim of trade in Islam, like all other human activities, is to make the world better.
Thus, all those involved in trade must ensure, each in his turn, that a tree is
planted in place of the tree that they need to cut down, that adequate and safe
passage ways are allowed for animals when designing dual carriage ways, that
planting coffee to increase the wealth of one doesn’t mean planting less wheat
making another starve, etc.
These and other similar concepts are not hard to comprehend and they
don’t conflict with human nature; it is easy for people to know that harm in
all of its forms and shapes is wrong, but the Islamic doctrine doesn’t stop at
clarifying right from wrong or good from bad; instead, it makes it obligatory
on its followers and all those who deal with them to adhere to its teachings of
causing no harm. Failure to comply with these teachings, when one is able to
comply, becomes a sin.
Islam is a framework of life and living. It is much more than Halal or

Haram, permissible or not permissible, right or wrong or, good or bad. The
xii The Principles of Islamic Marketing
duty of man on this earth is to enable life to thrive; cutting down a forest to
erect concrete, high rise or otherwise, is neither building nor enablement! I still
remember a story a Portuguese friend told me many years ago that when a tree
was cut down in the Amazon, scientists found nearly four thousand species
and life forms living off and on that tree. It is within this framework that the
Islamic teachings on business should be understood; before carrying out any
business activity, a business person needs to make sure that he can justify the
displacement of four thousand lives. If no justification can be provided then the
tree should be left alone.
About this Book
In the global corporate environment today there are very few books that
provide practical perspectives and insights relating to the Islamic viewpoint
on business conduct, ethics and other managerial issues. Principles of Islamic
Marketing addresses one aspect of Islamic business thought that has been thus
far neglected; it aims to provide a framework for understanding the Islamic
marketing code of conduct and presents practical perspectives for companies
and their leaders and employees to incorporate.
This is not a religious book and it is addressed neither to new age Muslims
nor to traditional Muslims. It is written as a marketing book that aims at filling
a gap in international business literature, that which represents the basis of
the business model adopted by nearly one quarter of the world population:
the Islamic economic system. This model has already proved successful in one
major industry: Islamic finance. Although a thriving financial sector sounds
unrealistic these days, Islamic finance, as a branch of the Islamic economic
system, is one sector that has not only been resilient, but it is also growing
faster than any other subset of world banking. While the Western world’s
financial system has been imploding, this small but rapidly growing share of
world capital has emerged relatively unharmed. Many Western banks, trying
to cash in on this growing field, have fast-growing Shariah-compliant arms.
The UK is vying to capture this market and has changed its laws to allow the
different property transfers required for Islamic lending. British media report
growing interest even among non-Muslims because of perceptions that it is a
more ethical approach to finance.
The book provides a complete guide of the requirements an organization

needs to follow when managing its entire marketing function within the Muslim
P r e fa c e xiii
market or when a Muslim part is involved. Being the first publication in this
field, it is designed not only to address the challenges facing marketers involved
in business activities with and within Islamic communities, the knowledge
needs of academic institutions or the interest of multinationals keen on tapping
the massive Islamic markets, it aims, above all, to lay the foundation of and
advance Islamic marketing as a new social science. Furthermore, it identifies
the features of the Islamic framework of international marketing practices
and ethics in the sense that marketing practices, embedded in a strong ethical
doctrine, can raise the standards of business conduct without compromising the
quality of services or products offered to customers, or harming the interests
of businesses. Adherence to such ethical practices elevates the standards
of behaviour of traders and consumers alike (Saeed et al. 2001), creates a
value-loaded framework for firms and establishes harmony and meaningful
cooperation between international marketers and their Muslim target markets.
Throughout the book, I have used the following Quran translations:
1. Yusufali, available at The Center for Muslim–Jewish Engagement,

University of Southern California
2. Pickthal, available at The Center for Muslim–Jewish Engagement,

3. Shakir, available at The Center for Muslim–Jewish Engagement,

4. available at http://www.qurancomplex.com/Default.asp?l=eng#.
References
Saeed, Mohammad, Zafar U. Ahmed and Syeda-Masooda Mukhtar (2001).

‘International marketing ethics from an Islamic perspective: a value-
maximization approach.’ Journal of Business Ethics 32 (2): 127–42.
Part 1
Understanding Islamic
Marketing
1
Islamic Business Ideals
When Muslim merchants travelled to distant lands, the inhabitants of
those lands were impressed by the traders’ social and business conduct
and so became curious about their beliefs. Many of these inhabitants
subsequently became Muslims.
Rice, 1999
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand:

• The Islamic law, Shariah
• The three categories of Muslims’ practices and acts
• The four sources of the Islamic ethical system
• The principles governing Islamic ethics
• Islamic values in business
• Implications for business.
4 The Principles of Islamic Marketing
Introduction
In an era when there is an increased and renewed emphasis on teaching and

learning business ethics, the highly pertinent question being raised is the role
of faith and religious beliefs on business practices. Do religious beliefs help
produce more ethical organizations and consumers? As a major world religion
with clearly defined rules, restrictions and behavioural guidelines, what are
Islam’s teachings regarding ethical practices in commerce and what are their
implications? This chapter aims to answer some of these questions by casting
light on the Islamic teachings on business conduct, or what has been known
since the early Islamic periods fourteen centuries ago as the ‘rules of sales
and commerce’. It identifies the Islamic business ideals and their practical
implications which organizations dealing with Muslim consumers need to
adopt.
The Islamic perspective on commerce is increasingly gaining momentum

and importance in today’s global economy for many reasons. First, Islam, being
a practical religion with clear daily procedures to follow, shapes the attitudes
and behaviours of its adherents, the Muslim consumers, who represent more
than a fifth of the world population. Second, the financial crises of 2008/9
shattered the world markets which had followed conventional financial
wisdom, while allowing those practising Islamic finance to prosper and make
significant gains. In the September 2008 quarter, when share markets in London
and New York were a third of their peaks, Dow Jones’s Islamic financials index,
in contrast, rose 4.75 per cent. Third, as a result of the oil boom, as well as other
factors, many Muslim countries are becoming the most affluent consumers
in the world. Fourth, the level of foreign investment in Muslim countries is
increasing. Fifth, there is a movement towards forming a Muslim trading bloc,
although such a bloc might take some time to materialize. Finally, sixth, there
is a strong push towards the Islamization of countries where Muslims are a
majority through laying down clear Islamic codes of conduct in all walks of life,
and commerce is no exception to this (Saeed et al. 2001).
Moreover, the globalization of the world economy makes it a requirement

for world businesses to be familiar with the Islamic perspective on commerce in
order to understand the factors shaping the behaviours of Muslim consumers.
Businesses that neglect the acquisition and utilization of such knowledge risk
alienating a large proportion of their Muslim target market (Saeed et al. 2001).
The Islamic religion has a finely tuned set of rules concerning all aspects of
life. By recognizing these rules, the knowledgeable firm can not only serve
I s l a m i c B u s i n es s I d ea l s 5
the spiritual needs of the Muslim community but also capture a truly unique
position in the Islamic marketplace (Sacharow 1995).
The Islamic Law, Shariah
Islam possesses a religious law called Shariah which governs the life of Muslims
and which Muslims consider to be the embodiment of the will of God. This
law, which caters to the needs of Islamic society, is essentially preventative
and is not based on harsh punishment except as a last measure. The faith of the
Muslim causes him or her to have respect for the rights of all others; it aims at
preventing transgression against the universe as a whole (the living, the land,
the sea and the heavens).
Islam consists of five pillars: affirmation of the faith (Shahadah), that is,
witnessing that there is no divinity but Allah and that Mohammad is the
messenger of Allah; the five daily prayers which Muslims perform facing
Makkah (Mecca); fasting from dawn to sunset during the lunar month of
Ramadan; making the pilgrimage to Makkah once in a lifetime; and paying
an obligatory charity of 2.5 per cent tax on one’s capital. Muslims are also
commanded to encourage others to perform good acts and to abstain from evil.
The term Islam itself is an Arabic word meaning ‘submission to God –

Allah,’ with its roots in the Arabic word ‘Salam’ which literally means
peace. That may come as a surprise to many non-Muslims, whose
perceptions of the belief have been distorted by terrorists, many from
the Middle East, whose acts in the name of Islam have been condemned
by Muslim leaders everywhere.
Belt 2002
Submission to God’s will (accepting the Muslim faith) implies that all actions
undertaken by Muslims are acts of worship. Thus eating, drinking, socializing,
buying, selling, promoting, manufacturing, education and so on have to
comply with God’s rules. These rules are stated in the Shariah law. According
to Islam, God’s rules are stated explicitly or implicitly in the Muslims’ holy
book, the Quran, or in the teachings of Islam’s prophet, Mohammad, and it is
the responsibility of Muslim scholars to identify these rules and live according
to them. These rules apply to commerce as much as they apply to personal
purification and cleanliness.
Islam provides either general or detailed instructions about what is

permissible and what is not. Detailed instructions are provided on the acts
of pure worship such as prayer, pilgrimage, fasting and charity, as well as a
multitude of other aspects of life. However, general guidelines are provided in
what is referred to by Prophet Mohammad as ‘the affairs of your worldly life’.
For example, some rules, like forbidding the use of interest rates as a method
of making money, represent a general guideline. The responsibility of Muslim
scholars throughout the ages is to identify which trade practices fall under
this category and to advise Muslims against them or, in addition, provide
alternative Shariah-compliant practices.
Companies seeking to engage in business with Muslim consumers need to

know these underlying beliefs that drive the Muslim consumers’ behaviour.
Multinational corporations should be multicultural as well and not simply
impose their own culture; they need to adapt their operations to make their
Muslim customers, employees, and suppliers comfortable with their practices
(Pomeranz 2004). These companies can constructively use the power of religion
through accommodating and harnessing Muslim values more effectively when
conducting their businesses in the Muslim marketplace (Rice 1999).
In general, all Muslim practices and acts are classified under the following
categories.
1. Halal, or permissible. It has three levels:
o Wajib, or duty; obligatory acts. Failure to perform them is a

sin. Duty can be described as the Core Halal, without which
a firm can’t be seen as Shariah-compliant. Implications: firms
must perform Wajib. Examples include being honest and
transparent.
o Mandoob, or likeable; preferable but not obligatory. Not

performing Mandoob is not a sin. Likeable can be described as
the Supplementary Halal. Implications: do if possible. Examples
include being helpful and going the extra mile.
o Makrooh, or despised; not preferable, discouraged by religion

and usually seen as a last resort. Engaging in Makrooh doesn’t
result in a sin unless it leads to one. The most obvious
example of Makrooh in Islam is divorce! Although it is Shariah-
compliant, it represents the border between compliance and

non-compliance. It is loathed by society. Implications: avoid
if possible.
2. Mushtabeh, or doubted; acts that a Muslim should refrain from

because they might be Haram themselves or they might lead
to Haram. Businesses should refrain as much as they can from
engaging in doubted activities for the fear of being perceived to
be unscrupulous by Muslim consumers. Firms engaging in these
activities risk a Fatwa being issued against them.
3. Haram, or not permissible; all acts condemned explicitly or

implicitly by the Islamic religion. Engaging in them or in activities
leading to them is a sin.
These categories have obvious implications on what companies planning to

engage the Muslim marketplace should and shouldn’t do. It is of no relevance
whether these companies are Muslim or not, what is of relevance is what they
should do, i.e., value maximization, and how they do it – by fair play and just
dealing. To illustrate, the duty Wajib of a company in Islam is to maximize the
good of the society as a whole, not profit maximization. Therefore, a company
(its personnel) will be committing a sin if it doesn’t actively seek societal value
maximization. A company however is at ease in choosing the means to do that,
as long as those means are not Haram (as long as they are permissible or not a
sin).
Although profit maximization is not the ultimate goal of trade in Islam,

Islam accepts profits and trade and does not aim to remove all differences
in income and wealth that may result in various social and economic classes
(Beekun 1996). In fact Islam acknowledges that people will differ and that
this difference is for a purpose ‘It is We Who portion out between them their
livelihood in this world, and We raised some of them above others in ranks,
so that some may employ others in their work. But the Mercy of your Lord is
better than the (wealth of this world) which they amass.’ (Quran 43:32).
The implications of these categories on the marketing aspect of business

are very thorough and encompass the entire marketing mix for both services
and goods. The first component of the conventional marketing mix, e.g., is
the product. In Islamic marketing, however, it is the Halal product, and the
difference between the two is huge. From an Islamic marketing perspective
the product that a company sells must be entirely Halal. This means that all
inputs, processes and outputs must be Shariah-compliant, i.e., the product
and all that has been involved in its creation, delivery, and consumption must
be environmentally friendly and totally harmless, as Islam clearly prohibits
causing harm to anything that God created (all-embracing harmony in the
universe). An un-Halal or Haram product will be very difficult to sell to the
Muslim consumer because the Muslim consumer’s behaviour is mostly dictated
by the common understanding of what is permissible and what is prohibited
under the Shariah law. Being Shariah-compliant is the quickest way to promote
the company and its products.
Products and acts that might be seen or interpreted as Makrooh (despised)

or Mushtabeh (doubted) will be immensely difficult to sell to Muslims. The
same is true for companies producing these products or engaging in such
acts. The Muslim consumer is ultra sensitive and the Muslim masses are easily
swayed against anything that can be classified as un-Islamic – be it a country, a
company, a product, a process and so on. It doesn’t matter that most of a certain
company’s business is legitimate according to the Islamic law, what this law and
its adherents take into consideration are all the small business streams that a
company is engaged in as part of the business entirety. Just as a drop of oil ruins
the taste of an entire tank of pure water, it is enough for one insignificant stream
to be not Shariah-compliant for the image of the remaining fully legitimate
business streams to be ruined. The bright side of this is that a company will
need to purify all of its actions, resources and operations in order to be able to
brand itself as Islamic and position itself favourably in the mind of the Muslim
consumer. Such purification of the entire company can’t be anything but good
since it results in value maximization for the community as a whole, including
the company itself. For example, a company that produces pork products will
find it difficult to sell anything else it produces to Muslims because pork and
all that is associated with it is forbidden in Islam. Muslim consumers will not
look at how good its other products are but will see only that it manufactures
pork products. This image reflection is applicable worldwide, and more so in
the Muslim societies, because the numerous religious self-appointed private
and public dogwatches operating in these societies relentlessly scan for non-
compliance. Any company found to be engaged in anything other than Halal
will be stamped as un-Islamic, a very costly stigma indeed! It took Coca-Cola
14 years to be removed from the Arab boycott list; engaging in business with
Coca-Cola was shunned religiously almost entirely over the Arab and Muslim
world. Between the years 1977 and 1991 and prior to the signing of the various
Arab-Israeli peace agreements Coca-Cola was banned from trading in the Arab
world because the company refused to abide by the Arab League economic
boycott of Israel. For decades, this cost Coca-Cola the opportunity to sell its
products in Arab countries. By contrast, prior to 1992, Pepsi had abided by
the boycott and enjoyed the bounties of the lucrative Coke-less Arab markets
in the boycott days. The image of the company was severely hurt that it took
Coca-Cola many years after the peace agreements of 1991 to build its brand in
the Arab market.
Finally, although achieving the status of Shariah-compliant might seem

hard at first sight, it is essential for success in the Muslim market. A compliant
company will get a distinctive competitive advantage over the less compliant
competitors. Failure to observe these rules means that the company and its
brands will be stamped as Shariah non-compliant and thus un-Islamic; an
image that no company can afford to have in the biggest unified market in the
history of mankind.
Islamic Ethical System
The Muslim ethical system has four sources: the Quran, the sayings and
behaviour of Prophet Mohammad, the example set by his companions, and
the interpretations of Muslim scholars of these sources. These provide an
entire socioeconomic system that guides the behaviour of Muslims. The
system stresses the importance of human well-being and good life, religious
brotherhood and sisterhood, socioeconomic justice, and a balanced satisfaction
of both the material and the spiritual (Chapra 1992).
In economics, Islam supplies a practical programme that includes detailed

coverage of specific economic variables such as interest, taxation, circulation of
wealth, fair trading and consumption. Islamic law, which is obtained from the
sources listed above, covers business relationships between buyers and sellers,
employers and employees and lenders and borrowers (Rice 1999).
The Quran provides a balanced view of human motivation; desire for

wealth and propensity for greed and selfishness in humans are recognized.
However, since business has to be conducted within a social context, Islam
introduces rules to control these desires, as well as guide the behaviour of all
parties involved. Accordingly, business success is judged not in material terms,
but rather by the degree to which the Muslim is able to comply with God’s
rules.
Muslims prove their worth to God by behaving ethically in the midst of the
tests of this worldly life. These tests could take two forms:
1. Temptations, such as making profit through ungodly ways like

lending money with interest, or promoting a product that doesn’t
fulfil as much as possible of the condition of total purity – all
that is involved in the production, delivery and consumption of
that product must not cause harm to God’s creation. By not
surrendering to the temptation of making gains at the expanse of
the larger community the company will be fulfilling one of the most
important guidelines in Islam: ‘There should be neither harming
nor reciprocating harm’ (Prophet Mohammed), ‘all harm, whether
affecting an individual or a group of people, must be removed’
(Rashid Rida cited in Leaman 1995, p. 255). In reference to
intoxicating drinks and gambling, God says: ‘There is great harm in
both although they have some benefit for people, but their harm is
far greater than their benefit’ (Quran 2:219). These two temptations,
although beneficial in part, fail the test of total purity and as such
become forbidden.
2. Hardships, such as lack of Shariah-compliant funds to support one’s

business. A business owner in this case must abstain from resorting
to the use of conventional interest-based finance and resort,
instead, to more hard work or to more innovative ways such as
the possibility of pooling resources within the community or with
other shareholders to run and support the business.
Principles Governing Islamic Ethics
In general, Islamic ethics are governed by the following principles, each of

which has significant business implications:
1. Unity. God is the sole creator of the universe, and his people should
cooperate in carrying out His will (Rice 1999). The implication for
businesses is: one God, then one constitution, the divine constitution.
This constitution is detailed in the Quran, the teachings of
Prophet Mohammad and the example set by his companions.
The constitution, e.g., prohibits all forms of discrimination among
employees, suppliers, buyers or any other stakeholder on the basis
of race, colour, sex or religion. More specifically, since we all are

part of the same human-hood and spiritually equal before God,
even if not materially equal on earth (Bassiouni 1993), honesty, trust
and a relationship between employers and employees that reflects
this human-hood need to be developed and encouraged (Wilson
2006). In other words, people are equal partners and each person is
a brother or sister to the other (Rice 1999).
2. Iman (faith). In Islam, faith, or iman, is the basic motivating factor for
believers, and it is this that determines conscience. Hence, business
decisions are guided by iman, which in practice means following
Shariah law, and engaging in what is Halal, or permitted, and
avoiding that which is Haram, or forbidden (Alawneh 1998). The
business decision-maker has free choice, but religious principles
provide a framework for the appropriate exercise of that choice (Ali
and Gibbs 1998).
3. Khilafah (trusteeship). People are God’s trustees on the earth.

Although this does not mean denial of private property, it does
have important implications. For instance, resources, which are
God-given and for the benefit of all, must be acquired lawfully
and redistributed in the best interest of everyone (A-Faruqi 1976).
No one is authorized to harm (destroy or waste) these resources.
When Abu Bakr, the first ruler of the Islamic state after Prophet
Mohammad, sent an army on an expedition, he ordered the leader
of that army not to kill indiscriminately or to destroy vegetation or
animal life, even in war and on enemy territory. These God-given
resources (everything in creation is God-given) are not seen as a free
good, to be plundered at the free will of any nation, any generation
or any individual (Rice 1999). The rich and the powerful are not the
real owners of wealth; they are only trustees. They must spend it in
accordance with the terms of the trust, one of the most important of
which is fulfilling the needs of the poor.
4. Balance. Islam teaches Muslims to be moderate in all of their

affairs. Chapra (1992) notes that Islam recognizes the contribution
of individual self-interest through profit and private property to
individual initiative, drive, efficiency and enterprise. However,
profit is not the chief motive (Siddiqi 1981). Since Islam places
a greater emphasis on duties than on rights, social good or the
benefit of the society as a whole, not profit, should guide Muslim

entrepreneurs in their decisions. The argument underlying this
stand is that if duties are fulfilled by everyone, then the individual
self-interest is automatically controlled and the rights of all are
protected (Chapra 1992).
5. Justice or Adl. Justice is a central theme in Islam and is required

from all parties in all cases. ‘O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for
justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your
parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for
Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts),
lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice,
verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do’ (Quran 4:135).
Exploiting employees, abusing power or using a monopoly to
overcharge consumers are all condemned (Wilson 2006). However,
businesses cannot be forced to sell at a loss or without a profit
under the accusation that they are monopolies. On the other hand,
employees are responsible for their own actions and cannot simply
blame management indiscriminately or claim that which is not
rightfully theirs: ‘man can have nothing but what he strives for
…’ (Quran 53:39). In addition to its clear objective of eradicating
injustice, inequity, exploitation and oppression from society, Islam
instructs people not to lie or cheat, to uphold promises and to fulfil
contracts. Usurious dealings are prohibited, all wealth should be
productive and people may not stop the circulation of wealth after
they have acquired it, nor reduce the momentum of circulation
(Chapra 1992). The commitment of Islam to justice and brotherhood
demands that the Muslim society takes care of the basic needs of the
poor. Individuals are religiously obliged and encouraged to earn a
living and only when this is impossible does the state intervene;
Islam greatly values work and clearly discourages dependence on
state or on others.
6. Free will (people have the free will to guide their own lives as
God’s trustees on earth). This free will though is directly linked to
accountability; the more freedom a person has the more accountable
a person becomes. According to Islam, although people can fully
exercise this free will in making decisions, including business
decisions, it is a religious imperative to exercise responsibility to
those they deal with and, ultimately, to God by observing His rules
on earth (Naqvi 1994). By implementing God’s rules Muslims do

not lose their individuality, but they become less selfish and more
motivated to serve the wider public.
Islamic Values in Business
Islam is an entire way of life, and its guidance extends into all areas of life. It
has given detailed principles to guide and control the various economic aspects
in the society. Muslims are to recognize that wealth, earnings and material
goods are the property of God, and humans are merely His trustees. These
principles, which aim at establishing a just society wherein everyone will
behave responsibly and honestly, include the following.
Prohibition of bribery or rashwa. According to the teachings of Islam, bribery

is a form of corruption and is strongly condemned. The burden is on both those
demanding and accepting the bribe and those offering it. All, givers, takers,
and facilitators are strongly warned against engaging in this practice. ‘Allah’s
curse be on those who give and those who take bribes’ (Prophet Mohammad).
Prohibition of fraud and cheating. Islam stresses the importance of honesty and
warns sellers against exaggerating or lying about their products or services. It is
forbidden to gain property or wealth by fraud, deceit, theft or other falsehoods.
Sellers involved in fraud are committing a sin. Chapter 83 in the Quran (The
Dealers in Fraud) contains the following verses:
1. ‘Woe to those who deal in fraud.’
2. ‘Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact
full measure.’
3. ‘But when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less
than due.’
Other clear Islamic teachings in this regard include:
1. ‘God permits selling but forbids usurious gain’ (Quran 2:275).
2. ‘O my people! Give full measure and full weight in justice, and

wrong not people in respect of their goods’ (Quran 11:85).
3. ‘Oh ye who believe! Eat not up each other’s property by unfair and
dishonest means’ (Quran 4:29).
4. ‘On the day of judgment, the honest Muslim merchant will stand
side by side with the martyrs’ (Prophet Mohammad).
5. ‘Sell the good and bad separately. He who deceives is not of us’
(Prophet Mohammad).
6. ‘Swearing produces ready sale but blots out blessing’ (Prophet

Mohammad).
Yusuf Ali (1991, p. 1616, fn. 6011, 6012), cited in Quddus et al. (2009,
p. 328), states that:
Fraud must be taken in a widely general sense ... it is the spirit of

injustice that is condemned – giving too little and asking too much.
This may be shown in commercial dealings, where a man exacts a higher
standard in his own favor than he is willing to concede as against him
… legal and social sanctions against fraud depend for their efficacy
on whether there is a chance of being found out. Moral and religious
sanctions are of a different kind ... Whether other people know anything
about your wrong or not, you are guilty before God.
Prohibition of discrimination. Islam considers all forms of discrimination

unjust and opposes it in all aspects of life. ‘No Arab has superiority over any
non-Arab and no non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; no black person
has superiority over a white person and no white person has superiority over a
black person. The criterion for honour in the sight of God is righteousness and
honest living’ (Prophet Mohammad).
Greater social responsibility. The importance given to community welfare

in Islam breathes new life into the concept of corporate social responsibility,
and relates it much more closely to the business than what is usual in world
business today. An organization’s social responsibility in Islam emphasizes
its responsibility in three domains: towards its stakeholders, the natural
environment and the community. Where stakeholders are involved, e.g., Islam
stresses the importance of putting contractual obligations with employees,
partners, suppliers or clients in writing in order to protect the rights of all those
involved and affected by the dealing, ‘And fulfil (every) covenant. Verily, the
covenant will be questioned about’ (Quran 17:34), ‘Give a labourer his wages
before his sweat dries’ (Prophet Mohammad). The longest verse in the Quran
is dedicated to specifically explaining the importance of documentation as a
means of reducing conflict and insuring compliance.
Similarly, specific guidelines exist to direct the organization in fulfilling

its obligations and responsibilities towards the natural environment. A
business engaging the Muslim market is not just a profit-making machine; it
is an institution of the Muslim community and thus must abide by its rules or
guidelines. These guidelines relate to, among others, the treatment of animals,
such as prohibiting animal-based pharmaceutical research and prohibiting
causing all kinds of environmental pollution (Beekun 1996). The Quran states:
‘Mischief has appeared on land and sea because of (the meed) that the hands of
men have earned. That (Allah) may give them a taste of some of their deeds: in
order that they may turn back (from Evil)’ (Quran 30:41).
In fact, the punishment in Islam for causing ruination could amount to

death: ‘he who kills a soul without that soul being convicted of killing another,
or without being convicted of causing ruination in the earth’ (Quran 5:32).
Prohibition of interest. Islam prohibits all interest-based transactions, whether

giving or receiving, and whether dealing with Muslims or non-Muslims.
Prophet Mohammad says that Allah curses those who pay interest, those who
receive it, those who write a contract based on it and those who witness such
a contract, ‘Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for
deeds of charity’ (Quran 2:277).
Prohibition of certain earnings. Islam prohibits making earnings from

gambling, lotteries and the production, sale and distribution of alcohol.
Prohibition of hoarding. Both money hoarding and goods hoarding are

impermissible, ‘and there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not
in the Way of Allah: announce unto them a most grievous penalty’ (Quran
43:33). People should take only what they need, no more. Moreover, Islam
encourages reasonable spending. The word ‘spend’ is repeated in the Quran
53 times, ‘Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in adversity;
who restrain anger, and pardon (all) men; for Allah loves those who do good’
(Quran 4:38).
Prohibition of extravagance and waste. A Muslim should be responsible in

spending money. Extravagance and waste are strongly discouraged. ‘[The
Servants of Allah are] Those who, when they spend, are not extravagant and
not stingy, but hold a just balance between those extremes’ (Quran 25:67). ‘O
Children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of
prayer. Eat and drink, but waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters’
(Quran 7:31).
Payment of Zakat (alms). Every Muslim who owns wealth, more than a
certain amount to meet his or her needs, must pay a fixed rate (2.5 per cent) of
Zakat to those in need. Alms are a method of narrowing the gap between the
rich and the poor, and of making sure that the needs of the needy in the society
are met.
Payment of charity. Muslims are encouraged to give constantly in charity.

Prophet Mohammad said that ‘Nobody’s assets are reduced by charity.
Cleanliness. Prophet Mohammad says ‘Cleanliness invites towards faith

(Iman) and faith leads its possessor to paradise.’ Cleanliness does not just apply
to those areas of a business a customer sees; it includes backstage operations,
equipment and storage areas as well.
The Biggest Unified Market in History
In the modern world, Muslims – those who embrace Islam and its laws –
account for approximately 21.01 per cent or 1,409,139,261 of the entire world
population. Muslims also represent a majority in more than 50 countries. This
means that more than one person in five heeds Islam’s call, embracing the
religion at a rate that makes it the fastest growing of all religions on earth.
For these people Islam is an intimate personal connection to the same God
worshipped by the Jews and the Christians, a source of strength and hope in
our troubled world (Belt 2002).
The values that this one fifth of the world’s population share are very strong.
Islam is equated with identity and defines behaviour in a way that makes ‘how’
things are done as important as the ‘things’ themselves, so the gap between
belief and behaviour is almost non-existent. A strong sense of community and
welfare underpins all activity in the Islamic world, and informs its business
ethics (Beekun 1996).
The impressive number of the Muslim population translates into real

economic figures, with some Muslim countries today being, by far, among the
richest in the world. Moreover, those 1.4 billion Muslims live in economically
feasible numbers in almost all countries in the world, with very few countries
reporting small Muslim minorities that are hard to capitalize on commercially.
The overwhelming majority of Muslims live in countries that are

predominantly Muslim, or in close Muslim communities in non-Muslim
countries as minorities, where Islamic laws dominate. Individual and
organizational members of these societies have to practise their life in
accordance with the rules of the Muslim society in which they live. These rules
are necessarily Islamic or being increasingly Islamized as more and more people
resort to religion as an identity and as a way of salvation. As the influence
of Shariah-compliant supporters increases, the whole society is being driven
towards Shariah-compliant laws and regulations. For example, more and more
TV advertisements in the Arab world are being produced using animations
and cartoons or women wearing head scarves. The traditional reliance on the
look of beautiful Arab women wearing non-Islamic outfits to sell, although still
having many advocates, is being gradually replaced by more Islamic substitutes
under the powerful influence of the more conservative trends in these societies.
The largest Islamic body, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC),
is composed of the economies of 57 member states, 50 of which are overtly
Muslim. The remaining members have large Muslim populations, although
Muslims are not a majority in them. The percentage of Muslims in Russia, e.g.,
stands at approximately 15 per cent, yet Russia is a member state. India, on the
other hand, has a Muslim population of 150 million but its membership into the
OIC is blocked by some countries, mainly Pakistan, due to geopolitical reasons.
Those 57 countries have a combined GDP of nearly USD 8 trillion (before

the oil boom of 2008). The richest country on the basis of GDP per capita is
United Arab Emirates. On the basis of per capita GDP, Qatar is the richest
country with incomes exceeding USD 62,299. The recent boom in oil prices has
significantly increased these figures in all oil-producing Muslim countries. In
2008, Abu Dhabi, a member emirate in the United Arab Emirates, had a per
capita income of USD 75,000, double that of most European countries, and
almost double the US figure.
These countries currently import USD 1 trillion worth of products and

export USD 1.4 trillion, creating a growing combined market of USD 2.4 trillion.
Although a significant percentage of exports are oil related, both exports and
imports span all types of industrial and consumer goods and services.
Implications for Business
Business people should try to conduct their business dealings with practising
Muslims whenever possible. This is so for the following reasons:
1. Practising people seek ‘blessing’ before ‘profit’.
2. You are less likely to be cheated. Prophet Mohammad says: ‘He

who cheats is not of us [the Muslims].’
3. You are more likely to get a better deal. Prophet Mohammad says:
‘May Allah have mercy on those who are easy when they sell, easy
when they buy … God loves kindness when you deal with any
matter.’
4. In case of dispute you are likely to get off with less harm. Prophet
Mohammad says: ‘May Allah have mercy on those who are easy
when they judge, easy when they sue.’
5. You are more likely to be treated better. Muslim scholars accept the
rule that ‘Religion is treatment’ which means that how people deals
with all others, how they conduct their affairs, how they performs
their duties and so on are what makes people religious.
6. If you receive a present from Muslims or if they invite you to a

meal or a social activity, nothing will be expected in return. Bribery
is totally forbidden in Islam and therefore practising Muslims will
neither give it nor take it.
Practising Muslims are those who strive to comply with the teachings
of Islam, such as perform the Muslim daily five prayers, fast the month of
Ramadan, give a yearly charity of 2.5 per cent from their wealth and perform
pilgrimage to Mecca once in their life time.
How to identify practising Muslims? Look for the following:

1. Long well-maintained beards.
2. If you are dealing with Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula, the long
white dress men wear will not touch the ground since men are
forbidden from wearing very long dresses, it is considered a sign
of pride. Pride is for Allah alone. Prophet Mohammad says: ‘Shall
not enter paradise anyone who has an atom of pride in his heart.’
3. Oil-based essences instead of alcohol-based perfumes.
4. The words Allah (God), Ma Sha Alla (what Allah had willed) and
In Sha Alla (if Allah wills) are repeated very often during greetings
and conversations. Even if you don’t understand the language of
the people you are dealing with, train your ear to recognize these
words because they are good indicators of religious commitment. It
doesn’t matter that these words are in Arabic, Muslims all over the
world use Arabic as their language of religion.
5. Practising older Asian and South Asian Muslims in general dye

their long beards red or ginger.
6. Don’t confuse the short beard of an older man that has been dyed
black with a long beard indicating religious commitment; the
former indicates longing for a long-gone youth!
7. During meetings, practising Muslims will take breaks to perform

their prescribed five daily prayers. They are very strict about
performing these prayers at the exact prescribed time (dawn, noon,
afternoon, sunset, early night) and they are unforgiving about the
timing. A prayer break will be taken no matter how important the
issue being discussed or the stage of the discussions.
Conclusion
Islam encourages work in general, and trade and commerce in particular.

The Quran states: ‘God has made business lawful for you’ (Quran 2:275), and
Prophet Mohammad says: ‘Nine tenths of sustenance is in commerce’. Prophet
Mohammad was himself engaged in commerce before prophet-hood. He
was a successful businessman known for integrity and he bore the title, ‘the
trustworthy’ (Kattih n.d.).
Islamic business practices and perspectives represent an alternative

to the way business is conducted today. Islam requires that traders, both
organizations and individuals, achieve a balance between commercialism
and humanitarianism, and between profit and social responsibility. Not only
does this approach to business conduct provide a solution to the problems of
profiteering, customer exploitation, irresponsible corporate governance and
environment destruction, it seeks to promote positive aspects of business such
as honest conduct, reasonable profit, fair competition, high standard of service
culture, business partnership, cooperation, minimum wage for employees and
basic consumerism principles such as the right of buyers to return purchased
goods (Yusoff 2002).
Glossary
Allah
Allah is the standard Arabic word for ‘God’. While the term is best known in
the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-
speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews.
Bribery
According to Black’s Law Dictionary, bribery constitutes a crime and is defined

as the offering, giving, receiving or soliciting of any item of value to influence
the actions of an official or other person in discharge of a public or legal duty.
The bribe is the gift bestowed to influence the recipient’s conduct. It may be
money, goods, property, preferment, privilege, an emolument, an object of
value, advantage or merely a promise or undertaking to induce or influence
an action, vote or person in an official or public capacity.
Commercialism
The term is mainly used today as a critical term and refers to the tendency
within capitalism to try to turn everything in life into objects and services
that are sold for the purpose of generating profit; commercialization, where
the value of everything, including such intangible things as happiness, health
and beauty become measured in purely commercial, and materialistic terms.
Consumerism
The equation of personal happiness with consumption and the purchase of

material possessions. In economics, consumerism refers to economic policies
placing emphasis on consumption. In an abstract sense, it is the belief that the
free choice of consumers should dictate the economic structure of a society.
Halal
An Arabic term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use

or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to describe anything
permissible under Islamic law, in contrast to Haram, that which is forbidden.
This includes human behaviour, speech, communication, clothing, conduct,
manners and dietary laws.
Haram
Opposite of Halal. Forbidden, or impermissible.

Hoarding
The excess accumulation of commodities, goods or currency in anticipation of

scarcity and/or higher prices. Hoarding can be a business strategy similar to
monopolization, where an individual or organization attempts to temporarily
control available supplies of a given good in order to artificially increase the
price. This strategy is also known as ‘cornering the market’.
Hoarding of money
The accumulation of money (in the form of gold at the origin) by people who
avoid spending it or investing it in economic projects.
Islam
Islam is a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of

the Islamic prophet Mohammad in seventh-century Arabia. The word Islam
means ‘submission’, or the total surrender of oneself to God (Allah).
Islamic business ethics
Rules governing business practices, based on the Islamic principles of

jurisprudence.
Mohammad
The central human figure of the religion of Islam, who is regarded by Muslims
as a messenger and prophet of God, the last and the greatest law-bearer in a
series of prophets starting with Adam. Muslims consider him the restorer
of the uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (Islam) of Adam, Abraham,
Moses, Noah, Jesus, and other prophets. He was also active as a diplomat,
merchant, philosopher, legislator, reformer, military general and, for Muslims
and followers of several other religions, an agent of divine action.
Muslim
An adherent of Islam is known as a Muslim, one who submits to God. The

word Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive.
OIC
The Organization of the Islamic Conference, the largest Islamic body. The
OIC is an international organization with a permanent delegation to the
United Nations. It groups 57 member states, from the Middle East, Africa,
Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Balkans, Southeast Asia, South Asia and
South America. The official languages of the organization are Arabic, English
and French.
Profiteering
Is a negative term for the act of making a profit by methods considered

unethical. Business owners may be accused of profiteering when they
raise prices during an emergency for example. The term is also applied to
businesses that play on political corruption to obtain government contracts.
Some types of profiteering are illegal, such as price-fixing syndicates and
other anti-competitive behaviour.
Quran
Also sometimes transliterated as Qur’an, Koran, Alcoran or Al-Qur’an, it is

the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Quran to be the book
of divine guidance and direction for mankind, and consider the original
Arabic text to be the final revelation of God. Muslims regard the Quran as the
culmination of a series of divine messages that started with those revealed to
Adam, regarded in Islam as the first prophet, and continued with the Scrolls
of Abraham, the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel. The Quran itself expresses
that it is the book of guidance. Therefore it rarely offers detailed accounts
of historical events; the text instead typically placing emphasis on the moral
significance of an event rather than its narrative sequence.
Shariah
This is the body of Islamic religious law. It is the legal framework within
which the public and private aspects of life are regulated for those living in
a legal system based on Islamic principles of jurisprudence. Shariah deals
with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking,
business, contracts, family, sexuality, hygiene and social issues.
Social responsibility
An ethical theory that an entity, whether it is a government, corporation,

organization or individual, has a responsibility to society. In business, it
means that businesses should function morally and contribute to the welfare
of their communities.
Zakat
Almsgiving as an act of worship, the third of the five Pillars of Islam, Zakat
is an obligatory payment of 2.5 percent of wealth made once a year under
Islamic law and is used for charitable and religious purposes.
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48(1): 109–23.
Yusoff, N. M. A. B. N. (2002). Islam and Business. Selangor, Malaysia: Pelanduk.
2
The Islamic Market (Souq)
Last month French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde announced
France’s intention to make Paris ‘the capital of Islamic finance‘ and
announced several Islamic banks would open branches in the French
capital in 2009. Lagarde said at least three banks had requested permission
to operate in France – the Qatar Islamic Bank, the Kuwait Finance House
and the Al Baraka Islamic Bank of Bahrain.
AdnKronosinternational 2008
The ethical principles on which Islamic finance is based may bring banks
closer to their clients and to the true spirit which should mark every
financial service. Western banks could use tools such as the Islamic
bonds, known as Sukuk, as collateral. Sukuk may be used to fund the car
industry or the next Olympic Games in London.
Loretta Napoleoni and Claudia Segre in L’Osservatore Romano,
3 March 2009
Learning Objectives

• Pre-Islamic Arab markets
• The organization of the market (Souq) in Islam
• Market manners in Islam
• Islamic markets (primary, secondary, emerging)
• The Islamic product (by compliance, by country, by manufacturer)
• The Islamic company (by product, by location,
by ownership, by customer)
• Islamic marketing (by compliance, by scope).
Introduction
The epigraphs at the beginning of this chapter, which are made by some of
the most influential thought leaders in the world’s economic and cultural
arenas, are examples of the growing recognition of the feasibility of the
Islamic principles of trade as an alternative, or at least as a complement, to the
conventional theories of growth and economic development.
Although the world’s attention has until now focused primarily on the
specific sector of Islamic finance, this narrow focus is no longer viable due to
the unique bases on which Islamic finance is built. Successful implementation
of Islamic finance requires that all related activities are Islamic. A bank, or any
other company for that matter, cannot create an Islamic brand or position itself
as Islamic if it promotes its business through un-Islamic means. The use of
the word ‘Islamic’ to describe a company’s operations has huge implications,
starting from how the product is developed and ending with how it is handled
after final use. Islamic is not just a name, it is an entire business philosophy that
incorporates every single aspect of the business.
While this chapter is not dedicated in any way to Islamic finance, it aims to
introduce and conceptualize a closely related term: Islamic marketing. Islamic
businesses, including Islamic banks and financial institutions, have relied
historically on conventional marketing. This reliance played a major role in
preventing them from occupying a more advanced place on the world’s financial
stage. Moreover, Islamic businesses have concentrated on one aspect of the
conventional marketing mix: the product. These businesses kept on developing
and introducing new products under the Islamic banner and somehow forgot,
or came to the false conclusion that having an Islamic product is enough to do
business. The other marketing mix components of price, promotion and place
have been largely ignored.
The Islamization of the marketing function through applying the principles

of Islamic marketing, which are intrinsically ethical, will allow businesses to
be more at peace with the world as well as with themselves, in addition to
establishing relationships that are honoured by customers with an almost
religious zeal.
Islamic marketing addresses the current marketing thought and practice

within the overall frame work of the religion of Islam. It studies how the Muslim
market’s behaviour is shaped by various religious and cultural concepts affecting
T h e I s l a mi c M a r k e t (S o u q) 29
almost all economic decisions in these markets. Doing business successfully in

Islamic markets requires that the prevalent conventional marketing knowledge
be tailored to comply with the requirements of Islamic markets. In other words,
the current marketing thought and practice needs to wear a turban, a veil or
at least a head scarf in order to appeal to these markets. To be more specific,
Islamic marketing blends the religious, the ethical and the business worlds to:
1. Create a more humane world market where buyers get a fair

deal and sellers accept a reasonable profit, in a better-maintained
environment.
2. Help both Muslim and non-Muslim marketers understand the

needs of the massive Muslim markets.
3. Provide marketers with current information on the behaviours

of Islamic markets and their needs as well as analyze their future
trends.
Consumers are fed up with how they have been treated. They want to be
seen as humans, not as wallets for marketers to drain. They want products
that will keep the planet habitable for their children and their grandchildren.
They want marketers who care more about the health and well-being of their
consumers. They want companies that view the interest of the community as
a minaret that guides their operations, not as a target to shoot at. The ethical
principles of Islamic marketing can help greatly in this regard. Businesses that
Islamize their entire marketing function will have a tremendous competitive
advantage over others that delay such a transition.
The Market (Souq)
In Arabic the word Souq (sometimes spelt Souk; the plural is Aswaq or Aswak)
means the place where selling and sales take place. The name is actually an
exact linguistic description of how goods are brought into the market; sellers
would Souq (herd, shepherd, lead or bring) their goods in. However, the word
Souq as a concept has been defined during the life of Prophet Mohammad as
‘any place where a sale occurs’; it is tied to the transaction itself not to the
place. Thus, in Islam, a market is held wherever and whenever an exchange
takes place between buyers and sellers under mutually agreed-on terms and
conditions.
Pre-Islamic Arab Markets
Pre-Islamic Arabs had many well-known markets, many of which were seasonal
and held during specified days. These markets were classified either as local
markets serving the neighbouring villages and tribes, such as Souq Hajar on
the western coast of the Arabian Gulf, or general markets that people came to
from all parts of the Arabian Peninsula, such as Souq Aukaz near Mecca. Some
of these markets had greater importance than others due to their geographical
location, such as Souq Eden, because they were more involved in international
trade with the markets of India, Abyssinia, Persia and China. Other markets
such as the Yamamah market gained its importance from being located on a
caravan crossroads.
These markets were controlled by princes who imposed tax, tribal chiefs
who charged tribute money or local representatives of foreign powers. In
general, the goods sold in these markets included dates, raisins, oil, ghee,
leather, scents, dresses, weapons and animals. Not all of these goods were sold
in all markets since many of them were specialized markets, depending on
their location, season, customers, and suppliers.
The greatest motivation for people to attend these markets was that many
were held during the four holy months of the Arabic Lunar year, which have
been deemed sacred since the days of the Prophet Abraham. Since fighting was
forbidden during these months it was safe to travel in the Peninsula, which
gave traders and tribes a chance to bring their goods in, trade and return
without being harmed.
However, in addition to the trade and safety factors, these markets were
a forum for competition in poetry and speech as well as showing pride in
ancestry and lineage. Judges attended these markets to judge competitions and
to rule on disputes between the tribes or the individuals. Another benefit of
these markets, aside from their obvious trade benefits, is that they helped unify
the Arabic language, traditions and religion. For instance, for poets in Souq
Aukaz to be heard and understood by all Arabs they had to use vocabulary that
was acceptable and considered fluent Arabic by all tribes. Since control of trade
in the Peninsula during the last few centuries preceding Islam moved from the
Yemenis to the Prophet’s tribe of Quraish, the tribes came to accept the version
spoken by Quraish as the most advanced form of the Arabic language. The
military and trade powers of the Prophet’s tribe helped make their particular
dialect dominant in the entire Arabian Peninsula long before the birth of the
Prophet. That version is the one used in the holy Quran, the teachings of the
Prophet, and it is the formal language of all Arabs now.
Although there is no agreement between Arab historians on the exact

number, date or duration, Said Al Afghani (1993) counted 20 markets and
classified them into three categories:
1. Markets subject to foreign authority. Hajar and Oman were under

Persian control while Gaza on the Mediterranean and Busra in Syria
were under Roman control. However, all of these markets were run
by Arabs appointed by either the Romans or the Persians.
2. Markets controlled solely by Arabs and run by their leaders and

nobles. These markets reflected Arab culture and were mostly
located deep inland, far away from the threat of the great powers
of that era. The best examples are Souq Aukaz near Mecca and
Yamamah near Riyadh. Aukaz was abandoned in 746 AD.
3. Mixed markets where the Arabian influence was not particularly

strong. These markets were located on ports and merchants from
as far as China used to sail in to trade.
The trade activities brought about by these markets greatly affected the
Arab lifestyles giving them access to luxuries they were not accustomed to.
Arab nobles indulged in fancy clothes, scents, weapons and wine, the last of
which they sought to bring from its best-known sources at the time in Syria
and Iraq. Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry is full of poems commending wine, wine
gatherings and wine servers. It is hard to find a poem that doesn’t mention
wine in some way or another.
The Importance of Market in Islam
Islam gives a special attention to the market. It urges people to go into markets
to trade and make gains. The Shariah clearly urges believers to take trade as a
profession and to make money through trading. ‘O ye who believe! Squander
not your wealth among yourselves in vanity, except it be a trade by mutual
consent’ (Quran 4:29). Islam also considers trade a way of acquiring of the
blessings of God, in one verse in the Quran it was mentioned straight after
prayer. ‘And when the Prayer is finished, then may ye disperse through the
land, and seek of the Bounty of Allah’ (Quran 62:10). In another verse, traders
were even compared to those who fight in the cause of God: ‘He knows that
there must be among you sick, and others who travel in the land seeking of
the bounty of Allah, and others who fight in Allah’s way’ (Quran 73:20). And
Prophet Mohammad says: ‘The one who brings merchandise to our market is
like the one who fights in Allah’s cause.’
In Islam, believers are not only dwellers in Mosques or monks in monasteries.

They are people of profession and trade, although their worldly activities don’t
take toll on their religious duties. ‘Men whom neither merchandise nor sale
beguileth from remembrance of Allah and constancy in prayer and paying
to the poor their due’ (Quran 24:37). The centrality of the market in Islam is
expressed in the fact that God counts the market as one of His major blessings
on the people of Macca. ‘Have We not established for them a sure sanctuary,
whereunto the produce of all things is brought (in trade), a provision from Our
presence? But most of them know not’ (Quran 29:57).
Mohammad, who was a merchant before he became a Prophet, when

asked about the best ways to gain, said: ‘A sale that is accepted by God and a
man working with his hands.’ The Prophet used to go to the market to make a
living until the non-believers of his time, trying to criticize him, counted that as
non-prophet-like behaviour. ‘What sort of a messenger is this, who eats food,
and walks through the streets? Why has not an angel been sent down to him
to give admonition with him?’ (Quran 25:7). This criticism, however, didn’t
deter the Prophet and the Muslim leaders from going into markets sometimes
to trade and others to monitor their operations. For example, Abu Bakr, who
was the first Muslim caliph, used to trade in garments until the Islamic state
gave him a salary and asked him to dedicate all his time to running the newly
established state. Omar, the second caliph, said that making deals in the market
was the reason underlying his lack of knowledge about a particular matter he
was asked to explain. He was also given a salary and told that he was now a
caliph not a merchant. One of the most righteous companions of the Prophet
later became the richest man in the Islamic state with a staggering fortune of
50 million dirhams. He immigrated from Macca where the followers of the
new religion of Islam where prosecuted to Medina where the Islamic state was
declared, headed straight into the market to start trading and began making
his fortune.
The Organization of Markets in Islam
Markets in Islam were under the Hisbah authority chaired by the market
governor or the Muhtasib. The Muhtasib would have a dedicated place – later
it became an office – in the market and would have employees assisting him.
His duties included continuous inspection and supervision of transactions in
the market including terms, conditions, and quality. He would have to be of
good character, knowledgeable of both trade and Shariah, and fair. He would
ensure that the market operations didn’t violate the teachings of Islam.
The Hisbah or market authority was broadly defined by Ibn Khaldun

(1332–1406 AD) as a religious job involving asking people to do good and to
refrain from doing evil (Khaldun 1967). A more specific definition was provided
by Aldraiweesh (1989) as managerial control carried out by the government
through dedicated employees who monitor the activities of individuals in the
areas of ethics, religion and economy, with the objective of making sure that
fairness and virtue as defined by Islam and by prevalent customs at each and
every environment and era are achieved.
The Hisbah evolved gradually throughout the Islamic history. The Prophet
was the first to monitor and control markets. For example, he saw a pile of
foodstuff in the market and he checked it and found that it was wet. He asked
the seller why is that and the seller replied that it was rained on. The Prophet
asked him to place it on top so that people could see it, and then He said, ‘Who
cheats on us is not one of us’. In another example, ‘In the time of the Apostle
of Allah (peace be upon him) we used to be called brokers, but the Prophet
(peace be upon him) came upon us one day, and called us by a better name
than that, saying: O company of merchants, unprofitable speech and swearing
takes place in business dealings, so mix it with sadaqah (alms)’ (Hadith,).
The Muhtasib would supervise markets, monitor weights and measures,

disperse crowds, and remove obstacles. There are countless examples
demonstrating his direct involvement in the market:
1. Standards. A Muhtasib found that a man had mixed milk with

water so he ordered it spilled.
2. Pricing. A Muhtasib ordered a man to either increase the price of

the raisins he was selling or leave the market.
3. Pricing. A Muhtasib makes sure that meat must always have a tag
price that people could see and that traders couldn’t go above.
4. Location. A Muhtasib removed the oven of a blacksmith because it

occupied an area in the market that belonged to everyone and no
one had claim to it. The market of the Muslims is like their mosque;
he who chooses a place first gets to keep it that day until he leaves.
5. Exploitation. A Muhtasib used to have a mule that worked for one

dirham a day. On a particular day his servant came back with a
dirham and a half. When asked how he got the extra half a dirham
the servant said that there was much demand and thus he was able
to raise the price. The Muhtasib said not true, but you overworked
the mule so give it three days off.
6. Mystery shoppers. A Muhtasib would send unsuspected young

boys and girls to the market to buy and then he would weigh the
goods purchased to make sure that they were of the correct weight.
If a trader was found to mess with the weights and measurements
he would be punished severely. If he did it again then he would be
expelled from the town.
The Muhtasib system was perfected during the Muslim reign in Spain,
which ended in 1495. The system is still used in Spain under the same name.
The Characteristics of the Muhtasib
1. Public employee. It is a public position filled by an employee

appointed by the Muslim leader. A suitable salary is attached to
that position.
2. Duration. It is a fulltime job. A Muhtasib should not take other jobs.
3. Disputes and complaints. It is his duty to receive and resolve

disputes and complaints.
4. Inspection. It is his duty to look for violations and to remove them.

5. Authority to employ. A Muhtasib can employ assistants to ensure

compliance with Shariah in the marketplace.
6. Authority to discipline. A Muhtasib has the authority to discipline

those who violate the Islamic rules of the market. However, violators
must not be disciplined until the matter is clarified to them.
7. Faith. A Muhtasib must be a Muslim because his main duty it to

ensure market compliance with the teachings of Islam.
8. Accountability. A Muhtasib is accountable to the one who appointed

him to that position.
9. Gender. A Muhtasib can be a woman in a women’s market. The

second Muslim caliph appointed Ashshifa, daughter of Abdullah,
as a Muhtasib in one of the markets of the Prophet Mohammad’s
city (Medina).
10. Secrecy. A Muhtasib is better to perform his job in secret if possible.

However, if a trader continued after that to violate the rules then he
will be ordered publically to refrain from his wrongdoing.
11. Personal character. A Muhtasib must be kind, smiling and well-

mannered in order to facilitate communication with traders. The
Prophet says, ‘Allah, the Blessed and Exalted is kind and loves
kindness. He is pleased with it and helps you with it as long as it is
not misplaced’ (Hadith).
General Duties of the Muhtasib
1. Market accessibility. To monitor roads and paths in the market and

ensure that they remain uncongested and their roofs high enough
to allow easy access to shops. Shopkeepers are not allowed to
exhibit their goods on these paths because such an act is seen as a
transgression on pedestrians.
2. Division of market. To divide markets according to the type of

the product or service being provided. Those whose professions
require the use of fire, such as blacksmiths, cooks and bakers, must
have shops located far away from garments and scents shops. The
Muhtasib appoints to each of these divisions supervisors who

know the ways of traders in them and their possible violations. The
local supervisor would also report to the Muhtasib on prices and on
availability of goods in their respective divisions.
3. Monitoring scales, weights and measures. These must be inspected

without the knowledge of sellers in many cases and must weigh
or measure at least as much as they should. It is OK to give buyers
more but not less, ‘Give just measure, and cause no loss (to others by
fraud). And weigh with scales true and upright. And withhold not
things justly due to men, nor do evil in the land, working mischief’
(Quran 26:181–3). A companion of the Prophet also reports the
following story, ‘I and Makhrafah al-Abdi imported some garments
from Hajar, and brought them to Mecca. The Apostle of Allah (peace
be upon him) came to us walking, and after he had bargained with
us for some trousers, we sold them to him. There was a man who
was weighing for payment. The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon
him) said to him: Weigh out and give overweight’ (Hadith).
4. Money market. To inspect the money market and to make sure

that coins are produced to exact measures and specifications and
to ensure that a balance is achieved between the amount of money
available in the market and the economic situation in the country to
ensure stability of prices.
5. Deals and transaction. To thwart unlawful deals and transactions

and to prevent the sale of products declared impermissible in
Islam. Examples of unlawful transactions include, as instructed by
the Prophet (peace be upon him): ‘The price paid for a dog, the
price given to a soothsayer, and the hire paid to a prostitute are not
lawful’ (Hadith).
6. Prevention of monopoly. To prevent monopolies and to force

traders to sell at equal value if there is a need to do so.
7. Brokers and middlemen. To oversee the operations of brokers and

middlemen and to prevent them from selling until they know who
the seller is and to document that information in their books in
order to ensure that what is being sold is not stolen, disputed, taken
by force or acquired through any other illegal means.
8. The production of meat. To supervise the slaughter of animals,

making sure that these are free from disease, to prevent butchers
from blowing between the skin and the body of the animal when it
is being skinned to avoid human breath from changing the flavour
of the meet, to ensure the place where the meat is prepared and
sold is clean, and that adequate procedures are used to preserve
meat.
9. Women’s markets. To appoint trustworthy men or women to

supervise women’s markets and to prevent men from going into
women’s markets or sitting in their paths.
Market Manners in Islam
Islam provides clear guidelines for how people, both buyers and sellers, should
behave once they are in a market. These guidelines were reflected and expressed
in the behaviour of Prophet Mohammad when he entered, organized and
supervised trade in the early Islamic markets in Medina where the Islamic state
was established. The following is a description of some of these guidelines.
1. Upon entering a market a person should begin by reciting a prayer

praising Allah, acknowledging His unity, and testifying that all
good is in His hand.
2. Once inside a person should not shout or raise his voice. The
Prophet Mohammad was described in the Quran as ‘You are neither
discourteous, harsh, Nor a noise-maker in the markets’(Hadith).
Markets should be kept clean. Hygiene is one of the best-known
teachings of Islam.
3. Dwellers in the market are strongly encouraged to greet each other

even if they are strangers. The Islamic greeting is ‘Peace be upon
you’. Greetings are seen as a means for entering paradise. ‘You shall
never enter paradise until you believe and you shall not believe
until you love one another, shall I tell you about something which,
if you do, [will] make you love one another: make salutations
common amongst you’ (Hadith).
4. When an armed a person enters the market he should secure his

weapon in order not to hurt others. The Prophet asks that ‘Whoever
passes through our mosques or markets with arrows should hold
them by their heads lest he should injure a Muslim’ (Hadith).
5. People should refrain from sitting on roadsides. Women should

also abstain from actions that could attract the attention of men such
as wearing jewellery and using make up. ‘If you have to sit at all,
then fulfil the rights of the road … Keeping the eye downward (so
that you may not stare at the women), refraining from doing harm,
exchanging greetings, and commanding the good and forbidding
the evil’ (Hadith).
6. Even if a Muslim is busy running his trade he shouldn’t isolate

himself from what goes on in his community. He should be an
active participant in the community affairs.
7. A trader needs to be knowledgeable of the art and conduct of

trade and of the permissible and forbidden in religion (Halal and
Haram). This is in order to protect him from falling victim to trade
misconduct. Omar Ibn Alkhattab, the second Muslim caliph, says
‘No one sells in our market accept he who has knowledge of the
religion’ (Hadith).
8. The freedom of the market must be protected from all types of

transgression. There are many teachings in that regard. After the
Prophet chose the location for the marketplace he said ‘this is
your market, its size shouldn’t be made smaller and no tax should
be imposed on it.’ When one of his companions erected a tent in
the new market to sell dates the Prophet ordered that the tent be
burned because that act was seen as a transgression on the market
as public property where all people are equal and no one has claim.
The second caliph did the same with a blacksmith who occupied
an extra part of the same market. Moreover, it is forbidden to meet
products before they arrive at the market because it is in the market
that the price is set between all buyers and all sellers. The prophet
clearly requested traders to abstain from hurrying to meet incoming
trade caravans saying ‘Do not meet the merchant in the way and
enter into business transaction with him, and whoever meets him
and buys from him (and in case it is done, see) that when the owner
of (merchandise) comes into the market (and finds that he has been
paid less price) he has the option (to declare the transaction null
and void)’ (Hadith). This prohibition is implemented to allow the
market to do its job in setting the right price.
9. False bidding is when one or more would bid higher without an

intention to buy in order to deceive the buyer into paying a higher
price for the product. This type of behaviour is known in Islam as
Najash and the Prophet has declared it impermissible.
10. The trade in goods from disputed sources is forbidden. For example,
stolen goods and goods taken by force are not accepted into the
Islamic market.
Islamic Marketing Defined
The term ‘Islamic marketing’ can be understood in several ways. It can be seen
as religion-based marketing, marketing within Islamic markets or marketing to
or from Islamic markets. Each of these views has its defining characteristics and
implications. However, in order to appreciate the difference between them the
terms ‘Islamic market’, ‘non-Islamic market’, ‘Islamic products’ and ‘Islamic
company’ need to be understood.
The Islamic Market
In general, an Islamic market is where the target consumer is a Muslim. A

Muslim consumer is one who is a follower of the religion of Islam. Although
this definition is broad enough to include Muslim countries as well as Muslim
communities in non-Muslim countries, it fails to account for the emerging
segment of non-Muslim consumers adopting Islamic products. A more precise
definition of the term ‘Islamic market’ would be one that accounts for Muslim
majorities, minorities and non-Muslim consumers of Islamic products. More
precisely, the Islamic market is composed of primary, secondary and emerging.
Primary Islamic markets
This is a market where the majority of the population of a country or a region

follows the religion of Islam. Currently, these countries are members of the
Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). The OIC has a membership of 57
states representing Asia, Africa and Europe. In these markets the word Halal is
not commonly used since it is taken for granted that all available products are
Halal. These markets can be classified as the primary Islamic markets where the
majority of consumers are Muslims and the products sold are Halal.
Secondary Islamic markets
The Islamic market is also composed of significant Muslim minorities in most

countries of the world. These minorities range from a few hundred million in
India to a few thousand in some of the newly independent states. Contrary to
the situation in Islamic states, the catchword for these minorities is Halal and all
shops and service providers add this word on their business signs. For example,
in addition to the sign that says OPEN, another one next to it will say HALAL.
The word Halal in these markets is sometimes overused as a marketing tool. To
illustrate, a colleague of mine saw a sign beside a street seller in the UK that
read Halal Miswak. A Miswak is a branch of a certain tree used by Muslims as a
natural toothbrush! In this case, as in many others, there is no need to advertise
the product as being Halal since there is no Haram Miswak; a Miswak is Halal by
nature. This example, however, describes the state of affairs in these minorities
where a less than adequate understanding of Islam prevails and, at the same
time, shows the strength of the religious appeal of products in minorities where
the concept of identity might be associated with consuming or being affiliated
with certain products or consumption patterns.
Emerging Islamic markets
A small yet rapidly evolving market for Islamic products is comprised of some
of the adherents of other religions in non-Muslim countries. This growing
segment represents consumers who have been exposed to Halal products in
their home country. For example, many of the customers of the British Islamic
Bank, which is a fully Shariah-compliant bank, are Christians. Many of the
customers of Halal shops in Western countries are not Muslims. Some go to
these shops because they claim the flavour of meat sold there is different due
to the strict Islamic guidelines detailing how an animal should be prepared
for consumption, some go there for the experience of being in a shop that is
different, stuffed with all of these exotic products and strange brands, and run
by different people, while others go there because of the influence of living in
or near Islamic communities.
Non-Islamic Markets
Non-Islamic markets are those where the target consumers adhere to religions
other than Islam. This definition includes, in addition to countries where the
majority of the population is not Muslim, non-Muslim minorities in Islamic
countries. For example, 3 per cent of the population in Jordan is Christian,
about the same percentage of the population in Egypt is Coptic Christian and
nearly 40 per cent of the population of Malaysia is non-Muslim. There are non-
Muslim minorities in almost all Islamic countries. None-Islamic minorities’
markets are sometimes similar to Islamic markets in their consumption
patterns. Christian minorities in the Arab world are a good example. In fact,
judging by the consumption patterns of these minorities, it is very difficult to
know who is a Christian and who is not. All of them consume Halal products.
The Islamic Product
An Islamic product can be understood in three ways: according to Shariah-

compliance, place of production or manufacturer.
Shariah-compliant products
These are products that are manufactured and promoted as Shariah-compliant,

i.e., Halal. They are produced and consumed mainly in the primary and secondary
Islamic markets and they are rarely known in non-Islamic markets. However,
many non-Islamic multinationals produce Halal brands that are specifically
destined to Islamic markets. Many of Nestlé’s products are being produced
according to Halal principles and are being heavily advertised and distributed
to Muslim consumers in both secondary and primary Islamic markets. The
same products can be found on the shelves of numerous stores in non-Islamic
markets since making these products Islamic required minimum changes to
the production process, or the use of alternative yet similar ingredients.
Products produced in an Islamic country
These products are produced in an Islamic country. Their classification as such

is based on the location where they are being manufactured. Almost all of these
products are Halal since they are destined for local or regional Islamic markets.
Only a small portion of them is exported to secondary Islamic markets. These
products are not promoted as Islamic and the descriptions ‘Islamic’ and ‘Halal’
are almost never mentioned. This is due to the fact that the word ‘Islamic’ is
understood from a religious perspective among Muslims and these companies
never intended to be understood as religious companies. There is no need for
such a concept.
On the other hand, some of the products produced in Islamic countries

are actually un-Islamic, including alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and indecent
media materials. These, of course, cannot be classified under this category of
products.
Products produced by an Islamic company
These products are produced by an Islamic company. Mecca Cola which is

supposed to rival Coca-Cola is produced by a company that capitalizes on
Muslim sentiments to make gains in the marketplace. The company promotes
itself as an entirely Islamic company. However, an examination of the brand
name Mecca clearly reveals that the choice of the name Mecca is un-Islamic
in the sense that it is demeaning to a very secret Islamic place. The company
clearly went too far in commercializing a purely religious concept. This was
recognized later when people began seeing piles of empty bottles of the ‘Islamic
Soft Drink’ with the name Mecca highly visible on them scattered around trash
containers.
The Islamic company
An Islamic company, much like an Islamic product, can be understood in

different ways: according to the type of its products, its location, its ownership
or its intended customers. It can be a specialized company producing Shariah-
compliant products, a company located in an Islamic country, a company
owned by Muslims regardless of its location or a company producing mainly
for Islamic markets regardless of its ownership.
Islamic company by product
Companies that specialize in the production or distribution of products

that comply with the teachings of Islam, i.e., Halal, are classified as Islamic
companies. These companies might be located anywhere and owned by
anyone. The key differentiating criterion in this category of companies is that

their products are manufactured as Shariah-compliant. Clearly, their main
target market is consumers in one or more of the three types of Islamic market:
primary, secondary and emerging.
Islamic company by location
Companies whose main business operations are located in Muslim countries

are also considered as Islamic companies, regardless of their type of ownership
or customer base, which could be a mixture of both Islamic and non-Islamic
customers. Examples of companies that qualify for this category include the
Saudi dairy producer MARAI, SABIC and ARAMCO, the Emarati Etisalat and
Dubai Ports and the Egyptian Orascom and Ceramica Cleopatra. Although the
bulk of these companies’ businesses are Shariah-compliant, some caution is
necessary since some of the companies classified in this category specialize in
producing or providing un-Islamic goods or services. A good example would
be the commercial banking sector which provides interest-based financial
services, an absolutely forbidden business in Islam. Another example would be
all the alcoholic beverages businesses located in the various Islamic companies.
Islamic company by ownership
Companies owned by Muslim shareholders are classified sometimes as Islamic

companies. However, one should be careful in making this assumption since
many of these companies have operations that are un-Islamic or non-Shariah
complaint. Casinos, wineries, nightclubs, bars and betting businesses owned
by Muslims shouldn’t be classified as Islamic since their core business is totally
outlawed by the religion of Islam. To relate these businesses to Islam and to
classify them as Islamic would create a paradox since Islam strongly condemns
all of their activities, profits and personnel.
Islamic company by customer
Companies that produce to capitalize on and meet the needs of Muslim

consumers, regardless of the location of these consumers, or the location of
the companies themselves and their types of ownership are also classified as
Islamic. Nestlé is being increasingly perceived among Muslim consumers as
being an Islamic company because the company Islamized nearly 70 per cent of
its production operations, i.e., uses Halal processes and ingredients.
This category of companies could also include Islamic-friendly companies.

Pepsi-Cola was once perceived by Muslim consumers as being supportive to
Muslims because it abided by the Arab boycott of Israel, in contrast to Coca-
Cola which decided not to abide. More recent examples of companies stamped
as un-Islamic are Danish companies in general because of the drawings
which were published by a Danish newspaper, which Muslims interpreted as
demeaning to Mohammad, the Prophet of Islam. This stigma has lost Danish
businesses that have major business operations in Muslim countries much of
their market share and cost them dearly.
Religion-based Marketing: Shariah-compliant Marketing
Within Islamic markets, adding the word ‘Islamic’ to marketing will be

understood to mean Shariah-compliant practices, i.e., adhering to the teachings
of Islam regarding all facets of trade, applying Islamic business ethics and
observing the market manners as dictated by the religion of Islam. A good
demonstration of this understanding is the clear differentiation that exists
between commercial banks and Islamic banks in the Muslim world. Prior to
the establishment of the first Islamic bank in the late 1960s only one type of
bank existed as far as Muslims were concerned. These banks implemented the
Western banking system and practices and had no provisions to incorporate
the specific needs of the increasing number of practising Muslim consumers
who were reluctant to deal with non-Islamic banks. Before that time the market
didn’t envision a need to provide an alternative financial system that would
cater to the needs of the increasingly affluent Muslim consumer. As such,
banks were known to be only the banks. However, once the sector of Shariah-
complaint banking and finance emerged there was a need to differentiate this
newly thriving business stream from conventional banking. The new banks are
now known as Islamic banks.
Another example of religion-based marketing is Al-Islami Cooperative

brand in the United Arab Emirates where the product is Halal, the owners and
customers are locals, and the location is within a Muslim country.
The marketing strategies of companies pursuing religion-based marketing

are based on the religious appeal and the power of religion to attract. The
words Islam and Halal are clearly visible in the marketing campaigns that are
carried out by these companies.
Local Islamic Marketing: Marketing within Islamic Markets
This type of marketing is concerned with the practices that are carried out
by marketers within the Islamic markets and directed mainly at Muslim
consumers. All marketing activities are aimed at consumers within the primary
and secondary Islamic markets. No noticeable efforts have been made yet to
direct these activities at the emerging Islamic markets, i.e., non-Muslims buying
Islamic products. The typical seller and buyer are Muslims. The brands that
are being advertised are mostly Halal, the brand owners are most likely to be
Muslims and the location is either local or regional, i.e., the Middle East, North
Africa or any single Islamic country or Islamic community in a non-Islamic
country. This type of marketing is sensitive to culture but not necessarily
based on religion. The words Islam and Halal are rarely used in the marketing
campaigns of companies in this category. It is highly likely that these firms
will remain local; very few of them will be significant players in international
markets that are different in terms of culture and religion.
International Islamic Marketing: Marketing To or From Islamic

Markets
Marketing activities in this category are carried out by multinational companies

targeting Muslim consumers in the various Islamic markets, or by Islamic
companies targeting international markets outside the Islamic market. When
a company (by product, location, ownership or location, as defined earlier)
markets outside of the Islamic world it is classified as an Islamic company and
its activities are interpreted as such, i.e., Islamic. The criterion used to classify
these companies as Islamic is based on their location. Although they are
classified as Islamic, they might not be using the Islamic marketing principles
as outlined by the religion of Islam.
On the other hand, marketing activities carried out by multinationals

targeting Islamic markets are classified as Islamic only because their target
consumer is either a primary or secondary Islamic market. Since these
companies were not established in the first place to serve the Muslim consumer
and since the particular needs of the Muslim consumer were recognized much
later by them, many of their operations, processes and products remain Shariah
non-compliant. Some of the companies that trade with the Islamic world
manufacture both Halal products intended for Islamic markets and almost
identical, yet non-compliant, products intended for non-Muslim customers.
Multinationals usually ignore the emerging Islamic market for several

reasons. These markets are difficult to identify and reach and in many cases
they are not sizeable enough to be visible to serve. Moreover, specially designed
marketing campaigns need to be developed to target them which might push
prices sharply up.
Conclusion
The pre-Islamic definition of a Souq or Souk used to be an actual designated

place where selling occurs. However, the Islamic concept of a market is much
more inclusive because it is tied to the transaction itself, not the place. It is
defined as anywhere and any time a sale occurs. Pre-Islamic Arabs, endowed
with a strategic location, were professional traders and had many well-known
markets including Souq Hajar, Souq Aukaz, Souq Marbad and Souq Eden
among many others located on various trade routes in Iraq, Syria, Yemen,
Bahrain, Oman and what is now known as Saudi Arabia. These markets served
as a place where goods from China, Africa and Europe were traded, in addition
to being a meeting place where people from various cultures interact. Although
these markets played a central role in unifying the Arabic culture and language,
many of them where under the authority of the major neighbouring powers of
that time, such as the Persian and the Byzantine empires.
Islamic marketing, on the other hand, addresses the current marketing

thought and practice within the overall frame work of the religion of Islam.
It studies how Muslim markets’ behaviour is shaped by various religious and
cultural concepts affecting almost all economic decisions in these markets.
Doing business successfully with Islamic markets requires that the prevalent
conventional marketing knowledge be tailored to comply with the requirements
of Islamic markets. In other words, the current marketing thought and practice
needs to wear a turban, a veil or at least a head scarf in order to appeal to these
markets.
When Islam established its state in the Arabian Peninsula the organization
of these markets became a priority to all Muslim leaders, beginning with the
Prophet Mohammad himself who was a merchant prior to Prophethood. Many
of the Muslim caliphs also were merchants before becoming heads of state.
There are numerous verses in the Quran and teachings in the Sunnah that
guide adherents on how to organize their markets and conduct their trade. In
the Islamic state a market governor, Muhtasib, was appointed to oversee the
overall operations of the market and to ensure that all deals and transactions
were conducted in line with the teachings of Islam, i.e., no monopoly, no
cheating, fair price, standard weights and measures, no exploitation of people,
land or animals, and so on. The Muhtasib, although appointed by the state, was
a fully independent job and its decisions were not influenced by anyone in the
State. It was very much like the position of a judge. Being such a demanding
and sensitive job the Muhtasib had to be a man or a woman of good character
as well as have deep knowledge about markets and how they operate. Islam
provides clear guidelines for how people, both buyers and sellers, should
behave once they are in a market. These guidelines include special prayers,
greetings, lowering one’s voice, hygiene, handling of arms and responsibility
towards community, as well as many others.
The concept of Islamic marketing can be understood in several ways.

It can be seen as religion-based marketing, local Islamic marketing or
international Islamic marketing. Each of these has its defining characteristics
and implications. Closely related terms to Islamic marketing include ‘Islamic
market’, ‘non-Islamic market’, ‘Islamic products’ and ‘Islamic company’. Each
one of these terms can also be understood in several ways. An Islamic market
in general, e.g., can be divided into primary, secondary and emerging markets
while non-Islamic markets can be defined as those where the target consumers
adhere to religions other than Islam. An Islamic product could be one that is
Shariah-compliant, produced in an Islamic country or produced by an Islamic
company. An Islamic company could be one that specializes in producing
Shariah-compliant products, is located in an Islamic country, is owned by
Muslims regardless of its location or is producing mainly for Islamic markets
regardless of its ownership.
Religion-based marketing
Shariah-based marketing.
Local Islamic marketing
Marketing within Islamic markets.
International Islamic marketing
Marketing to or from Islamic markets.
References
AdnKronosinternational (2008) ‘France: Senate looks at easing limits on Muslim

finance.’ 23 December. Retrieved 23 February 2011 from http://www.
adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Business/?id=3.0.2846242034.
Aldraiweesh (1989). Market Rules in Islam. Alam Alkutub Publishing, Riyadh,
1st edition.
Hill, Donald. (1984). A History of Engineering in Classical and Medieval Times.
New York: Routledge.
Ibn Khaldun (1967) Muqaddima, ed. and trans. F. Rosenthal. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press.
Said Al Afghani (1993). Arab Markets in Jahiliayah and in Islam. Kuwait: Alauruba
Publishing House.
Stone, Caroline. (1977). ‘The Muhtasib’, Saudi Aramco World, September/
October. pp. 22–25
.
Part 2
The Islamic
Marketing Mix
3
The Islamic Product (Tayyibat)
he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from
what is bad (and impure) ...
Quran 7:157
Eat of the Tayyibât (good lawful things) wherewith We have provided

you, and commit no transgression or oppression therein …
Quran 20:81
Allah has prescribed certain obligations for you, so do not neglect them;
He has defined certain limits, so do not transgress them; He has prohibited
certain things, so do not do them; and He has kept silent concerning other
things out of mercy for you and not because of forgetfulness, so do not ask
questions concerning them.
The Prophet Mohammad
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

• Differentiate between an Islamic product
and a conventional product
• Understand the principles guiding product
decisions within an Islamic context
• Understand the Tayyib, the Khabeth, the Halal
and the Haram and their guiding rules
• Understand the Islamic product hierarchy
• Understand the concept of harmful products and
the Islamic legislation for their disposal.
Halal … or Not Halal
Whilst food and drinks must be Halal, or Shariah-compliant, most technology

and other products don’t need to be classified as Halal products. Examples
include mobile phones, watches, jewellery, transportation, and so on.
Nonetheless they are heavily promoted and sold as Islamic products. What
makes them ‘Islamic’ is that they are branded as part of the identity of the
Muslim and that they support the Islamic cause and believes. Mecca Cola
was not branded as Halal but as an Islamic product that came in a time when
emotions among Muslim consumers were running high. It was not branded as
Halal because its competitor Coca-Cola was not branded by Muslim activists as
un-Halal – or Haram – but as un-Islamic.
Halal, as will be explained throughout this chapter, indicates that a product

has been prepared according to the Shariah principles using Shariah-compliant
ingredients and processes. An Islamic product, on the other hand, is one
that inspires Muslims to be more ‘Muslim’ and one that is associated with a
Muslim’s ambitions, hopes and search for an identity in a time where when
such an identity proves elusive.
Introduction
In the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, Sunnah and related
Islamic literature, the words used to describe the English terms of products,
commodities and goods are (1) Tayyibat, (2) Rizq, (3) Mataa, (4) Zenah, (5) Sel’ah,
and (6) Bezaa’ah. These words, which are sometimes used interchangeably
in studies pertaining to the Islamic economic system, are contextually and
conceptually different to their counterparts in conventional marketing, where
the words ‘commodities’ and ‘products’ represent abstract descriptions of
benefits offered to customers – that is in the marketing mix, a product is defined
as a good or service that most closely meets the requirements of a particular
market or segment and yields enough profit to justify its continued existence
(Businessdictionary 2010). The Islamic alternative terms, aside from Sel’ah and
Bezaa’ah, which are similar in their meaning and use to those in the English
language (goods), go much deeper than the abstract and the materialistic to
describe the richer spiritual and psychological associations of the offering. The
term Tayyibat, e.g., refers to purity, wholesomeness and lawfulness while the term
Rizq (sustenance) refers to the source of the Tayyibat, Allah, who also describes
himself as Tayyib and who is the sole and undisputed provider of sustenance.
T h e I s l a mi c P ro d u c t (Tay y i bat) 55
The Rizq is used to denote the following meanings: Godly sustenance, divine
bestowal, godly provision and heavenly gifts.
The terms Mattaa and Zenah describe the worldly uses or purposes of these
products. Mataa comes from an Arabic word which means fun and joy while
Zenah refers to products as means of beautification and adornment.
These key differences that distinguish the Islamic marketing perspective

from that of conventional marketing and which manifest themselves in the
terms used to describe the ‘product’ have a profound impact on all product-
related decisions beginning with the choice of the brand name, functionality,
styling, quality, safety, packaging, repairs and support, and warranty, and
ending with the associated accessories and services. To add more, the Islamic
perspective on the product, aside from addressing the conventional tangible
and intangible aspects is governed by what is called in Shariah, Maqasid (aims),
which in this particular case deals with the overall consequences of the creation,
consumption and disposal of the product in both the short and the long run.
While the terms Sel’ah and Bizaa’ah are used in Arabic as generic terms
without any connotations; the terms Mataa and Zenah need to be used with
care to avoid any association with extravagance, which is condemned by the
teachings of Islam. On the other hand, Tayyibat and Rizq can be used without
restrictions, assuming of course that the product is Halal in the first place.
The Product in Conventional Marketing
In order to be able to appreciate the unique view Islam provides on all

economic matters, including marketing and the marketing mix, one must first
understand how conventional marketing has viewed these issues, including
the product as part of both the concise (4Ps)1 and the extended marketing mix
(7Ps or 8Ps2 depending on which writer you are reading). In conventional
marketing literature and practice the word ‘product’ has been mostly defined
based on its level of tangibility where offerings having mostly tangible
attributes are classified as goods and offerings having mostly intangible
attributes are classified as services. This distinction between the two is more
of a continuum rather than a dichotomy (Lefkoff-Hagiusl and Mason 1990)
and is hardly applicable in the highly developed marketplaces of today since
1 Product, price, promotion and place.

2 Product, price, promotion, place, process, productivity, people and physical evidence.
it is very difficult to find a product that can be marketed solely based on its
tangible attributes, which represent the actual attributes within the three levels
of the product: core (intangible), actual (tangible) and augmented (intangible)
as shown in Figure 3.1.
Augmented product
Warranties Customer care

Actual product
Quality Colour
Core
Delivery product Finance
‘Benefit’
Fashion Style
Branding
Services Installation
Figure 3.1 The three levels of a product
While tangibility refers to the physical existence and discernibility of

attributes or features such as colour, size and weight through one or more
senses, intangibility has been defined in terms of the abstract, beneficial and
subjective attributes of the product. Using an illustration from (Lefkoff-Hagiusl
and Mason 1990, p. 137) ‘a car can be described as large, red and luxurious.
Large and red are fundamentally tangible attributes as they describe physical
properties of the car, while luxurious is primarily an intangible attribute as it
describes beneficial and imagery aspects of the car.’
The Tayyibat
To understand the word Taiyyib (masculine; Taiyyibah is feminine) correctly we

need to understand its uses in the Arabic language, which are quiet varied.
A land is Taiyyibah if it is good for plantation, a wind is Taiyyibah if it is soft

and gentle, a meal is Taiyyibah if it is Halal, a woman is Taiyyibah if she is
righteous and honourable, a word is Taiyyibah if it is good in itself and if it
doesn’t imply bad, a town is Taiyyibah if it is safe and prosperous, a flavour
is Taiyyibah if it is free from foulness. A human who is Taiyyib is one who has
shed the badness of ignorance, bad deeds and wrongdoing and has become
learned and well mannered with good deeds. A scent is Taiyyibah if it free from
unpleasant odour. For example, a food is Taiyyib if it has been acquired from
where it should have been and as it should have been acquired, in the right
quantity, in the right place, with the right company and in the right time. To
summarize, the term Taiyyib (masculine), Taiyyibah (feminine), Taiyyibat (plural
feminine) or Taiyyibeen (plural masculine) describe everything that senses
enjoy. These terms, even in pre-Islamic markets, were never used in Arabic
to describe certain products such as alcohol, prostitution services, donkey
meat or slavery businesses, all of which were declared illegal during the life of
Prophet Mohammed (570/571–632 AD). The term has such a gentle and kind
connotations to it that made pre-Islamic Arabs refrain from using it to describe
alcohol and pork, e.g., although it could be easily argued that these appeal to
the senses of many people.
Although pre-Islamic Arabs used it correctly, a complete understanding of

the full meaning of the term Taiyyib cannot be achieved without understanding
how it has been shaped by Islam. From the Islamic religious perspective,
Taiyyibat can be defined as the goods and services that are Shariah-compliant. It
is the plural of Taiyyib, which is the opposite of Khabeeth: ‘Say (O Muhammad):
Not equal are Al-Khabîth (all that is evil and bad as regards things, deeds,
beliefs, persons and foods) and At-Taiyyib (all that is good as regards things,
deeds, beliefs, persons, foods), even though the abundance of Al-Khabîth may
please you. So fear Allâh, O men of understanding in order that you may be
successful’ (Quran 5:100).
In Islam, ‘products’ are associated with values and ethics. The word
Taiyyibat, which is mentioned in the Quran 18 times, has been explained by
Islamic scholars to carry the meanings of beauty, purity, physical and spiritual
cleanliness, and attractiveness, and it is usually used along with the word Rizq
(sustenance). Because in Islam Allah is the sole sustainer (Razzaq) and because
He is Taiyyib then Rizq –which is provided by Him – can be nothing else but
Taiyyib. Therefore, Muslims are obliged by the teachings of their religion to
make Taiyyib everything that they do, including each and every single action
leading to or involved in the making of the product.
Islamic scholars, who cannot be called scholars unless they are also
knowledgeable about the Arabic language, have introduced several closely
related definitions of what Taiyyibat means. Kahf, cited in Alrummani (n.d.),
defined them as: ‘the useful and beneficial material granted by Allah to his
servants. The consumption of these leads to material, ethical, and spiritual
benefits to the consumer.’ Turkumani (1990) defined Taiyyibat in a similar
manner but emphasized in the last part of the definition that the consumption
of these leads to material, ethical, and spiritual meanings. These definitions
make it clear that Taiyyibat is what a Muslim can benefit from in accordance
with the Shariah guidance and that Khaba’ith (plural of Khabeeth) is all that
which cannot benefit a Muslim in a Shariah-compliant manner under normal
circumstances. Under other circumstances, however, Khaba’ith can be made
use of or consumed but within the limits of ‘absolute necessity’. For example,
a Muslim is allowed to consume ‘just enough’ of a non-Shariah compliant
product, i.e., Haram, pork, e.g., to allow him to survive if he could not find any
other source of food and his survival was clearly at risk. Once this necessity is
lifted the licence to consume is cancelled and consumption of that particular
product becomes a sin.
The definitions also indicate that all products that do not result in material,
ethical or spiritual gains for the Muslim consumer will be classified as Khaba’ith.
There is no such thing as consumption for the sake of consumption itself in
Islam. All consumption decisions must generate a benefit that is accepted as
‘benefit’ under the teachings of Islam. The absence of these benefits would
render a product as Khabeeth (singular of Khaba’ith).
The distinction in Islam between these two categories of products has

significant implications for both producers and consumers. Needless to say,
Muslim consumers are not allowed to consume any product that is not from
the Taiyyibat and violation of this rule without a religiously accepted necessity
would result in a sin that might be punishable within the Islamic legal system.
For example, the punishment for the consumption of alcohol is a certain
and predetermined number of lashes. Smuggling drugs on the other hand is
punishable by death while the punishment for drug dealers begins with severe
financial or physical punishment and ends with death for repeat offenders
(IslamQA 1986; Turkumani 1990).
Since Muslim consumers are not allowed to consume Khaba’ith then it

would not make any economic sense for producers to produce such products.
In addition to the lack of economic visibility, producers are ethically bound to
produce Taiyyibat and to refrain from the production of Khaba’ith, even if what
they produce is aimed for non-Muslim markets. The Islamic rule is very clear
in this regard and it doesn’t distinguish between a Muslim and a non-Muslim
market, it is universal in nature.
However, if by some chance Khaba’ith enter the Islamic market, i.e., a

market that observes the teachings of Shariah, they will be rapidly disposed of
and thus the market remains a place where only the pure, good and beautiful
products are traded. According to the Islamic teachings, Khaba’ith (bad, impure
and unclean products) are not considered consumables, which must be Taiyyibat
(good, pure and beautiful) and therefore (Ibn-Aljawzi n.d.):
1. They should not exist in the Islamic market.
2. They cannot be priced; they are valueless and worthless.
3. They cannot be considered possessions because Muslims are not

allowed to own them.
4. They cannot be considered wealth for Muslims and therefore losing

them is not to be compensated.
In the case of non-Muslims consuming Khaba’ith within an Islamic market,

if these are considered lawful according to their own religion, then their right
to consume them is protected by the Shariah law. For example, a Christian
in an Islamic state is allowed to consume alcohol and pork but this cannot be
done through any transactions with Muslims, simply because it is not lawful
for Muslims to trade in these products (Kahf n.d.). In Dubai, e.g., there are three
conditions for acquiring a liquor licence, in addition to being an expatriate:
1. Earning in excess of AED 3,000 per month (about US$ 820).
2. Being a resident in Dubai.
3. Being a non-Muslim.
The application process takes two weeks with an application fee of AED
160 and requires the approval of the applicants sponsoring company. The
licence allows a holder to consume alcohol for one year after which it must be
renewed. In addition, liquor stores and shops cannot be owned, or operated
by Muslims. It is completely off-limits for them by both civil and by religious

laws. However, it is worth noting that this doesn’t stop some Muslims from
consuming the product.
Although so far all products were classified as either Taiyyibat or Khaba’ith,

it must be made clear that Khaba’ith cannot be considered products from an
Islamic perspective. In Islam only that which is Shariah-compliant can be
referred to as product. Any ‘product’ that by its nature is a cause of harm,
whatever form or shape that harm might take, is a forbidden ‘product’. The
word harm in this context is defined as what people consider harmful and
what Islam considers harmful and, if there is a disagreement between the two,
then the final say is what Islam says. ‘And whatsoever the Messenger gives
you, take it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it) And fear Allâh;
verily, Allâh is severe in punishment’ (Quran 59:7).
To conclude, Khaba’ith is either considered harm or a cause of harm and

Islam provides the following guidelines on how to deal with harm:
1. The removal of harm is a Shariah obligation.
2. Its removal must not involve the use of harm.
3. Specific or limited harm is tolerated for the sake of removing public

harm.
4. The least of the two harms is committed in order to avoid the other.
5. Avoidance of harm is given priority over the acquisition of benefits.
Classification of Products in Islam
The discussion has so far concentrated on clarifying the difference between

lawful and unlawful products from an Islamic perspective. However, lawful or
Taiyyibat productes have been classified by Islamic scholars into four different
levels, which are depicted in what is called the hierarchy of products in Islam as
shown in Figure 3.2. These levels are Dharuriyyat (necessities), Hajiyyat (needs),
Kamaliyyat (improvements) and Tarafiyyat (extravagances), which are Halal by
nature but might be Haram by use. Each of these needs has many implications
from a purely business perspective. For example, a company’s image could be
severely tarnished within an Islamic market if that image is closely associated

with the production of Tarafiyyat.
Producer considerations Consumer considerations
Avoid being branded as Tarafiyyat producer, Tarafiyyat (Extravagances) Wealthy Muslim consumers who are at risk of being
justify decision to produce, relatively small Goods that are considered perceived as indulgent, wasteful, and less observant of
market size, highest profits, lowest distribution extravagant and wasteful Shariah
High profits, aspiring middle class, seek brand Kamaliyyat (Improvements) Consumed to show the bounties of
differentiation Goods that contribute towards the perfection of Allah and as a sign of social class
human life
Less profits, Wide distribution, Hajiyyat (Needs) Similar to Dharuriyyat but consumed
Emphasis on quality Goods that will improve the quality of human life for their quality
Lowest profits, Widest Dharuriyyat (Necessities) Quality varies to fit consumers’

distribution, Quality varies Products necessary to satisfy basic needs, necessary for surviving purchase ability
Hierarchy of products in Islam
Figure 3.2 Hierarchy of products in Islam and their implications for

procedures and consumers
Dharuriyyat or Necessities
The concept of staying alive in Islam extends well beyond the conventional
concept of survival and encompasses the preservation of the five basic pillars of
life, that is: faith, body and soul, mind, honour and wealth. Those correspond to a
minimum amount of food and drink, clothing, basic transportation, medication
and health services, literacy, security to one’s life, honour, wealth and books.
Within an Islamic economic system these products are given priority and in
the case where the market fails to produce enough the state steps in to ensure
their availability to all citizens within the state. Once the market has reached
equilibrium, production planning gives priority to the next type of products on
the hierarchy, or the Hajiyyat.
Hajiyyat or Needs
These correspond to basic products as stated previously but differ in quality,

amount and availability. While it is the state’s duty to ensure that all citizens get
enough necessities, it is the religious responsibility of the people themselves to
move higher up the hierarchy, which in turn enables them to get better quality
and larger amounts at their convenience or whenever they wish, in addition to
other appliances that make one’s life easier. Examples of products at this level
include better food, higher-quality clothes, a larger home, home appliances,
bottled water instead of tap water, suitable public transportation, vocational

and higher education, books of all titles and counselling services.
Kamaliyyat or Improvements
The third level of the Islamic product hierarchy involves the satisfaction of the
five pillars of life using products of a higher order. For example, owning a
beautiful house in an upscale area, private transportation, expensive schooling
for children, and so on. At this level the brand name becomes much more
significant in product adoption and use.
Although a faithful Muslim cannot go beyond this level in his efforts

to achieve satisfaction, it is his religious duty to show and demonstrate the
bounties that Allah has bestowed on him by eating well, dressing beautifully
and humbly enjoying the blessings of Allah. In fact, enjoying these gifts from
Allah is a good deed that is even rewarded by Allah in both this world and
the hereafter. This enjoyment is a form of showing gratitude to the Allah, the
one who gave in the first place and a means of generating more blessings. To
explain, if Allah grants a certain wealth to a person yet that person decides to
hide it or block its use, that persona would be considered ungrateful. Allah
gives wealth to be used not to be buried: ‘And remember! Your Lord caused to
be declared (publicly): If ye are grateful, I will add more (favours) unto you; but
if ye show ingratitude, truly My punishment is terrible indeed’ (Quran 14:7).
Nonetheless, it is important to know that Kamaliyyat is a boundary area; that

is, one must not exceed what is considered a form of gratitude by consuming
or acquiring that which definitely doesn’t make one’s life clearly better. There
is no need to get a second car if one is enough. There is no need to have several
TV sets at home, extravagance aside, these will limit communication between
family members and slowly destroy the concept of a family since everyone
will want to sit alone and watch his own TV show as he pleases and without
interruption from others, even though those others are his family. A few pairs
of shoes will do nicely, why get a whole closet full of them? Why buy all the
vegetables in the market when one knows that most of it will end up thrown
away, in addition to creating unreal demand, which in turn needlessly drives
prices up and aggravates the suffering of the less advantaged in society?
Having said that, it should be clear though that Islam makes allowances
for individual and cultural differences. It acknowledges that what might be
considered pure extravagance in one culture might be seen as an improvement
or even a need in another. While a servant is a necessity for a person with

disability – during the height of the Islamic state a servant was appointed to
guide blind people on their way to mosques – it is an act of extravagance for
someone who already has enough servants, cannot afford them or cannot treat
them in accordance with teachings of Islam, which are very detailed and give
the servant a long list of rights and make him or her almost a family member.
The tipping point from improvements and into extravagancies gets closer
with each extra purchase that cannot be justified from a religious perspective.
It is exactly this point that producers should disassociate themselves from
because the description of consumption beyond it enters the forbidden zone of
Tarafiyyat, or more religiously put, showing ingratitude to Allah who expects
people to use what he provided for them to benefit life as a whole not for self-
indulgence.
To conclude, it is clear from the discussion above that producers are safe
operating at the first two levels of the Islamic product hierarchy, need to
practise caution when operating at the third level, and should be very clear on
how their product is classified in the particular Islamic market in which they
are operating when it comes to producing products that could be considered
Tarafiyyat. As a general rule, producers should carefully consider the following
guidelines when prioritizing what to produce:
1. The importance of these products in strengthening faith among

Muslims. As discussed in this book, Nestlé and other multinational
corporations are actually making Muslims more observant
because they are making them more knowledgeable about which
international brands are compliant with the teachings of their
religion.
2. Their importance in maintaining social security.
3. Their importance in the preservation of physical and mental health.
4. Their role in supporting society, through job creation for example.

What are Haram Products?
Although this book is concerned with the guiding Shariah rules to Islamic
marketing, providing a list of basic Haram products would help readers, both
Muslims and non-Muslims, appreciate the fact that only a small fraction of all
available things is actually forbidden by Shariah. Before doing that though,
readers should be aware of the Islamic principles governing Halal and Haram:
1. Permissibility of things is the rule, prohibition is the exception.
2. To permit and to prohibit is the right of Allah alone.
3. Prohibiting the Halal and permitting the Haram is wrongdoing.
4. The prohibition of things is due to their impurity and harmfulness.
5. What is Halal is sufficient, while what is Haram is superfluous.
6. Whatever is conducive to the Haram is itself Haram.
7. Falsely representing the Haram as Halal is prohibited.
8. Good intentions do not make the Haram acceptable.
9. Doubtful things are to be avoided.
10. The Haram is prohibited to everyone alike.
11. Necessity dictates exceptions.
As explained, the list is really short. The following verse from the Quran
includes many of them:
Forbidden to you (for food) are: Al-Maitah (dead animals – cattle

– beasts not slaughtered), blood, the flesh of swine, and that on
which Allâh’s Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering
(that which has been slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than
Allâh, or has been slaughtered for idols) and that which has been
killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall,
or by the goring of horns – and that which has been (partly) eaten
by a wild animal – unless you are able to slaughter it (before

its death) – and that which is sacrificed (slaughtered) on An-
Nusub (stone-altars). (Forbidden) also is to use arrows seeking
luck or decision; (all) that is Fisqun (disobedience of Allâh and
sin). This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of
your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day, I have
perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you,
and have chosen for you Islâm as your religion. But as for him
who is forced by severe hunger, with no inclination to sin (such
can eat these above mentioned meats), then surely, Allâh is Oft-
Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Quran 5:3)
In general, what is Haram in Islam could be summarized thus:
1. Animals killed as outlined in the verse above.
2. Dead animals and their products.
3. Pig products.
4. All intoxicating products.
5. Gold and silverware.
6. Silk and gold for men.
7. Riba, or charging interest on lending money.
All commercial activities related to these categories of products are to be

avoided. For example activities related to the production, distribution, sale and
consumption of liquor are forbidden and engaging in any of them is considered
a bad deed. Companies need to position themselves as far away as possible
from activities associated with these products and their ingredients, producers,
distributers both wholesalers and retailers, promoters and consumers.
Finally, these few basic categories of Haram products have subcategories

that naturally change with time due to factors such as production technologies,
inventions, changing consumption patterns and so on. To illustrate, the use of
new enzymes and preservatives which were made available by new production
technologies, or the introduction of new entertainment means, will also be
declared either Halal or Haram. This declaration is the outcome of a very strict
Islamic ruling process leading to the issuance of fatwa stating the permissibility
of a particular ingredient, process or a pattern of consumption in light of the
teachings of the Sharia principles. Updated lists of these newly developed
products could be easily obtained by visiting Islamic websites or contacting
Halal certification agencies, Islamic studies departments in universities and
Islamic endowments ministries in Islamic countries.
Conclusion
An established principle in Islam is that the things which Allah has created – all
things are created by Allah – and the benefits derived from them are basically
permissible. Nothing is Haram except what is prohibited by Shariah through its
two main sources, the Qur’an and the Sunnah (practice or saying) of Prophet
Mohammad. If these two sources don’t explicitly state the prohibition, the
original principle of permissibility applies.
In Islam the sphere of prohibited things is very small, while that of

permissible things is extremely vast. There is only a small number of texts
concerning prohibitions, while whatever is not mentioned in a religious text as
being lawful or prohibited falls under the general principle of the permissibility
of things and within the domain of Allah’s favour. In this regard the Prophet
(peace be on him) said: ‘What Allah has made lawful in His Book is halal and
what He has forbidden is haram, and that concerning which He is silent is
allowed as His favor. So accept from Allah His favor, for Allah is not forgetful
of anything’ (Hadith).
Trend-setting companies pursuing opportunities in Islamic markets will

not only keep abreast of the effects of technology and other factors on the
ingredients and processes of production of products destined for the Islamic
market, they will lead and create these effects and thus notably differentiate
themselves from other companies. Companies that are happy operating
within their own comfort zone and avoiding the Islamic market deprive their
stakeholders of the massive yet real opportunities that await in the Middle,
Near and Far East.
Key Terms:
• Islamic product
• Conventional product
• The Tayyib product
• The Khaba’ith product
• The Halal product
• The Haram product
• The Islamic product hierarchy
• Dharuriyyat (necessities)
• Hajiyyat (needs)
• Kamaliyyat (improvements)
• Tarafiyyat (extravagances).
References
Alrummani, Z. M. (n.d.). ‘The concept of Rizq Taiyyibat in Islam.’ Retrieved

30 April, 2010, from http://www.darululoom-deoband.com/arabic/
magazine/1173849312/fix3sub4file.htm.
Businessdictionary. (2010). ‘Definition of product.’ Retrieved 24 April 2010,
from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/product.html.
Ibn-Aljawzi (n.d.). The Picnic of the Eyes. Beirut: Alrisalah Foundation.
IslamQA. (1986). ‘Fatwa: Punishment of drug dealers.’ Retrieved 30 April 2010,
from http://www.islamqa.com/ar/ref/129484.
Kahf, M. (n.d.). ‘Islamic economics.’ Retrieved 30 April 2010, from http://
monzer.kahf.com/books/arabic/al-iqtisad_al-islami_ilman_wa_nizaman.pdf.
Lefkoff-Hagiusl, R. and C. H. Mason (1990). ‘The role of tangible and intangible
attributes in similarity and preference judgments.’ Advances in Consumer
Research 17: 135–43.
Turkumani, A. K. (1990). Islamic Economic System. Jeddah, Saudia Arabia:
Sawadi Library.
4
Islamic Pricing Practices
Allah is the One Who fixes prices, Who withholds, Who gives lavishly,
and Who provides, and I hope that when I meet Him none of you will have
a claim against me for any injustice with regard to blood or property.
Prophet Mohammad
Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge that the works of the Islamic scholars Yusuf
Alqardawi, mainly his book The Halal and the Haram in Islam, and Monzer
Kahf’s many works on Islamic economics proved to be particularly important
throughout the writing of this chapter.
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand Islam’s views on
pricing including:
• The role of the market in setting prices
• Pricing and sellers’ right to set prices
• Pricing and consumers’ right to acquire necessities
• Pricing as a covenant between the buyer and the seller
• Pricing as a shared responsibility between buyers and sellers.
70 The Principles of Islamic Marketinge
Consumers as Price Setters
The true spirit of Islamic teachings on pricing can best be illustrated in the
following story that happened during the early days of the Islamic state. The
companion of the Prophet, Jareer Ibn Abdullah (died circa 671 AD), said ‘We
made a covenant to the Prophet, may peace be upon him, that we listen and obey
and give advice to all Muslims’. Jareer, may Allah be pleased with him, sent his
servant to buy a horse. The servant found a horse for 300 dirhams and brought
it back along with the seller so that his master could complete the purchase and
give the seller the money. When Jareer saw the horse he estimated that it was
worth much more than the agreed price; he told the seller that the horse was
worth more and offered the seller 400 dirhams. The seller agreed. Then Jareer
offered 500 and the seller agreed again. Jareer kept on raising the price until
it reached 800 dirhams and gave that amount to the seller. The servant was
bewildered by the act of his master and asked him why did he do that? Jareer
explained that he made a covenant to the Prophet to give advice to all Muslims
and therefore that was the only right thing to be done: to inform the seller, his
Muslim brother, the accurate price of the horse.
The longest verse of the Qur’an deals with commercial contracts involving
immediate and future payments:
O you who believe! When you contract a debt for a fixed period, write
it down. Let a scribe write it down in justice between you. Let not the
scribe refuse to write as Allâh has taught him, so let him write. Let him
(the debtor) who incurs the liability dictate, and he must fear Allâh, his
Lord, and diminish not anything of what he owes. But if the debtor is
of poor understanding, or weak, or is unable to dictate for himself, then
let his guardian dictate in justice. And get two witnesses out of your
own men. And if there are not two men (available), then a man and
two women, such as you agree for witnesses, so that if one of them (two
women) errs, the other can remind her. And the witnesses should not
refuse when they are called (for evidence). You should not become weary
to write it (your contract), whether it be small or big, for its fixed term,
that is more just with Allâh; more solid as evidence, and more convenient
to prevent doubts among yourselves, save when it is a present trade
which you carry out on the spot among yourselves, then there is no sin
on you if you do not write it down. But take witnesses whenever you
make a commercial contract. Let neither scribe nor witness suffer any
harm, but if you do (such harm), it would be wickedness in you. So be
I s l a m i c P r i c i n g P r a c t i c es 71
afraid of Allâh; and Allâh teaches you. And Allâh is the All-Knower of
each and everything.’
Quran 2:282
Introduction
This chapter does not discuss the pricing strategies applied by global marketers
today and it does not determine the permissibility of these strategies from an
Islamic perspective. Readers who are looking for a pricing strategy checklist
will not find it here and will not find it anywhere else, simply because such a
list doesn’t and will never exist. All pricing strategies that are commonly used
in the marketplace are time-bound! They are variable and change with time
and according to market conditions. At any certain point in time some of them
will be more important than others while some will be obsolete altogether.
Therefore, restricting the discussion in here to these strategies will not be of
much help because it will deprive companies from the true benefits that a better
understanding of the Muslim consumer could yield. Checklists work well with
tools and machines, not with consumers.
Rather than presenting a seemingly attractive, yet oversimplified checklist,

this chapter provides timeless guidelines for setting pricing strategies, an
approach that is in line with the core teachings of Islam. There is a story narrated
about the Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, in which he ordered his
companions not to pollinate female palm trees and the crop failed the next
year; it ends with the statement by the Prophet: ‘You are more knowledgeable
about your worldly affairs.’ Therefore, it would not be Islamic to say that there
is a set of predetermined Islamic pricing strategies for marketers to abide by;
it is truer to say that there are predetermined guidelines which help Muslim
sellers and buyers establish a healthy relationship. These guidelines could be
used by marketers to develop pricing strategies that suit their particular market
circumstances and, at the same time, comply with the aims of the Shariah which
are supposed to ultimately lead to establishing a Godly planet that is governed
by equality, peace, tranquillity and prosperity.
Although the discussion above might seem idealistic and vague, and the
goals might appear to be too big to ponder about achieving them, the rules
provided by the Shariah makes this task a whole lot easier because they
draw the road map not to an unachievable market utopia but to market as an
organization built around humans and managed by them.
The Market as a Price-setting Mechanism
Since Islam accepts markets as the basic coordinating mechanism of the

economic system in the Islamic state its teachings seek to guarantee the flow
of goods and services between the consumers and suppliers of this market
at a mutually agreed and acceptable price. The Islamic teachings begin with
stressing that trade is a welcome activity and that all traders and consumers
should be allowed to engage in free exchange within the market. It also
protects private ownership against all kinds of transgression whether by the
state itself or by competitors or consumers and it incriminates violations of all
valid contracts – those that do not violate Islamic teachings. In fact, the longest
verse of the Quran deals with commercial contracts involving immediate and
future payments.
In principle, the Islamic market should be free to respond to the market

forces operating within it and reflecting the aggregate influence of buyers
and sellers on the price and the quantity of the offered products. Thus, when
Mohammad was asked to set the price of goods in a market he responded, ‘I
will not set such a precedent, let the people carry on with their activities and
benefit mutually …’ This Hadith clarifies that unnecessary interference in the
freedom of individuals is considered an injustice from which one – whether
government, private institution or individual – should distance himself from
so that one should meet Allah free the guilt of unwarranted interference in the
market.
However, if any artificial forces, such as hoarding and manipulation of

prices, interfere in the natural operation of the market, public interest takes
precedence over the freedom of the parties behind this interference. In such a
situation price control by the Muhtasib – the market supervisor in an Islamic
market – becomes permissible in order to protect consumers from unethical
pricing practices.
Muslim scholars are mostly in agreement that the prohibition of price

control is restricted by the prevailing market circumstances and subject to
the general Islamic rules of removing harm and preventing injustice. In other
words, price control may at times be unjust and prohibited, and at other times
may be just and permissible; it all depends on the nature of these circumstances.
If price control results in the sale of goods at an unacceptable price that denies
traders the reasonable profit permitted by Allah, interference and price
control becomes Haram. If, on the other hand, price control leads to equity in
the market, e.g., by making sellers accept a price equal to that set by other
comparable products, then that control is Halal. It is important to know here
that a comparable product includes not only the final offering but all activities
involved in making that offering or product available to the Muslim consumer
including country of origin, logistics, quality and so on. Sei’ru elmithl or ‘the
price of the equivalent’ is the term used to denote the price of these products,
a price that is referred to when the price of a product is disputed. Accordingly,
if a product was being sold without any wrong-doing or unethical market
practices but the price rose due to uncontrollable factors such as scarcity then,
price control, if practised, would need to be done in a way that doesn’t deny
traders their reward for bringing this product into the market.
Nonetheless, price control is most likely to take place when the well-being
of the society is put at risk and basic products such as education, medicine, food,
clothes and shelter are most likely to be subject to such a control. For example,
cashew nuts, which are considered mostly a luxury or extravagance product,
are more likely to be 100 per cent subject to market forces while bread, sugar,
rice and other basic sustenance products will be subject to more monitoring
and price controls. This difference between products that are more or less
likely to be subject to price controls has significant implications for companies
working within the Islamic markets since it affects their margins and mark-ups
and their promotion practices.
Sellers’ Right to Set Prices vs. Consumers’ Right to Acquire

Necessities
A company must recognize that, in an Islamic market, market forces are

free to dominate only until the ‘freedom’ of the consumer is put at risk, e.g.,
jeopardizing the consumer’s right to healthy food, suitable medication or
proper education. Once these or other rights that are considered by the Shariah
as undisputed, natural and acquired by birth are threatened the Islamic state
is obliged to end the threat. Therefore, companies should be aware that their
ability to manoeuvre within this market is subject to the products they sell and
to the type of their operations, e.g., if they operate at the high end of the market
at the Tarafiyyat or extravagancies level – see Chapter 3 – they will most likely
be free to set their prices but if they operate at the basic product levels such
as those mentioned above then there is always a possibility of restrictions on
operations and limits on setting prices.
Within the Islamic market, the concept of freedom – including the freedom
to set prices – can be described as responsible freedom, the concept of unlimited
and unrestricted freedom as expressed in the free market philosophy is rejected
in all dealings among people. In a market sense, more freedom for one means
less freedom for another. If a seller has total freedom then a buyer will not have
a choice other than to submit to the seller’s will, otherwise how can a seller be
described as being totally free if he cannot enforce his freedom? A free market
assumes that the power of buyers is equal to that of sellers thus creating market
balance, which could not be further from the truth since there are very few
examples in the history of business on this planet when buyers were actually
able as a mass to take action; they are usually left at the mercy of traders whose
objective is mainly to profit, although it is not so plainly expressed.
In conclusion, responsible freedom in Islam as opposed to the freedom

granted to traders in a free market, translates into responsible pricing where
the sellers’ right to make profits does not affect he buyers’ rights to a decent life.
The Covenant Between the Buyer and the Seller
Three terms are used in the Quran to describe transactions between people
themselves and between people and Allah. These are Mithaq (covenant), Ahid
(also covenant) and Aqid (contract; the plural is Auqood). In Islam all Shariah-
compliant transactions are covenants approved by God and must be honoured
by all those who agreed to their terms. These transactions become religious
obligation and therefore must be fulfilled regardless of the involved parties.
There are many verses in the Quran and numerous teachings by Prophet
Mohammad that encourage the fulfilment of covenants and contracts. For
example: ‘Verily, the covenant will be questioned about’ (Quran 17:34), and the
opening of Sura Ma’edah or Chapter 5 in the Quran: ‘O you who believe! Fulfil
(your) obligations’ (Quran 5:1).
Although covenants tend to describe the Godly part in the human affair
while contracts deal with the much more materialistic part of that affair,
together they create a Godly affair, i.e., transaction that is witnessed and
approved by God. As such, all parts of that affair must be pleasing to God –
Allah – including price or its equivalent in the case of commercial transactions.
Putting it more simply, buyers and sellers do not transact with each other, they
transact with God. In other words, a seller doesn’t transact with a buyer, he
transacts with God, and a buyer doesn’t transact with a seller, he transacts with
God. Since Allah becomes the first party to the exchange, the second party –
the seller or the buyer – is obliged more than ever to purify all aspects of that
exchange and endeavour to the best of his ability as a human being to please
Allah. The second part to the exchange must exercise and embody qualities
that are commonly overlooked among traditional buyers and sellers. These
qualities include, but not limited to, generosity, kindness, eagerness to help
others gain from the dealing, and easy dealing. Prophet Mohammad gives a
clear guideline in this regard: ‘May Allah’s mercy be on one who is generous
(pliable, propitious, good-hearted) when he buys, generous when he sells, and
generous when he sues).’
All parties to the exchange are required to make sure that they all benefit,
it would be un-Islamic for anyone of them to gain while knowing that another
will lose. It is a must in Islam that such knowledge is shared and that all parties
are informed about all matters that might affect their decision to engage in
the exchange. No information is to be held in this regard: ‘He who is asked
something he knows and conceals it will have a bridle of fire put on him on the
Day of Resurrection’ (Prophet Mohammad).
The Buyer–Seller Shared Responsibility for Pricing
A central teaching is Islam is that ‘One of you will not be a believer until he
likes for his brother what he likes for himself’ (Prophet Mohammad). Within
the business context this Hadith commands both sellers and buyers to have
compassion for each other or, in other words, to put themselves in each other’s
shoes. Before settling on a price or a price range a seller must think of himself as
a buyer and then determine what equitable price he would be willing to pay for
the product bearing in mind that he knows its total cost to him as a seller and
that he knows its real worth in economic value. Only then he should proceed
with setting the price: setting a price that he would like to pay himself.
The responsibility for pricing doesn’t end at the seller’s end; the buyer is
equally responsible. The buyer should put himself in the seller’s place and then
determine the equitable price he would be setting for the product. Both the
buyer and the seller must also be willing to engage in a win–win exchange
were the buyer allows the seller to make sufficient gains and the seller allows
the buyer to acquire the desired product without being burdened by too high
a price or total costs.
Adding the religious dimension to pricing as shown above transforms

the buyer–seller relationship and its various dimensions into a religiously
rewarding and mutually beneficial one. Sellers’ prices will no longer be seen
as exploitive and consumers will no longer think of themselves as being the
subject of this exploitation. The prevailing enmity and mistrust between the
two will be replaced by a relationship of trust and support, the two most
important ingredients of business continuity.
Implication for Businesses
Businesses operating in Muslim markets need to pay special attention to how

they set their prices and in what price levels to operate. They must:
1. Demonstrate and create the awareness that their prices are fair to
them, to consumers, and to the world. These prices must not lead
to the depletion of natural resources or result in ruination in the
earth. Such ruination could be pollution, extravagant consumption
patterns, moral degradation, and so on.
2. Avoid excessive profit margins since these could be misinterpreted

to be unfair or greedy, two traits that are strongly condemned in
Islam.
3. Since Muslim markets, like all other markets, are composed of

consumers with varying purchasing powers, a company could
build goodwill by providing good quality products at affordable
prices to the less advantaged among those consumers.
4. Consumers in the Muslim market are weary of the prevalent – but

not necessarily Islamic – bargaining nature of these markets. Even
consumers who get good deals seem to think that they have not done
so. That is one of the reasons why big retailers such as Carrefour are
thriving in these markets. Their fixed prices provide comfort and
peace of mind to their Muslim consumers who otherwise would
have negotiated the price of most of their purchases. Although the
sign ‘Bargain Shop’ might be alluring in the West where such shops
are a rarity, it is counter productive in the Muslim market where
consumers are under the impression that they are the losing party
in this affair.
Conclusion
In line with the teachings of Islam which greatly value the traits of forgiveness
and generosity in all affairs, Muslim consumers are compelled to be flexible
in their dealings and might even tolerate a higher price if a good cause is
presented, such as financial difficulties the seller is facing or the fact that the
seller is known to support a religious-related cause. However, marketers are
warned that the same teachings ask customers to be vigilant and to avoid being
exploited. This presents a pricing challenge for sellers since the line between
exploitation by sellers and a fair and equitable price is mostly subjective and in
many cases blurred. A company’s pricing strategies should be distanced from
the fuzzy pricing range where a price might seem to be exploitive of consumers’
needs or their unawareness. In a Muslim market where almost all matters are
judged from a religious point of view a price that is perceived to be unfair by
the masses becomes un-Islamic by definition, which will also stamp dealings
with the seller that are not absolutely necessary as un-Islamic.
Although higher margins are allowed, many Muslim scholars suggest that
a margin of 30 per cent or less would result in a fair price. In a market where
the Muslim consumer understands and lives the Islamic values the market
will be free from extravagant purchase and consumption patterns and thus
the government need not interfere in setting prices as a way to control market
forces. The market can be left to operate independently and freely from such
interference.
It is the religious duty of sellers and buyer to act responsibly. The seller is
to be generous and giving when determining the price of his offering and the
buyer is asked to be no less generous and giving when purchasing such an
offering. The relationship between the two is not based on the price level, it is
based on whether God is pleased with it or not. The Generous, which is one
of God’s 99 names in Islam, commands generosity and forbids stinginess. A
seller’s concern must not be seen to be selling at the highest possible price and
the buyer’s concern must not be that of dragging down the price. Based on their
joint responsibility to set prices, sellers and buyers must strive towards setting
a fair price that above all pleases God, the Fair and Just God. Such a price
acknowledges the seller’s right to profit and the buyer’s right to acquisition.
Key Terms:
• Pricing covenant
• Pricing responsibility
• Price-setting
• Sellers’ rights
• Consumers’ rights
• Fair price
• Excessive profit
• Purchasing power.
5
Islamic Promotions and
Promoting to Muslims
Satan makes them promises and creates in them false hopes, but Satan’s
promises are nothing but deception.
Quran 2:120
For a long time, Muslim consumers have been taken for granted in
marketing strategies, and it is time to start designing communication
messages that are culture-relevant and more sensitive to their needs …
Roy Haddad, chairman and CEO of JWT MENA
Learning Objectives

• Understand the principles guiding promotions
within an Islamic context
• Understand the transformation of the holy marketers
• Understand the importance of promotions as promises
• Understand the implications of extended accountability
• Know what should or should not be included
in your marketing campaigns.
Nike Learning about Islam
The example of Nike is a good example of the importance of being sensitive

to others’ believes. In 1997, a row broke out after Nike used a logo meant to
look like flames on a line of basketball shoes to be sold in summer 1997, with
the names ‘Air Bakin’, ‘Air Melt’, ‘Air Grill’ and ‘Air B-Que’. Some Muslims
claimed that the logo resembled the word ‘Allah’ written in Arabic script.
Fearing a boycott by Muslim consumers, the company had to withdraw nearly
40,000 pairs of the shoes worldwide. The immense pressure that Nike was
under aimed, according to the Council on American–Islamic Relations’ (Cair)
executive director ‘to reinstate confidence in our community that whenever
they see something offensive, there could be something done about it.’ Nike’s
reaction to the campaign against its new line of products was to immediately
divert supplies away from Islamic countries and to discontinue production. It
had also introduced a review panel into its development process to prevent
any similar problems in the future. ‘We have, through this process, developed
a deeper understanding of Islamic concerns and Islamic issues … as our
brand continues to expand, we have to deepen our awareness of other world
communities.’
Nike had to recall all shoes carrying the logo that was perceived to be
offensive to Muslims. In exchange for the sales ban, a donation of a USD50,000
playground to an Islamic elementary school in the United States, and an
apology, Cair urged Muslims around the world not to boycott Nike products
(Jury 1997).
Not long before that, Nike had been criticized by the council for a similar
issue. In 1995, the company had to remove a billboard near the University of
Southern California that depicted a basketball player with the headline ‘They
called him Allah.’
Introduction
Perhaps there is no other religion in the history of mankind that has relied so
heavily on promotions to support its causes as much as Islam. The religion,
which was inaugurated with the words read, teach and write in an era when
only the privileged were literate, is no stranger to the professional use of
promotional means in the propagation of its principles. In fact, the Quran,
I s l a m i c P ro m ot i o n s a n d P ro m ot i n g to M u s l i m s 81
which can be rightly described as the greatest book that has ever been written
on promotions, commands that Muslims acquire and disseminate knowledge:
Read in the Name of your Lord Who has created (all that exists). He who
has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood). Read!
And your Lord is the Most Generous. Who has taught (the writing) by
the pen. He has taught man that which he knew not.
Quran 96:1–5
Islam is a religion that is based on dissemination of information and

awareness creation, two functions that should be carried out by well-versed
and devout adherents through the principle of Da’waah (a summons or an
invitation), where each Muslim has the role of Da’eah (the person making the
invitation). The term Da’waah, which is central to marketing the religion of
Islam, is also known to present-day organizations as promotions, one of the
components of the traditional marketing mix, or the 4Ps: product, price, place
and promotion.
From day one, and during the period when they were powerless and
stateless 14 centuries ago, Muslim holy marketers (those driven by their beliefs
to market Islam) perfected and heavily relied on various methods to promote
their faith. Using contemporary marketing terms, they excelled in networking
and personal selling whereby they generated leads and qualified and contacted
prospects, attended gatherings, organized public speeches and debates, utilized
public relations and exhibited exemplary role models in their community, and
used sales promotions to build and strengthen loyalty among the religion’s
customer base, i.e., granted special privileges to converts embracing Islam.
Their religious marketing skills and traits proved equally effective in the
material marketplace where a smooth transition from the divine to the earthly
occurred. The skills that were introduced, inspired and used by the religion
to promote religion itself became indispensible to compete in the increasingly
globalized world of the Arab merchants; it gave them a ‘divine’ competitive
advantage over other merchants who relied on the traditional marketing
wisdom. Islam added and emphasized traits such as kindness, honesty,
gradualism, true promises, articulacy, sensitivity to the needs of others, respect
for their faiths and ways, a genuine interest in their well-being, and so on. These
traits are impossible to adhere to without an extremely strong underlying
motive and, indeed, there is no stronger motive than the true believe that
paradise is the reward for those who wholeheartedly comply; Islam makes
adherence to these and many other traits a worship, without which, ones faith
would not be complete.
The Transition of Holy Marketers
Muslims, all of whom are commanded to assume the role of holy marketers
according to their own individual capacities, employed the word in its various
forms – spoken, sung, implied, lived and written – in order to attract the public
to embrace the new faith. Allah’s commands to Muslims are clear: ‘Let there
arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is
right, and forbidding what is wrong’ Quran (3:104).
The Muslim holy marketers responded with zeal to this and many other
similar commands and, as a result, sought to perfect their religious marketing
activities using all means available to them. Personalized letters with the logo
of the new religion were sent to the emperors of Rome and Persia, virtuous
poems were composed replacing the traditional Arab poems saluting wine,
women and love and teachers were sent to the tribes, to mention only a few
of the numerous promotional activities utilized by devout Muslims in their
religious marketing campaigns.
This knowledge, which has been developed to serve the heavenly, was
inevitably bound to make a landfall. Many of the holy marketers were also
merchants trading either locally in the markets of the Arabian Peninsula,
regionally between the Peninsula and the markets of the Fertile Crescent and
Egypt, or internationally with the Chinese, Indian, African and European
markets. Their abilities were greatly enhanced by the use of their skills as
religious marketers and thus they had a significant advantage over other
merchants who were not equipped by the skills endorsed by the new teachings.
Consumers then, usually unaccustomed to the exhibited magnitude of honesty,
kindness, flexibility, generosity and absence of greed, were left with little choice
but to embrace the new traders.
The skills of those marketers served them well in both propagating their
faith and in making them wealthy. This transformation from the divine into
the worldly was done with ease. It did not cause any conflicts or compromises
between the two. In fact, such a transformation was clearly encouraged by the
teachings of Islam itself where the word Da’aa or invited (to embrace) and its
Table 5.1 An approximate guide of some commerce-related words in

the Quran
The word and its Frequency, or The word and its Frequency, or
derivatives, using the number of times derivatives, using the number of times
Arabic root, or the word mentioned in the Arabic root, or the word mentioned in the
itself Quran itself Quran
Invite (Da’aa) 218 Sale (Ba’aa) 9
Spend (Anfaqa) 72 Usury (Riba) (interest 8
rate)
Weigh (Wazana), weight 39 Lend (Aqraza) 7
(Mizan), measure (Kai’l)
Satisfaction (Razi’a) 30 Loan (Qard) 6
Win (Faza) 26 Borrower (Madeen) 2
Purchase (Eshtara) 25 Competition (Nafa’sa) 2
Price (Thaman) 11 Market (Souq) 2
Product (Biza’ah), offer 11 Delegate (Fawaza) 1
(Araza)
Commerce (Tijara) 9 Profit (Rabi’ha) 1
derivates is repeated more than 218 times in the Quran, as well as countless
times in Hadith.
Table 5.1 shows some of the relevant commercial concepts that are
mentioned in the Quran and their frequency using the Arabic root word for
each concept, or the word itself when the root does not apply. As can be seen
in this table, Da’aa is the most repeated word and it surpasses by far any other
commerce-related word.
Admiring the Power of the ‘Word’
In fact, the Quran – the holy book of Islam – could be considered as the greatest
book that ever existed on promotions. According to Muslims, its first miracle
lies in its style which couldn’t be reproduced or imitated even by the Arabs
themselves to whom the Quran was revealed in their own tongue. At the time
of Mohammad, the Arabs were enchanted by the Arabic language, and it is
accepted by Arab historians that their literary talent and eloquence was at its
height back then. People used to travel into the desert to write magnificent
pieces of poetry, and parents would send their children to stay with Bedouin
tribes so that they could learn a purer Arabic than that which was spoken
in the cities, in addition to being exposed to less polluted air and a cleaner
environment.
Allah challenged these people to produce a literary work of a similar

calibre; a new Quran, just one chapter in the Quran, or even just a few verses
from it, yet despite all of their eloquence and efforts they failed to match it,
even though some of the Quran’s short chapters are composed of only a few
sentences, called verses.
Celebrating Beauty and Goodness
The Quran teaches that all invitations must be extended with kindness by
those who are knowledgeable. ‘Invite to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom
and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most
gracious’ (Quran 16:125). Islam stresses the importance of the use of the words
‘beautiful’, ‘beauty’, ‘good’, ‘pardoning’, ‘council’ and ‘kindness’ in everything
a Muslim does. The Prophet teaches: ‘Allah is beautiful and He likes beauty’,
‘Allah is good and He accepts only that which is good’, and ‘Kindness makes
all things beautiful and lack of it makes them ugly’. The Quran attributes the
gathering of people around Mohammad due to the fact that he was lenient and
gentle:
Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and
had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed
from around you; pardon them therefore and ask pardon for them, and
take counsel with them in the affair; so when you have decided, then
place your trust in Allah; surely Allah loves those who trust.
Quran 3:159
Cross-cultural Communications
Cultural differences and their effects on the success of promotions are also
acknowledged in the Quran. When in discussions with the Christians and the
Jews Islam clearly asks its adherents to highlight similarities and avoid all
means of arousing animosity, which might ultimately lead to rejection: ‘And do
not dispute with the followers of the Book except by what is best, except those
of them who act unjustly, and say: We believe in that which has been revealed to
us and revealed to you, and our Allah and your Allah is One, and to Him do we
submit’ (Quran 29:46). Finding a common ground between the company and
its various markets at the beginning of the relationship improves its chances
of success. Because there is always a greater possibility for misunderstanding
in cross-cultural communications, Muslims are asked to choose their words
carefully: ‘Say to My servants that they should (only) say those things that are
best’ (Quran 17:53).
Gradualism and Persistence
Islam’s approach to promotions for societal and other causes stresses the
importance of gradualism and persistence. Although Muslim companies, like
all other companies in the marketplace, have the right to engage customers and
to use and introduce a profoundly different marketing mix, they cannot go
around ridiculing the lifestyles and consumption patterns of non-Muslims. The
Quran clearly supports a gradual process when introducing concepts that are
non-conformist. For example, Islam’s strong stance on alcohol is well known
even to non-Muslims: its consumption is not allowed under any circumstances.
Yet the early Muslims were not suddenly asked to stop drinking wine. Instead,
a promotional campaign was gradually implemented over several years
leading to a total and successful ban on the product. That campaign should
be an exemplary guide to Muslim companies targeting non-Muslim markets,
non-Muslim companies targeting Muslim markets or companies introducing
new products. It demonstrates the concepts of gradualism, persistence,
dissemination of information, comparison and faith as ways of gaining
customer acceptance and loyalty. It never shocks and never enters into disputes,
it instead, it emphasizes the importance of time in the process of attracting and
convincing customers.
First. The extraordinary characteristics of the wine in heaven were described,

without mentioning earthly wine. It was left to consumers themselves to make
the comparison: ‘Round them will be passed a cup of pure wine. White, delicious
to the drinkers. Neither will they have Ghoul (any kind of hurt, abdominal pain,
headache, a sin) from that, nor will they suffer intoxication therefrom’ Quran
37:45–7).
Second. Some time later, Muslims were reminded of the many blessings
Allah bestowed on them, including the trees from which they produce drinks
and consume fruits. As can be seen in the verse, provisions were described as
being good while nothing, neither good nor bad, was said about the drink:
‘And from the fruits of date-palms and grapes, you derive strong drink and a
goodly provision. Verily, therein is indeed a sign for people who have wisdom’
(Quran 16:67).
Third. Later, the newly established religion informed its adherents that
wine is both bad and good with the word bad preceding the word good, and
thus, in accordance with the Arabic writing style, giving it a stronger meaning:
‘They ask you (O Muhammad) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say:
In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater
than their benefit’ (Quran 2:219).
Fourth. When the faith of the new adherents strengthened and a more
acceptance was anticipated, a stronger command was revealed: ‘O you who
believe! Approach not the prayer when you are in a drunken state until you
know of what you utter’ (Quran 4:43).
Finally. When Muslims reached the state of belief where they were willing
to do only that which is deemed right by their religion, the final command
to prohibit the consumption of alcohol was revealed. No resistance was
encountered whatsoever. In fact the few who continued to consume it until
then hurried and broke their wine jars and containers in the streets as soon as
they heard the command because, by that time, most Muslims had grown to
resent wine: ‘O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), and
gambling, and Al-Ansâb, and Al-Azlâm (arrows for seeking luck or decision)
are an abomination of Satan’s work. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in
order that you may be successful’ (Quran 5:90).
By comparison to the Islamic gradual approach, the compulsory legislative

approach that was adopted to ban alcohol in the US in 1933 resulted in the
execution of more than 200 alcohol producers, increased the number of alcohol
factories from 400 to more than 80,000, and made the product ever more
popular across all social and economic classes in the US.
Moreover, Allah has 99 names in Islam; each describing some of His

attributes. Muslims are commanded to impersonate as much as they can of
each of those Godly attributes, everyone in his/her own capacity. For example,
where Allah calls Himself the ‘Satisfier of all needs’, each Muslim is supposed
to endeavour to satisfy the needs of those whom he/she deals with to the best of
his/her abilities and to the highest available standards. In much the same way
as a teacher is commanded to excel in teaching and a doctor is commanded to
treat patients according to the best available knowledge in medicine, a company
is commanded to satisfy the needs of its customers in ways that enhance their
well-being and prosperity through an enhanced value creation and delivery
systems. Those customers, invariably, need to be informed and that need has to
be satisfied accurately, timely, and with pure intentions; not with the purpose
of deception to make gains that would have been otherwise hard to acquire. In
much the same way, each of His other names’ such as ‘the loving’, ‘the trustee’,
‘the giver’, ‘the shaper of beauty’, and so on, has clear implications for the
various functions of the company.
Finally, for promotions to succeed, all of their components must be credible.

Islam places a great deal of emphasis on the importance of honesty and truth
in dealings between people. This emphasis is clearly demonstrated in many
verses in the Quran and in numerous teachings by the Prophet Mohammad.
Promotions as Promises
At the very core, promotions are promises of hope and fulfilment of desires.
These promises are made by sellers in order to attract customers and to
encourage them to engage in seemingly mutually beneficial relationships,
although it is fair to say that customers might actually be at a disadvantage in
many of these relationships. As such, traditional promotions revolve around
these three interrelated concepts: (1) promises by sellers, (2) attraction of
customers, and (3) mutual benefits. Descriptions of the conventional meaning
of these concepts can be found in numerous marketing books and that is why
they will not be discussed here. However, what will be discussed is the impact
on promotions of a new, fourth concept of extended accountability, which is
added by Islam.
Extended Accountability
Islam hold both buyers and sellers accountable for their actions not only in
front of the Shariah, but more importantly in front of God in this life and in the
hereafter. This extension of accountability works as a divine motive for both
parties of this relationship to behave responsibly to the best of their knowledge,
despite of the deficiency of that knowledge, whom Allah Himself describes as

little ‘and you are not given aught of knowledge but a little’ (Quran 17:85).
The extension also works as a deterrent preventing people from engaging

in less than honourable behaviours in business situations. Stating the obvious,
some people are not law abiding and they have a tendency to exploit the system
or bend the rules. To quote Plato: ‘Good people do not need laws to tell them
to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.’ Laws are
adopted by good people but enforced on others. However, since some people
are willing and able to break these laws without being detected by the human
legal systems, they are constantly reminded that their actions are monitored by
the One who ‘hears the sound of the footsteps of the black ant on the deaf rock at
the dark night’ (Prophet Mohammad). One can indeed escape being observed
by humans, but one cannot dodge divine observation. Therefore, since the laws
of this world don’t represent a valid disincentive to some, the warning of an
exact and just ruling in the hereafter when the time for repentance has already
passed represents an added control on undesired behaviour. Still, though, it is
important to make another obvious statement here: a non-believer is certainly
exempt from this deterrent simply because they don’t believe that such a time
– the hereafter – will be.
The extended accountability dimension profoundly affects the execution

of the three dimensions of promotions, i.e., promises, attractions and benefits,
since it forces marketers to see them from an entirely new perspective, as will
be demonstrated in the following sections.
Extended Accountability and Sellers’ Promises
A promise is ‘an undertaking or assurance given by one person to another

agreeing or guaranteeing to do or give something, or not to do or give
something, in the future’ (Thefreedictionary 2011). Companies, in their efforts
to compete, seek to attract customers through making promises that are
sometimes hard to fulfil and sometimes even without any real intention of
fulfilling them. These companies can make customers’ follow-up on promises,
customer complaints and customer queries extremely difficult to the point
where customers question the feasibility of any action they might undertake to
get companies to deliver on their promises. Fine prints, misleading advertising,
confusing terms and conditions and the referral of responsibility for fulfilment
to other parties are among the numerous ways that companies can utilize to
dissipate the perceptions created by their own deliberate campaigns about the
nature of their commitments. As a result, customers are left disgruntled and
frequently powerless to do much other than to forget that it happened at all
and move on. Cases against sellers may take up to several years in courts and
thus can harshly disrupt an angry customer’s life’s rhythm. Only customers
with great stamina and perseverance are willing to go along that road. Most
customers will choose either to do nothing or to simply switch suppliers.
The Islamic standpoint on promises is unswerving; promises have to be

fulfilled, otherwise they should not be made in the first place. The Prophet said,
Whoever has the following four (characteristics) will be a pure hypocrite

and whoever has one of the following four characteristics will have one
characteristic of hypocrisy unless and until he gives it up.
1. Whenever he is entrusted, he betrays.
2. Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie.
3. Whenever he makes a covenant, he proves treacherous.
4. Whenever he quarrels, he behaves in a very imprudent, evil and

insulting manner.
Allah, before he asks people to honour their promises, declares to them that
He ‘… will not fail His promise, but most people do not know’ (Quran 30:6).
Allah also commends his apostles as truthful: ‘And mention Ismail in the Book;
surely he was truthful in (his) promise’ (Quran 19:54). Allah describes himself
as One who doesn’t fail a promise and He praises his apostles as truthful, and
concludes by asking the rest of the people to follow suit. For example, He states
that it is not enough for Muslims to face Mecca and pray, being a Muslim is
certainly more than directions and places:
righteousness is this that one should believe in Allah and the last day
and the angels and the Book and the prophets, and give away wealth
out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy
and the wayfarer and the beggars and for (the emancipation of) the
captives, and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate; and the performers
of their promise when they make a promise, and the patient in distress
and affliction and in time of conflicts-- these are they who are true (to
themselves) and these are they who guard (against evil).
Quran 2:177
The word ‘promise’ is deeply ingrained in Muslims’ psyches, regardless of

how religiously observant they are. The above-quoted Hadith about hypocrites
is one of the best known among Muslims and it is commonly used in normal
conversations. Arab and Islamic histories are also filled with proverbs and
stories about the importance of fulfilling promises. For example, the pre-
Islamic Arab Arqoob, who lived in an unspecified time BC according to Arab
historians, remains until this day an example of a person who failed to keep his
promises. Almost every man and woman in the Arab world knows the story.
Arqoob had a farm of palm trees. A poor man came asking him for charity.
Arqoob told him that it was not the time of dates and that he should return
when the crop sweetened. The man returned as promised but he was told that
he should go now and come back when the crop softened. When he returned
again, he was told to return when the crop ripened. The man, having no choice,
went away and returned at the designated time to take his promised dates. By
that time, Arqoob had already collected the dates and stored them. Only then
did the poor man recognize that he was being lied to and that Arqoob was only
buying time.
As discussed above, marketers must be able to demonstrate that they are

honest, intend to deliver on their promises, that their promises are realistic and
that what is being offered is Shariah-compliant. A Shariah-compliant offer is
one that fulfils the following conditions:
1. The good or service on offer must in itself be Halal (see Chapter 3

for a deeper understanding of Halal products).
2. It must be delivered through a Halal supply chain.
3. If a salesperson knows that the product is being bought for purposes

that are not permissible under Shariah then that salesperson is
religiously held accountable not only for selling it but sometimes
for advertising it in the first place.
4. It must be advertised using Shariah-compliant means.

5. Customers must be fully informed of what they are buying; nothing

that could affect their decision is to be concealed from them. Total
transparency must be strictly adhered to; if a seller has something
to hide then he shouldn’t be trading.
General Implications for Businesses
Islam does not tolerate deceptive promotional behaviours. It clearly denounces

all kinds of false assertion, unfounded accusation, concoction and false
testimony (Quran 43:19). Thus, it is unethical for a sales organization to over-
praise its products or to attribute to them non-existent qualities. Within the
Islamic ethical framework, creating false impressions as a means to promote
an offering is prohibited. In general, this framework is built on several rules
including (Chachi and Latiff 2008):
1. Rejection of high-pressure manipulations or misleading sales tactics.

To use models with pretty hair to give the impression that their
hair is looking good because of the shampoo they are advertising
is deception according to Islam. Such promotional campaigns drive
some women to go to extremes to have hair like that in the adverts.
Many other women are made to feel bad about themselves because
they know they will never have hair that looks like the hair in these
adverts. Exploiting the basic instinct of consumers with a view to
gain profits and greater market share is not an activity a Muslim
marketer will engage in.
2. Avoidance of sales promotions that use deception. To use healthy

children in advertisement directed at other children when
promoting potentially harmful products such as fast foods, fizzy
drinks, unhealthy snacks and other products to give the false
impression that their good health is a result of consuming these
products, or to hint to unsuspecting parents that allowing kids to
consume them is good parenting, is Haram. The truth and nothing
but the truth is the first commandment of Islamic promotions.
3. Avoidance of promoting products that are considered Haram.

There is no such thing as an Islamic promotion for alcohol, pork,
sex, music, narcotics or intoxicants.
4. Avoidance of using certain appeals such as sexual, emotional, fear,

and so on. For example, the common practice of using women in
swimsuits to promote cars in car shows in Western culture is totally
denounced in Islam.
5. Advocating consumption as a form of worship. Muslims are

commanded to show that Allah has provided them. Muslims
are ordered to look their best wherever and whenever possible.
Adhering to this command is considered a good deed. ‘Allah loves
to see the signs of His blessings on his servant’ (Hadith).
6. Avoidance of the provocation of desires and acknowledging that

certain desires will never be fulfilled regardless of one’s wealth. ‘If
the son of Adam had money equal to a valley, then he will wish for
another similar to it, for nothing can satisfy the eye of Adam’s son
except dust. And Allah forgives him who repents to Him’ (Hadith).
7. Advocating moderation in consumption. Promotions must not

encourage extravagance or over-consumption. ‘Food for one is
enough for two and food for two is enough for four’ (Hadith).
8. Disclosure and transparency. A customer must be informed of

what is getting. Marketers must disclose all faults in their goods,
whether obvious or hidden. Acting otherwise is to act fraudulently.
All known defects which cannot be seen and cannot be found out
by the purchaser must be disclosed. Only true documents which
reveal accurate specifications will exchange hands.
9. Avoidance of promotions that could lead to the long-term mental

of physical deterioration or contribute to the dullness of the mind.
10. Excessive use of fantasy, the use of suggestive language and

behaviour and stereotyping of women in advertising as objects to
lure and attract customers are all activities that a Muslim marketer
will avoid.
Implications for Advertising
1. Use males, not females.
2. Use cartoons and animations, not humans.
3. Use natural objects such as landscapes, animals, birds, and so on,

not humans.
4. Use conforming backgrounds, not rebellious ones.
5. Use quiet Islamic music, not loud Western music. No rock and roll
and no rap.
6. Use optimistic music and settings, no blues.
7. Make no reference to sexuality, nudity, indulgence, hatred or

racism.
8. Utilize Islamic TV and radio channels, not the all-dancing all-

singing ones.
9. Emphasize modesty and respect.
10. Use green and white, avoid black and blue. Black is associated with
mourning, darkness and loss of guidance while blue is described as
the colour of the wrongdoers in the Day of Judgement.
Implications for Sales Promotions
1. The person offering the promotions should be recognized as a

Muslim, especially in the case of food items.
2. Muslims go shopping in families so make sure to give to all not just

some of the family members. Especially when it is a taste promotion.
3. Have a promotion after prayers, not before. Muslims usually avoid

eating immediately before prayers because Islam encourages them
to clean their teeth each time they pray. Moreover, they are usually
rushing to mosques and thus do not have enough time to taste.
4. Muslims are becoming increasingly sceptical about the motivations

underlying the ‘buy one, get one free’ and other similar offers citing
reasons as low quality, impending expiry dates, poor warehousing
conditions, and so on. Marketers need to make sure that their
products are as good as any others that are not on sale.
5. Local families in the Arabian Gulf countries go shopping in the

morning because markets are less crowded and because women
in these families are usually unemployed. They are often well-off
and hence not interested in getting jobs. The morning is the best
time for them to go shopping since their children will be at school.
Families of other Arab countries go either during weekends or in
the evening. This is so because many mothers in non-Arab Gulf
families work and the only time the family can get together is in the
evening. A marketer must know when and how to appeal to both.
6. A sales promotion must be seen as a gift, not as a charity or as a way

of luring in customers. Muslim consumers are wary of seemingly
free offers and many of them also refuse to take charity. Although
Islam encourages everyone to give in charity, it strongly asks people
to support themselves and not rely on others. Many Muslims will
reject a trail straight away if they are not sure about it.
7. Muslim populations in general are very colourful and they like

colours and celebrations. Promotions must be presented in a family-
friendly atmosphere of celebrations.
Implications for Telemarketing
1. When calling at homes, employ women, not men. Arab and Muslim
men in general are very sensitive to women in their families talking
to strangers, even if it is on a business-related matter.
2. If they say no, do not call again unless you have something that is
genuinely different. Marketers who follow the policy of ‘Knock and
You Shall Receive’ will soon find the police knocking on their own
doors, in addition to getting an immediate unsympathetic response.
3. Do not call between Zuhur (noon) and Asr (afternoon) prayers.

Muslims in many countries have a habit of napping within that
time period.
Implications for Public Relations
1. Celebrate real people and avoid showbiz celebrities. Although

many Muslims can hardly be described as observant, the majority
are not into showbiz. Do not be fooled by the noise made by the
huge number of satellite TV stations in the Muslim world, they
live in their own wonderland. Showbiz – especially if women are
involved – is considered in many Muslim cultures as a domain for
a particular social class that doesn’t gain much respect within the
society as a whole. Involving them in activities might create some
commotion, but it portrays the company as disrespectful of the
religion and the culture.
2. The people involved in the activity must be from the local

population, dressing, talking and behaving like them. There are
many implied local rules of behaviour which an outsider could
easily miss and thus turn the public relations event into a disaster
instead of a success.
3. Being charitable is greatly glorified in Islam. A company that is seen

to be genuinely engaged in voluntary and real charitable activities
will win the hearts of the Muslim consumers who are reminded
several times a day in their prayers about the importance of alms,
donations and other forms of selfless acts.
Conclusion
Islamic business ethics imply that accurate product information should be

provided when a good is sold as well as in the associated advertising and
marketing literature. Advertisements should not offend Islamic values. For
example, the use of scantily dressed women for product promotion would
certainly be regarded as unacceptable. Television commercials in Muslim

countries often depict consumers in a respectable family environment (Wilson
2006).
Islam takes a strong stand on both the content and the delivery of promotions.
The philosophy of ‘ends justify means’ is strongly denounced since both ends
and means must be Shariah-compliant. According to the teachings of Islam,
increasing sales does not justify using the meaningless ‘Everyday Low Sales’.
Attracting more customers is not a justification for the exploitation of women
as objects in advertising campaigns. The Islamic rule is very clear in this regard:
selling now at a price which the society has to pay later is considered ruination,
the punishment for which could be as severe as death. Islamic promotions mean
promoting only what pleases God through equally pleasing methods, i.e., what
is being advertised must be entirely Halal, promoted via Halal channels, by
Halal companies using Halal promotional materials. For example, if a company
uses leaflets as part of a promotional campaign it will achieve more success
if it makes its Muslim customers aware that the paper used in the campaign
is recycled or recyclable and that trees were planted to replace those that
were used to manufacture the paper. This is so because the tree and greenery
command special respect and admiration in Islam; all early Islamic military
campaigns were instructed by the Prophet and by his successors ‘not to cut a
tree’. Equally true, seeking to employ an advertising agency that is all Shariah-
compliant to promote content that is not so compliant, will not work either.
To conclude, promotions can be seen as a channel beginning with a

Halal product produced by an honest, compassionate and knowledgeable
manufacturer and ending with a customer with good intentions. If the
advertising agency knew or suspected that the manufacturer’s operations,
processes, ingredients, etc. are not compliant, or if customers intend to use
the product inappropriately, it becomes a sin to promote for that particular
manufacture or target that particular customer segment.
Key Terms:
• Islamic promotions
• Holy marketers
• Promotions as promises
• Sellers’ promises
• Misleading sales tactics
• Extended accountability
• Consumer boycott
• Da’waah
• The power of the word
• Cross-cultural communications
• Gradualism and persistence.
References
Chachi, A. H. A. and S. A. Latiff. (2008). ‘Islamic marketing ethics and its impact
on customer satisfaction in the Islamic banking industry.’ Journal of Islamic
Economics 2(1): 23–40.
Thefreedictionary (2011). ‘Promise.’ Retrieved 11 February 2011 from: http://
www.thefreedictionary.com/promise.
Jury, Louise. (1997). ‘Nike to trash trainers that offended Islam.’ Independent, 25
June.
Wilson, R. (2006). ‘Islam and business.’ Thunderbird International Business Review
48(1): 109–23.
6
Islamic Logistics (Halal Logistics)
Making your whole operation Halal is actually the most cost-efficient
method of production. It would almost be easier if all suppliers did things
that way.
Meat suppliers will eventually become totally Halal since it makes
sense to streamline their operations and ensure abattoirs are operating
according to the Halal principles.
Bin Hendi, hospitality executive chief, in Taylor 2009
Learning Objectives

• Understand the concept of Halal integrity
• Describe the growing importance of Islamic logistics
• Understand the definition and requirements of Islamic logistics
• Understand the contribution of Islamic logistics
to firms’ competitive advantage
• Understand the contribution of Islamic ports
and Halal hubs to Islamic logistics.
Maintaining Halal Integrity in Al Islami
Recognized as one of the top 40 Arab brands by Forbes magazine, Al Islami

foods is a regional Halal brand, a private company based in the UAE (United
Arab Emirates) and a top Middle Eastern food producer that has been operating
in the Halal industry since 1981. The company’s pursuit of its mission of raising
the profile and standard of Halal food helped it get many awards including
the Best Halal Food award given by the UAE’s Superbrands Council at the 2010
inaugural Gulfood Awards. The company was also voted a Super Brand in the
UAE in the same year.
Al Islami’s business is being continuously diversified as the company

enters into new businesses building on its strength in the food industry. Its
portfolio currently includes several well-known names such as Al Islami Foods
International, Al Islami Foods UAE, the fast-food restaurant chain Al Farooj
Fresh, the food kiosk Al Islami Cart and Al Islami Meat Shops where customers
can find fresh chicken, mutton, lamb and beef. The company also has a dry food
product line where Al Islami tuna, beans, honey and dates are sold (Mansoor
2010).
In addition to being one of the first Halal brands in the Muslim world,
Al Islami’s success is attributed to other factors such as its innovation in the
Halal food industry, strict quality assurance and world-class supply chain and
resources that allow it to maintain the Halal integrity and Halal branding of its
operations.
In particular, the company gives special attention to process supervision

over its supply chains in order to maintain the Halal integrity of its products. The
company monitors and controls the entire supply chain processes starting from
production, storage and transportation, to supervising local suppliers where
products are sourced. According to Hasan Rimawi, chief technical officer at Al
Islami Foods, the company’s approach to Halalization includes a Halal supply
chain that spans ‘everything from the procurement and preparation of genuine
Halal ingredients to the manufacturing and delivery of the final product all
the way to customer shelves.’ Such an approach to Halal assurance means that
strong relationships needed to be forged with channel partners to ensure that
each product is manufactured to the highest quality standards and is not mixed
with any non-Halal ingredients, such as alcoholic or pork-related products,
throughout the entire chain. This also includes taking suitable measures in
other areas of the logistics process, such as transporting Halal-fed animals to
I s l a mi c Lo g i s ti c s (H a l a l Lo g i s ti c s) 101
slaughterhouses or when shipping chilled or frozen Halal meat in enclosed

shipping containers (Khan 2009).
Introduction
Many countries in the world, both Muslim and non-Muslim, are making
substantial investments to become regional Halal hubs that provide special
manufacturing centres as well as systems for Halal logistics in order to maintain
product purity during shipping and storage. These Halal market-supply chains
are changing manufacturing in many countries, most of which are non-Muslim.
For example, Brazilian suppliers have built Halal chicken-slaughtering facilities
to cater to the needs of Islamic countries such as Saudia Arabia. New Zealand,
the world’s biggest exporter of Halal lamb, continues to host delegations from
Muslim countries to ensure the Halal integrity of its exports to Islamic markets.
The Netherlands, through its Halal hub in Rotterdam port, has built Halal
warehouses so that imported Halal goods are stored away from Haram products
such as pork or alcohol. By expanding its connections to the Halal hubs in
Malaysia, the Netherlands is planning to maximize Rotterdam’s role as Europe’s
biggest port. Domino’s Pizza now sources Halal pepperoni from Malaysia for
its Halal pizzas. Finally, a hypermarket run by the French Carrefour at the Mid
Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur implements a very elaborate Halal process
to keep Halal foods separate. In that hypermarket, goods that divide Islamic
scholars on whether they are Halal or Haram are coded with green stickers to
alert customers to their Shariah-compliance status. Clearly Haram goods such
as those containing alcohol, pork or tobacco are isolated in a glass room at
the back of the store, hidden away from the majority of the store’s customers.
Further, these Haram products are handled by staff wearing designated blue
gloves and sealed in airtight pink plastic wrapping after purchase, in order to
avoid contaminating the main store (Power and Abdullah 2009).
It is important to understand that the Halal industry no longer stops at

production. Shipping and storage companies from Malaysia to Rotterdam are
positioning themselves as champions in Halal logistics. For example, Malaysia’s
national shipping company’s (MISC) weekly Halal Express Service is a liner
launched to carry Halal beef from Australia and New Zealand to the Middle
East and sometimes beyond. The company also operates a Halal logistics hub
near Kuala Lumpur, which has cold-storage facilities, sterilization units and a
lab to test products to ensure they are Halal (Power and Gatsiounis 2007).
Halal Logistics as Source of Competitive Advantage
As explained throughout this book, the concept of Halal is much broader than
commonly understood. Traditionally, what has been considered to determine
whether a product is Halal or not was the final stages of production where
the process and ingredients are ensured to be compliant with the principles of
Islamic Shariah; not much attention was paid to the supply chain as a whole. In
reality the concept of Halal extends much further to include the entire product
logistics.
Halal supply chains include everything from the procurement and

preparation of genuine Halal ingredients to the manufacturing and
delivery of the final product all the way to customer shelves. This
includes the separation of Halal ingredients or finished products
from non Halal products, such as alcoholic or pork-related products,
throughout the entire chain.
Khan 2009
This long chain of activities preceding the final step and the activities
following consumption is usually overlooked and thus a product might end
up being classified as Halal despite being moved through a Haram channel.
This short-sightedness in defining Halal is being corrected now as accreditation
authorities, governments and businesses come to realize that such an extension
of the activities considered does actually represent an advantage to be had, not
a burden to be avoided.
Companies that can demonstrate that their Halal product has actually been
prepared, transported and delivered through a Halal supply chain will clearly
be at an advantage over other companies who stop short of this or are unable
to use their supply chains as leverage for the promotion of their Halal products.
Because the final Halal product is usually the subject of traditional

promotions to Muslim consumers, going beyond that point and showing that
the entire process is also Halal will undoubtedly relieve some of the doubts
of the suspicious Muslim consumer who is under continuous bombardment
from young Internet-savvy Muslims who are willing to declare and denounce
a product as Haram based on blogs and hearsay rather than on actual facts.
The widespread influence of these groups, more driven by deep religious
zealousness than accurate religious knowledge, comes from their large numbers
and relentless efforts to scrutinize. Therefore, it is in the long-term interest of
businesses dealing with this emotional and religious Muslim market led by its
young to build a documented reputation that the various stages leading to the
final production and delivery of the product are Shariah-compliant.
Communicating the fact that a company’s entire logistics are compliant

might even be more important than declaring that the final product is Halal,
which is usually no more than stating the obvious since such a product would
not be targeted at Muslim consumers if was Haram in the first place. Although
the extension of the contents of marketing campaigns are still at an early stage,
some companies have already began utilizing some of their logistical activities
as a differentiating factor that sets them apart from other players in the Halal
market. For example some TV advertisements targeting Muslims now include
short videos of clean factories, well-dressed workers, sunny green fields, and
‘happy’ farm animals transported in cruise-like ships or flown in business class.
Although the use of logistics as a source of competitive advantage remains

in its infancy as far as the Islamic market is concerned, it is already making a
difference in the way marketing campaigns are being carried out; it is acting as
an eye-opener in the field. Other companies who have not done so yet will have
no option but to follow suit and thus force an upgrade in the use of logistics as a
key ingredient in the near-future marketing practice of companies targeting the
Muslim consumer. These companies are already realizing that Halal is losing
its position as a core selling concept because all competitors in the market are
operating under its banner and thus making it a core requirement rather than
a differentiating factor.
Halal Hubs and Halal Logistics
Governments around the world are increasingly realizing the importance

of Halal logistics to the establishment of a Halal industry that can compete
successfully within the sophisticated Halal market. Some of these governments
are investing substantially to create what is called Halal hubs where tailor-
made manufacturing centres and Halal logistics ensure that product purity is
maintained during shipping, handling and storage. So far, the most influential
players in the field of Islamic or Halal logistics are Brazil, New Zealand and the
Netherlands – obviously the three are not countries with dominant Muslim
populations.
Some Muslim countries are also strengthening their capabilities and

developing Halal logistics, mainly Malaysia, Dubai and Turkey. The advantage
provided by the location of these countries allows them to link the regions where
the bulk of the Halal industry is concentrated: South East Asia and Australia,
the Middle East and Europe. While Malaysia builds on its well-developed Halal
certification standards, emerging Halal logistics and proximity to Australia and
New Zealand, Dubai’s advantage lies in its massive shipping abilities and its
central location as a link between East and West. Turkey on the other hand,
is building on its potential to be a major centre for the development of Halal
industry drawing on its proximity to Europe as well as its newly discovered
political role among Muslim nations.
While the European Union (EU) is already working on a project that would
allow the issue of certificates for Halal food, the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC), which is composed of more than 50 mostly Islamic states, is
determined to extend its umbrella over the Halal industry within the Muslim
world – that is, before Europe can make further gains in the field. Although the
OIC’s perspective on ensuring dominance over the Halal industry as a whole
seems legitimate from a purely business justification, it nonetheless contradicts
Islam’s own view which commands that a job should be performed by the
one who can do it best. If Europeans can excel in the development of Halal
logistics then they should be allowed to do so and no efforts should be made
to undermine them. In Islamic economics the development of Halal logistics is
better for the world and therefore it doesn’t matter much who develops it. Of
course it would be more in line with the faith if Muslims did that first; that is, if
they are to do that. Otherwise, the progress towards Halal logistics should not
be delayed because of a dispute over who should be leading it.
Halal Ports
A central theme in Halal logistics is the establishment of Halal ports where Halal
support services are provided. Of these ports two are taking the central stage at
the field of Islamic or Halal logistics; Rotterdam Port and Penang Port.
Rotterdam Port
Aiming to become the port of entry for Halal goods into the EU and working
together with other market parties such as Hecny group, Eurofrigo, and
Vat Logistics, the port of Rotterdam offers Halal supply chain solutions and
dedicated Halal warehousing and a distribution zone in the Netherlands. The

port authority has also commissioned the Halal Audit Company (HAC) to draw
up a Halal logistics handbook. The port was first officially recognized as Halal
in 2009 and a Halal certificate was awarded. The certification made Rotterdam
the first European port where products are handled and distributed according
to Islamic laws. The port has nonetheless been working since 2006 to become a
distribution centre for Halal products imported into the European market from
Indonesia and Malaysia.
Penang Port
Following on the footsteps of Rotterdam port, Penang port is preparing itself to

be the top Halal business hub in Asia. The Penang State Government established
an agency named Penang International Halal Hub (PIHH) to oversee the
coordination, facilitation, promotion and development of Halal industries in
the state of Penang in Malaysia. The agency is to be positioned as a link between
investors, suppliers and the global Halal market.
Penang Port, which is progressively being expanded into a mainly Halal

port, following the demand for Halal shipments, takes advantage of the
opportunities provided by the Halal industry in southern Thailand, which is
currently exporting through Bangkok, an aspirant Halal hub itself. The port
is also planning to tap into the larger Halal growth triangle encompassing
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
The Halal port in Penang, which is similar to Rotterdam’s Halal port, has
cold-room facilities, storage areas and other related facilities to store and handle
Halal products. Both ports are developing standard operating procedures,
promoting a so called ‘Halal Super Highway’, and engaged in projects on Halal
shipments between Malaysia and the Netherlands. They are also establishing a
direct liner service between both countries.
Requirements of Halal Logistics
According to Marco Tieman, chief executive officer of LBB Teams, ‘Halal

logistics can be defined as the process of managing the procurement, movement,
storage and handling of materials, parts, livestock and semi-finished inventory,
both food and non-food, through the organization and the supply chain in
compliance with the principles of the Shariah law’ (2009). As such, the Halal
logistics system involves the organization and provision of integrated and

value-added services to the Halal industry. The core components of this system
include the services of transportation, warehousing, storage, cold rooms,
containerization, packaging, test labs, traceability, networking infrastructure,
Islamic financial services and marketing. These components need to fulfil two
main requirements: ensuring actual and perceptual Shariah-compliance. They
must prevent actual contamination as well as provide assurance to consumers
that the entire line of services is Halal or, in other words, maintain the Halal
integrity of a product.
More specifically, the key to a Shariah-compliant supply chain is the

separation of Halal from Haram products to avoid cross-contamination and
shipping mistakes, and to ensure consistency with the expectations and
perceptions of Muslim consumers. If a so-called Halal supply chain does not
support such a separation, Halal and Haram products could mix together at any
of its value-adding stages. Like all other chains, the performance of the Halal
supply chain is only as good as its weakest link.
Requirements of Halal Logistics
The Prevention of Actual Contamination
Halal logistics providers should ensure the prevention of: (1) cross-
contamination that could result from shared facilities and handling, and (2)
contamination from residuals and traces such as aromas, which could result
from shared use and inefficient cleaning. This condition can be achieved
through having a dedicated transportation service that transports nothing
but Halal products and entirely separate warehousing, storage and cold-room
facilities where only Halal products are stored and handled. Furthermore, the
containerization and packaging operations should also be handled in dedicated
facilities by separate equipment and workers. However, if it is not at all possible
to employ a separate workforce to carry out these Halal activities then special
care must be given to workers’ hygiene. This includes the use of different
and distinguishable uniforms for handling Halal and placing restrictions on
the movement of workers and machines and tools between Halal and Haram
premises and operations.
Assurance to Consumers
The Halal logistics facilities discussed above are not sufficient themselves to
create the perception of Halal logistical operations; they need to be augmented
by a multitude of other related services. These include:
1. Providing easy access to advanced test labs that can give accurate
and speedy results on the type and permissibility of all of the
ingredients, both declared and hidden, that are used in the
manufacturing of the product. An important element in here is that
of forging linkages with Halal research centres around the world to
allow investors to leverage on for product and process innovation
and improvement.
2. Preparing records that show all activities and stages of product

manufacturing, handling, and movement and making these records
available to both public and private businesses and consumers.
These records should allow comprehensive product traceability –
consumers and other interested parties would be able to trace the
product back to a very early stage in its production and to reveal
its individual ingredients. Providers of Halal logistics will also need
to create awareness among exporters on the hub’s Halal facilities to
enable them to trace where the raw materials were obtained from,
their packaging, and the company used to transport the products.
These can provide enhanced traceability and link to the global
market.
3. Building an enhanced networking infrastructure that assists

companies in organizing networks of suppliers and manufacturers,
where involved businesses and consumers can source high-quality
Halal ingredients and raw materials and form relations that ease the
conduct of their Halal business and allow them to engage in more
profitable operations. In addition to databases on Halal providers
and consumers which enable both businesses and consumers can
locate each others, Halal logistics providers need to provide or be
in close proximity to supporting facilities such as mosques, Islamic
hotel and catering services and gender-based sports and other
facilities.
Providing Islamic financial services that cater specifically to the needs

of the parties involved in Halal logistics would indeed add to the image of
the Halal supply chain and the product involved as being Shariah-compliant.
Islamic banking, insurance and financial services should be available to the
Halal logistics partners, in addition to the availability of international financial
institutions and offshore banking facilities.
Finally, in marketing Halal logistics it is important not to ignore the

psychological dimension wherein a Halal product is an extended concept, not
just the core and final product, be it a loaf of bread or a glass of milk. So far,
most marketing campaigns targeting the Muslim consumer seem to neglect
this dimension which is gaining an ever increasing importance since the word
Halal alone is being overused by sellers to promote their products. Halal as
a description is no longer the distinguishing factor it used to be, at least not
among Muslim consumers.
Conclusion
Sellers are coming to realize that carrying non-Halal items on their shelves
limits their market reach since Muslims will be discouraged from dealing with
them. In addition, offering both Haram and Halal products will result in extra
costs because separate facilities and operations need to be organized. Going
Halal, nonetheless, is not as straightforward or as easy as it might seem because:
The complexities of the Halal supply chain extend much further than
the usual concerns regarding unbroken cool chains and the efficient
delivery of fresh food produce. To be at the top of the Halal logistics
game, players need to be well versed in the whole ethos in order to
maintain what is known as the ‘Halal integrity’ of a food product.
Khan 2009
Overcoming these complexities and engaging with Halal, although challenging,

represents an unprecedented opportunity for companies looking for growth
prospects outside their traditional markets, which are losing their appeal due
mainly to saturation and maturity.
Undoubtedly, Halal logistics will be the playgrounds where future winners

and losers will be determined. The activities that comprise Halal logistics are
numerous and thus have the potential to provide ambitious players in the field
with ample opportunities to differentiate themselves and stand out from the
crowds scrambling to snatch a piece of this vast market. These activities begin
even before ploughing the earth and continue through to actual consumption
and recycling. Indeed, a competitive advantage can be built around each single
activity along a company’s supply chain; it is here where battles over the
dominance of Islamic markets will be fought so companies must be prepared.
Key Terms:
• Halal integrity
• Islamic logistics
• Halal logistics
• Halal supply chains
• Shariah-compliant supply chain
• Procurement
• Value-added services
• Traceability
• Cross-contamination
• High-quality Halal ingredients
• Competitive advantage
• Islamic ports
• Halal hubs.
References
Air Cargo World (2009). ‘Hard look at Halal.’ Air Cargo World 99: 18.
Khan, N. (2009). ‘Special report: Halal logistics.’ 30 July. Retrieved from http://
www.arabiansupplychain.com/article-385-special-report-halal-logistics/1/
print/#show=comments.
Mansoor, Z. (2010). ‘Al Islami Foods – taking “Halal” to new heights.’
Dinarstandard June. Retrieved 13 August 2010 from http://www.
dinarstandard.com/index.html.
Power, C. and S. Abdullah (2009). ‘Buying Muslim.’ Time South Pacific (Australia/
New Zealand edition) 173(20): 31–4.
Power, C. and I. Gatsiounis (2007). ‘Meeting the Halal test.’ Forbes 179(8): 82–5.
Taylor, L. (2009). ‘The Halal revolution.’ Arabian Business, 10 July.
Part 3
Issues in Islamic
Marketing
7
Muslim Consumer Behaviour
O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your clean
clothes), while praying and going round (the Tawâf of) the Ka‘bah, and
eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allâh) likes
not Al-Musrifûn (those who waste by extravagance).
Quran 7:31
Learning Objectives

• Who Muslim consumers are
• The motivations underlying their consumption choices
• What, when and how they consume
• The effect of the country of origin on their consumption choices
• Common demographic attributes among
world Muslim populations.
Introduction
In an Islamic market, religious teachings clearly influence the choices of

Muslims. For example, the concept of Halal (comparable to Kosher in Judaism)
affects every single aspect of a Muslim’s life; it affects the decisions of what
to buy and what to sell; the terms, time and place of the sale; the promotional
activities and with whom to transact. It also affects margins, mark-ups and
ingredients. These activities are also subject to the central Islamic concept of ‘no
harm’ which forbids all exchanges, activities, and transactions that cause harm
to the earth or any of its occupants, including humans, trees and animals, seas
and oceans, and land and air. An exchange that is perceived to be in violation of
these or any of the other numerous detailed Islamic principles is likely to face
major obstacles in a Muslim market that is increasingly becoming aware of the
values dictated by its religion.
The study of the Muslim consumers’ behaviour is an area of interest that is

gradually becoming the focus of academic and business professionals. While
academics’ efforts are driven mainly by the appeal of pioneering scientific
achievements, business professionals’ inquiries are more practical in nature
and aim at helping businesses connect effectively with their Muslim consumer
base.
In turn, Muslims, whose consumption is a key element in the formation of

their identity, are becoming even more aware and observant of the requirements
of their religion and thus creating complex challenges for international
marketers who are used to neglecting religion in their marketing campaigns.
The change brought by this awareness is influencing Muslims economic
decisions and forcing marketers targeting them to play by new rules and often
in new unfamiliar playgrounds that are characterized by transformed world
markets, new advertising strategies and religious instead of rational consumer
behaviour.
To help marketers deal with the challenges posed by the distinct nature
of the Muslim consumer and to assist them in their efforts to understand and
connect with the Islamic markets, this chapter introduces and discusses, in
detail, various key factors that affect the behaviour of the Muslim consumer.
For example, the term ‘Muslim consumers’ is defined, motivations underlying
their consumption decisions are clarified, answers to the questions of what,
when and how do they consume are provided, their attitudes concerning
M u s l i m C o n s u m e r B e h av i o u r 115
country of origin and its effect on their decisions are explained, and shared
demographic attributes among the world Muslim populations are presented.
Who is the Muslim Consumer?
The Islamic market is composed of Muslim and non-Muslim consumers – please

refer to Chapter 2 for details on Islamic markets. These two distinct categories of
consumers differ significantly on several issues such as size, location, motives,
buying behaviour and consumption patterns. A clear distinction between them
is necessary for planning and executing the firm’s marketing strategy in the
Islamic market.
The definition of the Muslim consumer is not as straight forward as it might

seem. Being a Muslim by birth does not necessarily signify that a person does
actually search for, adopt or consume products that are Shariah-compliant. It
is a well-known fact that some Muslims consume alcohol, dine at restaurants
that don’t serve Halal food and arrange their finances through conventional
rather than Islamic banking. Nonetheless, while the weakened conventional
banks have survived so far and continue to this day to provide their services
to a diminishing segment of non-observing Muslims, it is very difficult to find
Haram fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) on supermarket shelves within
a Muslim community. However, if they are found, those who consume them
tend not to go public about it due to the massive cultural pressures against their
use, which could harm their reputation within the community and in many
cases lead to social rejection. It is a very common practice in Arab societies for
women to refuse to marry men who are known to drink alcohol, entertain at
night clubs or work in conventional banks.
Culture-compliant Muslims
Consuming non-Shariah-compliant products is a complicated and serious

concern to those Muslims who consume them, due to the stigma that surrounds
the consumption of these products. To illustrate, Muslims who drink alcoholic
beverages tend to be very secretive about that fact and go to great lengths to
avoid being detected by the society. A common behaviour in wine consumption
among its Muslim consumer base is to buy it from stores at times during the
day or the week when the market is least crowded, use unmarked bags and
boxes to conceal it, and remain seated in their cars behind tinted glass, wearing
large black sunglasses that cover much of the face and waiting for the delivery
person to bring the wine to the car. When a person consumes alcohol sometimes
even his own family doesn’t know about it, unless that person gets too deep
into alcohol consumption and no efforts to conceal it will do any good. This
kind of a consumer can be called a culture-compliant rather than a Shariah-
compliant Muslim because their main concern in consumption is how they will
be looked at by their society, not the violation of the teachings of their religion.
The non-Shariah-compliant products they seek are hard to find in an Islamic
society anyway.
Shariah-compliant Muslims
Shariah-compliant Muslims are those Muslims who are aware of the teachings
of the religion of Islam relating to what to consume, what not to consume, how
to consume it and when and where to consume it and they mostly adhere to
these teachings. They represent the vast majority of Muslims worldwide, both
in Islamic countries and in non-Islamic countries, and the products they seek
are almost identical to those sought by the Western consumer, provided that
these are Shariah-compliant.
It is this massive segment of the Muslim consumer market that multi-

nationals (MNCs) are pursuing. This pursuit is being approached by MNCs
in a most peculiar way; in their efforts to snatch a portion of the Islamic cake,
MNCs are actually making Muslims more observant! They are creating Halal
awareness among Muslims everywhere and, through their well-articulated
marketing campaigns, forcing the Halal brand to be included on all sorts of
products, even within Islamic markets which have historically never disputed
the nature of the products available in their home markets and produced by
their countrymen. It was always taken for granted that such products were
Halal. These companies are vigorously driving Halal onto supermarket shelves,
which in turn turns on their own production lines. In effect, MNCs are bringing
Muslims closer to their God and in return Muslims are increasing the wealth
of these companies’ shareholders. It is a win–win situation for both parties; for
multinationals the proliferation of Halal is big business, for Muslims consuming
Halal is worship.
However, whether they both see it that way is another matter. If these
companies could get this same message to Muslims, their chances of success
among Muslims would increase greatly. Communicating this message
effectively means that the existent historic, cultural and religious barriers
separating MNCs and other aspiring firms from their target Muslim masses
could be overcome through creating a religious-like image, a halo or positive

image of these firms and reducing the tendency among Muslims to be
suspicious of their operations. Although there is no guaranteed method of
success in markets, Muslim or otherwise, the best strategy to use in Muslim
markets is to support the aspirations of the Muslims’ community leaders and
followers to create better Muslims, i.e., more observant and benevolent.
Finally, selling products based on the Halal aspect alone will serve
companies well in the short to medium run and as long as the number of
competitors in that market remains relatively small. After that, Halal becomes
only a core requirement or a qualifier but not a seller. Hopeful firms must link
themselves more closely to the faith of the Muslim consumer in the long run
if they wish to retain their precious and highly rewarding advantage in the
attractive Islamic market.
The Non-Muslim Consumer
In order to understand who is a Muslim consumer one must first understand

who is a non-Muslim consumer. Since no definitions have been provided in this
regard before, at least not from a business or academic perspective, we tried in
this book to present a definition that is both simple to understand, meaningful,
culturally sensitive and thorough. After considering several alternatives and
variables, it was decided that the definition that will be used throughout this
book must include three different dimension; faith, brand and product. As a
result, non-Muslim consumers have been defined as those who (a) adhere to
faiths other than Islam, (b) buy products that are certified and labelled Halal,
and/or (c) buy products that are known to be associated with Islamic countries.
(A) Adhering to Faiths Other than Islam
This means three quarters of the world population or more than 4 billion
consumers. The most likely non-Muslim consumers to patronize Islamic
products are those who live in or near Muslim communities, or work or study
with Muslim colleagues. For example, although the huge number of Muslims in
India represent only a minority, most meat vendors in India today are Muslims
and Halal is what they vend. Non-Muslim customers of Halal in India include
the Indian Army, as well as many government institutions. Although the choice
to buy Halal clearly suits the Muslim consumers serving in these institutions,
it also makes business sense given the large number of Halal suppliers and the
higher competition within the Halal market, which is driving prices downs and
quality up.
(B) Buying Products that are Certified and Labelled Halal
Halal brands, i.e., those showing a HALAL label, remain difficult to find outside
Muslim ethnic shops and communities and their number is very limited when
compared to the 100,000 kosher brands available on supermarkets’ shelves
everywhere.
However, there are many generic brands that are understood to be Halal
without having the logo on them, e.g., the meat prepared at the local Halal
slaughterhouses. Interested consumers know the nature of these products
when purchasing from ethnic Islamic shops, which usually show the Halal
logo as a sign or simple board indicating that the products sold there are Halal.
These shops could be Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Pakistani, Indian, Bengali or
African, etc.
The HALAL sign, logo, or label is usually written in both Arabic ( ) and
Roman scripts for several reasons.
1. Avoid consumer alienation. Since using one language in an ethnically

diversified community might negatively affect consumer
engagement, or might even be perceived to be culturally insensitive
and thus lead to alienation of some consumers, Islamic businesses
use both Arabic and Roman scripts as a way to appeal to all
consumers within their trading area. Although some non-Muslims
might recognize the Arabic logo, nearly all Muslims have at least
a basic understanding and recognition of Arabic script since
the Quran is recited only in the Arabic language and all Islamic
prayers and rituals have to be performed in Arabic according to the
teachings of Islam.
2. Credibility. The Arabic script will add authenticity and credibility to

the business among its Muslim clientele since Arabic, as indicated
above, is widely understood and religiously acknowledged by
Muslims, both Arab and non-Arab.
3. Exoticness and ethnic. The Arabic script is noticeably different than

the Roman script, which adds a touch of exoticness to the business,
as well as signalling that the products are also ethnic.
4. Visual recognition. The Arabic script will help a business achieve

better visual recognition, especially if the neighbouring businesses
do not display the Halal sign.
(C) Buying Products that are Known to be Associated

with Islamic Countries Provided that they are Shariah-
compliant
It is taken for granted that products such as hummus, dates, couscous, falafel,
etc. which originate from Islamic countries are generally Halal. However, a
caution should be noted here in relation to the new Islamic states in Europe that
are just discovering their Islamic identities. These newly Islamized countries
have been under communist rule for such a long time that their citizens have
forgotten many of the basic concepts of Islam. Although those citizens are
keen to relearn about their religion they still have sometime before they can
transform and incorporate their religious knowledge into business practices.
Motives Underlying Muslim Consumer’s Decisions1
There are three factors driving the economic behaviour of Muslims: belief in
the Day of Judgement and the hereafter, success and riches.
1. Believing in the Day of Judgement and the life hereafter extends the
time horizon of Muslims beyond death and closely interrelates life
before and after death. This creates two effects as far as consumers’
behaviour is concerned. First, the outcome of a choice of action is
composed of its immediate effect in this life and its later effect in the
life to come. Therefore, the utility derived from such a choice is the
total of the present value of these two effects. Second, the number of
alternative uses of one’s income is increased by the inclusion of all
the benefits that would be gained only in the hereafter. Examples of
1 This part of the book is adapted from Monzer Kahf’s chapter: ‘A contribution to the theory of
consumer behavior in an Islamic society.’ In Studies in Islamic Economics ed. Khurshid Ahmad
(Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: International Center for Research in Islamic Economics, King Abdul
Aziz University, and Markfield, UK: Islamic Foundation, 1979).
such alternative uses are interest-free lending, charity, securing of

animal welfare and the welfare of future generations, improvement
of communal life even when this has no immediate benefit for the
individual, promotion and perpetuation of goodness, etc. These
uses of income are excluded from Max Weber’s theory of rationality
unless they have some immediate utility. Thus many alternative
uses of one’s income may have positive utility in the Islamic culture;
whereas their utility benefits in the capitalist rationalization may be
zero.
2. Success is defined in Islam in terms of the ‘consent of Allah’ and not

in those of the accumulation of wealth. Virtue, righteousness and
the fulfilment of the servanthood to Allah are key to His consent.
Virtue and righteousness can be achieved through good actions
and purification of human behaviour from evil and vice. Service
and obedience to Allah may be rendered by the positive use of
human capabilities and resources, given by Allah. This includes
the full use and exploitation of everything given to mankind by
Allah. According to the teachings of Islam, if a man really wants
to serve Allah, the utilization of the natural and human resources
made available to him is not only a privilege but also a duty and
obligation prescribed by Allah. Therefore, material progress and
perfection are in themselves moral values in Islam. Abstention
and withdrawal from enjoyment and satisfaction from material
life is in direct opposition to Islamic doctrines. Efficiency and the
value of time are concepts made alive in human consciousness by
the religion of Islam. After all, Islam urges and requires people to
spend part of their time energy for the remembrance of Allah, the
improvement of spiritual and moral surroundings, the propagation
of virtue and goodness, etc. All this can only be done if part of
human resources can be spared and liberated from the pursuit of
consumption.
3. The concept of wealth and income (Arabic: Mal) is unique in Islam.

Mal, whether looked at as wealth or income, is a bounty from Allah;
it is not an evil. Heaven is not only open to the poor, it is also and
equally open to the rich. Mal is not a tool that may be used for good
or evil. Poverty is, in some instances, associated with disbelief and
riches are considered a gift from Allah. Since riches are a bounty
from Him, they must be used for the benefit and satisfaction of
human wants. This is an implication of humble service to Allah.

The Prophet said, ‘Verily, Allah likes to see the trace of His bounty
on His servant’.
4. Finally, since Mal is a tool to buy goods and services which bring
about satisfaction, it should be spent for that purpose and not
hoarded. The concept of real income appears in another saying
where real income is defined as the total of what is used for the
purchase of goods and services that produce immediate satisfaction
in this life plus that which is given away for causes that enrich one’s
life after.
In the light of these three principles, consumer behaviour in Islam can be

described as a maximization of success (Arabic: Falah). Success may be defined,
in the narrow sense, corresponding with consumer choice, as the level of
obedience to Allah derived from the satisfaction of one’s material wants and
the exhibition of the effect of Allah’s bounty by extracting enjoyment of the
Mal given by Allah, and the enrichment of one’s life after. The maximization
of the consumer’s success is subject to an income constraint determined by the
level of spendable income. The latter is defined as total income minus planned
change in wealth.
The exhibition of the trace of Allah’s bounty affects the consumer’s

behaviour by raising the proportion of final spending to income because it
implies an increase in spending on material wants and/or enrichment of one’s
life in the hereafter at each level of income. Consequently, at each level of
income, final spending in the Muslim household is expected to be higher than
in the non-Muslim family.
Serving the Modern Muslim Consumer
Businesses, allured by the grand potential of the Islamic market, are studying
how to serve the modern Muslim consumer who is attracted to the glamorous
Western lifestyles, yet observes the teachings of his/her religion. These
consumers are looking for companies that will provide products and services
that could help them lead their own glamorous Shariah-compliant lifestyle,
they want brands that speak to them (Power and Abdullah 2009).
Muslim consumers in general are following their Western counterparts.

Those consumers are well aware of this fact; it is deeply rooted in their psyche
since the Prophet of Islam told them: ‘You shall follow the paths of those
who came before you, even if they entered a ruined hole of a desert monitor
(Agama) you shall enter it behind them. The companions of the Prophet asked:
[you mean] the Jews and the Christian? He said: who else?’ Admiring the
Western lifestyle is seen by Muslims as a prophecy. Such a prophecy is being
translated into business opportunities by leading multinationals that seek to
provide Islamic versions of mainstream Western products and services such as
fast food, gyms and luxury hotels, to mention only a few. These businesses are
allowing Muslims to express their religious principles through helping them
buying Islamic; connecting to their Islamic roots by what they eat, wear and
play. For example, traditional foods consumed by Muslims are now competing
with pizzas, burgers and doughnuts in addition to an array of foods that have
only recently entered the Muslim menu. KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Dunkin
Donuts and Subway chains have hundreds of Halal franchises across most
Muslim countries. Moreover, Muslim travellers want luxurious hotels whose
clients do not behave and dress provocatively, places where they can go to
with their families (Power and Abdullah 2009). These and other demands
from Muslim consumers are a sign of the new Islamic consumption identity, a
market based on religious-compliant personal lifestyles.
The Behavior of Muslim Consumers
In this section specific dimensions describing the various aspects of the Muslim
consumers’ consumption patterns will be discussed and analyzed from
the perspective of the religion of Islam, which, as explained earlier, plays a
considerable role in the consumption decisions of Muslim consumers, from
financing a car or arranging a house mortgage to having a light afternoon
snack. Although to Muslims the rules concerning what, how and when to
consume are part of their daily life, at first sight a non-Muslim might see them
as numerous restrictions limiting one’s choices of consumption. A careful
look at them, however, will reveal that they are not restrictions but rules of
consumption designed to organize Muslims’ lives and enable them to strike
a balance between the rational satisfaction of their endless desires and their
limited needs. These rules help Muslims recognize that they are human with
higher purposes in life rather than just consumers whose existence is justified
only if they consume. They can be resembled to guideposts that draw the line
between enough and indulgence.
Living these rules since birth, at home and in the community, makes living
outside them clearly difficult. In fact, in the same way non-Muslims wonder
how a Muslim could live with all of these ‘restrictions’ pertaining to everything
they do, Muslims wonder how could others live without them. An Irish friend
of mine told me during my PhD years in Dublin about a discussion he had
with a Muslim student from the Arabian Peninsula about a steak. The Muslim
student was convinced that Haram steaks smell bad when they are being
cooked and validated his argument with the common belief among Muslims
that animals not slaughtered the Halal way will retain much of their blood,
which is burned during cooking thus producing a foul odour. My Irish friend,
in turn, said the steaks smell lovely and she could not find anything bad about
them. Both were convinced of their rightness on the issue. However, since there
are no restrictions on food consumption in Catholicism, unlike in Islam, they
had to go to a Halal restaurant because a Catholic may eat a Halal steak but
a Muslim may not eat a steak that is not prepared according to the Islamic
dietary laws.
What to Consume
The general rule in Islam is that Halal is the norm and Haram is the exception.
However, since more focus is placed on Haram, even by Muslims, it is easily
forgotten that Haram represents only a negligible fraction of God’s overall
creation. According to Islam, Haram is insignificant in the universe. In fact it
could be likened to the forbidden tree in Paradise. While Adam and Eve could
enjoy the infinite bounties of Paradise, they were forbidden to eat from one
particular tree; only one tree in Paradise was Haram and all the other trees and
fruits were Halal.
Having such a view of Halal and Haram will limit a company’s abilities
to innovate in the Islamic market because a company will have very limited
room to manoeuvre at the very tight tip of the iceberg of Islamic consumption.
The tip of that iceberg includes the three widely known Islamic prohibitions,
i.e., prohibition of swine and their related products, prohibition of wine and
its related products and prohibition of interest rates and its related products.
A company producing or selling goods which may be affected by these
prohibitions will need to be wary of everything it does, including its process,
its ingredients and its selling practices. Since there are many restrictions a
company is always at risk of violating some of them and thus falling victim
to the massive propaganda machine of the Muslim consumer groups run
by emotional, internet-savvy, young Muslims who don’t necessarily hold a

positive attitude towards Western products and producers.
The real opportunity for companies is to operate in the unseen part of that
iceberg, the area of paradise where the infinite bounties are hardly seen by
competitors, who remain fighting over the one forbidden tree, or the tight tip.
Natural farming, technology and education, e.g., are much less regulated in
Islam and it is much easier for a company to position its products as Islamic as
there is much less risk of violating the Islamic guidelines such as those that exist
in the dietary section of the Islamic laws. For example, a mobile phone company
could add special features to its mobiles to appeal to Muslim consumers.
Such additions might include prayer times, the direction of Mecca, an Islamic
locator, the Islamic calendar and date, Quran recitations, Islamic songs, Islamic
media and entertainment, etc. Moreover, a farmer raising cows in the green
fields in the Netherlands is at little risk of violating Islamic guidelines since
both the cow and the field are natural and don’t fall within the three forbidden
categories.
To summarize, the consumption of Halal is something that Muslims will

be rewarded for as long as this consumption is in moderation. The Islamic
rule in this regard is very clear: if a person starves himself needlessly then
he is committing a bad deed and thus unless Allah forgives him his deed is
punishable. Therefore, if a person eats well and maintains his body fit his
action will be seen as a good deed that is worthy of reward by Allah. The same
goes for the other numerous parts of our lives including entertainment, sports,
sex, etc.
Finally, it is important to remember that Halal is the norm, not the exception,
i.e., everything is Halal unless proven it is Haram. This is clearly stated by the
Prophet: ‘Eat what you feel like and wear what you feel like. But avoid two
things: extravagance and arrogance.’ A beautiful perfumed woman who liked
clothes and making herself beautiful for her husband was seen one day by the
Prophet’s wife in bad shape so she asked her why she had changed. The woman
said that her husband was among some of the companions of the Prophet who
dedicated themselves to worship and abstained from women and eating meat,
fasted the day and stayed awake during the night to worship, and she did not
want to tempt her husband and make him forgo what he dedicated himself to.
The wife of the Prophet told him of what some of his companions were doing.
He went to them and told them that they should not be doing that and that they
should eat meat, have intercourse with women, fast and break fast, pray and
sleep, for that is what he was ordered by Allah.
How Much to Consume
A Muslim’s proper consumption can best be characterized as moderation in the

quantity acquired and consumed of that which is deemed Halal. As opposed
to the prevailing attitude which expects consumption to be maximized, Islam
greatly encourages moderate consumption; a Muslim consumer should only
take what is enough and avoid needless consumption. The following Islamic
teachings clearly set forth the guidelines for the Muslim consumers’ proper
consumption.
Food Consumption
Allah says in the Quran:
Say (O Muhammad): Who has forbidden the adornment with clothes

given by Allâh, which He has produced for His slaves, and At-Taiyyibât
[all kinds of Halâl (lawful) things] of food? Say: They are, in the life of
this world, for those who believe, (and) exclusively for them (believers)
on the Day of Resurrection (the disbelievers will not share them).
Thus We explain the Ayât (Islâmic laws) in detail for people who have
knowledge ...
Quran 7:31
These divine words clearly tell believers that they must not abstain from that
which Allah has given to them, i.e., enjoying food and drink. This enjoyment,
however, must be within limits that help the Muslim avoid indulgence yet
gain the benefits. These limits are clarified in the teachings of the Prophet
Mohammad where He says: ‘A believer eats in one intestine (is satisfied with a
little food), and a kafir (unbeliever) eats in seven intestines (eats much food)’,
and ‘A human has not filled a container worse than his belly. The son of Adam
should be content with few bites that maintain his strength. But if he must do
that [eating more than a few bites because he cannot control his cravings] then
one third [of his stomach] is for his food, one third for his drink, and one third
for his breath.’ Words that could easily be attributed to a dietician!
Clothes Consumption
Allah says in the Quran: ‘O Children of Adam! Take your adornment while
praying and going round the Ka’bah …’ (Quran 7:31), and ‘Say (O Muhammad):
Who has forbidden the adornment with clothes given by Allah, which He has
produced for His slaves …’ (Quran 7:32). In these two verses from the seventh
chapter in the Quran Allah asks Muslims to wear good clothes and to beautify
themselves, but again without extravagance. The difference between what is
acceptable and extravagance is explained in the teachings of the Prophet:
1. ‘Gold and silk are forbidden for the males of my nation and allowed
for their females.’
2. ‘Never let your lower garment go below the ankles because that is
arrogance. And Allah does not like arrogance.’
To clarify further, a dress should (Khalid n.d.):
1. Cover specific parts of the body adequately. For men, it is the middle
part of the body from navel to knee. For women, it is the entire
body except hands and face. These parts must never be exposed
to any other person (except in case of genuine need, e.g., medical
treatment). In addition, the cloth must be neither see-through nor
tight fitting.
2. Provide for decent appearance. For men, this extends the coverage
requirements to include most of the body. For women, the essential
requirement is that their dress should identify them as respectable
ladies.
3. The dress design must avoid three deadly sins: showing off,
arrogance and self-indulgence.
Finally, it is important to note that Islam has not prescribed a particular

dress style, giving Muslims ample room to accommodate their needs,
circumstances and tastes. However, these principles are for everyone and for
ever. Any garment that accommodates these principles will be Islamic dress
(Khalid n.d.).
When to Consume
The Muslim consumer is not a non-stop consumption machine and is not set
on an endless consumption spree, consuming as much as his body and time
tolerate or, in the process of that consumption, stretching his finances thin and
wide. A Muslim’s consumption is guided by two main factors: the existence of
a need, and/or the performance of a religious duty or ritual.
Existence of a Need
Using Maslow’s hierarchy, humans’ needs range between physical requirements

that are necessary for an abstract survival to self actualization which comes
after one has acquired many of the worldly things he or she wished for earlier.
The insistence of these higher needs is not less than the lower needs of food,
safety and companionship, and people tend to pursue them vigorously. Some
Muslim scholars add a higher dimension to the hierarchy of needs and they call
it the need to believe, or faith.
The various needs in this hierarchy are widely accepted among scholars
and apply to people in different cultures, although with some distinction that
allows for certain-specific sensitivities and peculiarities to be observed.
At the lower level of needs, and as far as the basic need for food is
concerned Islam clearly describes when and how much to eat: ‘We are a nation
[Muslims] that don’t eat until we become hungry, and if we eat, we don’t eat
our fill (Prophet Mohammad).’ This teaching has been deeply integrated into
the dining manners of Arab Muslims, especially at banquet invitations from
family, friends and others. Filling one’s plate at these occasions will raise
many eyebrows and elicit many quiet yet unfavourable comments. Going for
a second round is even worse, unless one is going to get sweets or drinks. To
help reduce the amount of food consumed a Muslim is encouraged to converse
when dining. Longer conversations will allow the body to absorb nutrients
from the food and thus reduce cravings and helps a diner feel full with a lesser
amount of food.
At the highest level of needs, faith, adherents are also required to practise
it in moderation in order to avoid extreme practices that could actually have
negative outcomes. An adherent to Islam could theoretically fast any number
of days in addition to the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, could volunteer
to pray all night long for as many nights he or she wished, and could spend his
or her entire fortune in charity. However, doing any of these to the extreme is
greatly discouraged by Islam. The Prophet teaches ‘This religion is made easy,
yet whoever contests with it will be defeated.’ This means that Muslims should
‘take it easy’ when practising their faith; Allah knows our limits and tolerances
and trying to bypass these will not bring us closer to Him or make Him more
satisfied with our unwarranted extra deeds. It is good that a Muslim wakes up
at night and prays for sometime but it is wrong that he stays awake the whole
night praying because that will prevent him from attending to his worldly
affairs. Fasting for many months in the year will weaken him. Spending all of
his fortune on charities will send him and his family into poverty. Abstinence
from natural desires is not the way of Islam. The Prophet teaches: ‘But I pray
and sleep, I fast and I breakfast, I eat meat, and I marry women and those
who do not follow my Sunnah [way] are not of me’, ‘The best fasting is that of
Allah’s Apostle David, he used to fast a day and break fast a day’ and:
In the year of the last Hajj of the Prophet I became seriously ill and
the Prophet used to visit me inquiring about my health. I told him, I
am reduced to this state because of illness and I am wealthy and have
no inheritors except a daughter. Should I give all of my property in
charity? He said, no. I asked, half? He said, no. Then I asked, one-third?
The Prophet said a third and a third is too much; you would better leave
your inheritors wealthy rather than leaving them poor, begging others.
You will be rewarded for whatever you spend for Allah’s sake even if it
were a morsel which you put in your wife’s mouth.
Giving in charity is a highly praised deed in Islam, as long as it is within

reason.
How to Consume
Islam places special emphasis on the social aspect of life. It encourages people
to interact and to mix together. It also encourages collective actions and
cooperation between adherents who are encouraged to know one another.
Many of the pure acts of worship in Islam are designed to instil a community
spirit, like Friday and Eid Prayers (end of Ramadan and end of hajj) that
must be performed in congregation (Badawi 2007). Praying in congregation
strengthens the ties between people by giving them the opportunity to interact
with each other and discuss their issues in a holy place. Similarly, fasting has
many social aspects: it causes Muslims to feel the starvation and the agony of
the poor and deprived in society and encourages them to extend their hands
in help towards them. The hajj undoubtedly is the largest religious and social
convention, bringing millions of people from around the globe into one arena
to strengthen their ties, develop their skills and exchange ideas and opinions as
to how to improve their situations. Charity also plays an important social role
in Islam by causing Muslims to think that they themselves are responsible for
bridging the gap between the rich and the poor as well as for sharing their own
wealth with the needy (revertmuslims.com 2009).
Moreover, although it is clear in Islam that dining alone is perfectly

acceptable, it is encouraged that people dine in groups for the sake of blessing.
‘The Companions of the Prophet said: Apostle of Allah we eat but we are not
satisfied. He said: Perhaps you eat separately. They replied: Yes. He said: If you
gather together at your food and mention Allah’s name, you will be blessed in
it.’ To summarize, Islam greatly encourages group activities; the Prophet says
‘Allah’s extends his hand in help to the group.’
The Muslim Consumer Demographics
A comprehensive demographic study of more than 232 countries conducted

by the Pew Research Center in October 2009 mapped the demographics of the
Muslim population and found that there are 1.57 billion Muslims around the
world and on all continents, accounting for almost one in four people. Most
Muslims are Sunni (87–90 per cent) following the Quran and the Sunnah, i.e.,
life of the Prophet Mohammad, while the vast majority of the remainder (10–13
per cent) are Shi’a. According to the study more than 60 per cent of the Muslim
population is in Asia and about 20 per cent is in the Middle East and North
Africa. The Middle East and North Africa region – mostly Arab Muslims –
has the highest percentage of Muslim-majority countries. But more than 300
million Muslims, or one-fifth of the Muslim population, live in countries where
Muslims are a minority group, often quite a large group. India, e.g., has the
third-largest population of Muslims worldwide with 161 million Muslims
(Lugo 2009). Of the 232 countries and territories included in the Pew Research
Center study, 50 are Muslim-majority.
Although it is hard to say that all of these populations are homogeneous, if

only due to the sheer number alone, it is still possible to draw some common
characteristics that are shared between most of them due to the nature of the
religion of Islam, the mostly shared history and the relatively similar present
circumstances, ambitions and challenges. These characteristics include:
1. Muslims have large families.
2. Muslims live in and support extended families where successive

generations take care of each other. It is very common to find three
generations living in the same house.
3. The Muslim family is structured around creating a prosperous

environment for the family’s children and women. This is the
religious duty of every Muslim.
4. Muslim populations are young: the majority of Muslims are less

than 30 years old.
5. Contrary to common stereotypes, Muslim women play a central

role in the family with most family-related decisions being made
directly or indirectly by them. Many of them also engage in
entrepreneurial activities, often home-based, to support families.
6. Older people are well regarded and respected. Elders have a lot of
say in most family decisions especially in extended families.
7. All Muslims – that’s more than one and a half billion – are required
to perform hajj once in a lifetime. Hajj is a religious journey to Mecca.
Hajj and Umrah (smaller hajj) generated nearly $30 billion for Saudi
Arabia in 2009 from organizing pilgrimages to Islamic holy places.
The figure covers travelling, accommodation and living expenses,
as well as cost of animals for sacrifices (Ali 2009). The 1.57 billion
would-be pilgrims could generate as much as $16 trillion worth of
economic activity.
8. Muslims are usually more likely to be practising than are adherents

of other major world religions. This, in turn, stimulates massive
economic activities centred around the various religious rituals
such as hajj, fasting during the month of Ramadan, supporting
charities, praying and offering sacrifices, in addition to those
around rituals pertaining to the worldly lives of Muslims such as
marriages, visitations, congregations and others.
9. Muslims admire Western lifestyles but they cannot embrace them

because many of them are seen as being contradictory to the Islamic
laws. The West is the ultimate destination for Muslim students, the
preferred holiday destination for wealthy Muslims and the symbol
of quality and honesty for Muslim businessmen, while Western
medical institutions are the last refuge for Muslims with difficult
illnesses.
10. Even when some Muslims are not particularly observant they tend
to trust people who are considered religious. Religious people are
the real community leaders among Muslims and they command a
great deal of power and authority. They are well organized, well
connected and publicity experts. Their influence shouldn’t be
ignored by any aspirant firm.
Country-specific and Culture-specific Attitudes of the Muslim

Consumer
Muslim consumers are very sensitive to certain consumption patterns and may
restrict their consumption or refrain from purchasing products or brands that
are perceived to be associated with specific countries believed to be hostile to
Muslims, which is contrary to the common belief that Muslim consumers are
generally anti-Western. Muslims have high regard for German products, e.g.,
despite Germany being a Western country. This points to a very important fact
that is usually overlooked when discussing Muslim consumers and that fact is
Muslims attitudes are usually country-specific not culture-specific. Muslims
don’t loathe the West as is commonly stereotyped in literature and media. The
question that is often asked in some media outlets – ‘Why do they [the Muslims]
hate us [the West]’ – has no answer, simply because they don’t. This distinctive
attitude by Muslims is actually a core religious teaching stated clearly in the
Quran; one is not to be held accountable for another’s actions. ‘Say: Shall I seek
a lord other than Allâh, while He is the Lord of all things? No person earns
any (sin) except against himself (only), and no bearer of burdens shall bear the
burden of another. Then unto your Lord is your return, so He will tell you that
wherein you have been differing’ (Quran 6:164).
The clear, and religious, distinction in the minds and hearts of the Muslim
consumers between country-specific and culture-specific attitudes has
significant implications for the Western companies engaged in or considering
engaging the Muslim market. While Danish products have been largely
shunned by the Muslim consumers, as a result of the fallout of the cartoons
that were published in Danish media depicting Mohammad, the Prophet of
Islam, in a less than respectable way, the products of neighbouring Germany
continue to enjoy a highly regarded position in the Muslim markets. Moreover,
while Danish exports to the Islamic world have dwindled, those of the nearby
Netherlands have escaped relatively unharmed.
Such a distinction creates an opportunity for these companies. Being

associated with a country that is positively perceived by Muslims will result
in increased demand for its products. A company that is welcomed by the
Muslim consumer means that it is not seen as anti-Islamic, unlike companies
associated with countries that are perceived negatively, which will be almost
automatically be seen as anti-Islamic. The attitude of the Muslim consumer,
whether positive or negative, is always linked to religion and/or justified by
religion. Thus consuming products originating from certain countries becomes
a sin and from others a good deed. Indeed a very tricky situation that companies
find tricky to manoeuvre. However, there are several ways to avoid a negative
image.
Disassociation from ‘Hostile’ Countries
Since religion plays a central role in the Muslim consumer decision-making

process, all things, including countries, products and individuals, can be
classified into one of three categories: bad, good or neutral. A ‘hostile’ country
is one which is involved or has been involved recently in actions that are
perceived to be contradictory to the beliefs of Muslim consumers, while a
‘good’ country is that doing the opposite. The image of the country will be
involuntarily projected on the companies associated with it. Thus, companies
need to carefully choose with whom they should be associated if they plan to
deal with Muslim consumers.
Neutral classification brands are those that are classified by Muslim

consumers as neither good nor bad. Company in this category can build
whatever image it desires for itself and its brands. However, it is important to
note here that many multinationals merely copy their image into the Muslim
market with only minor cosmetic changes and facelifts. A classical example is
that of a famous drug company marketing a new remedy in the United Arab
Emirates which tried to avoid possible mistakes in language by using pictures
instead of words. The first picture on the left was of someone ill, the next picture
showed the person taking the medication, the final picture on the right showed
a healthy person. What Arab consumers saw was a healthy person taking the
remedy and then falling ill; the company failed to notice that Arabs read from
right to left.
On the other hand, a company can get away with many wrongdoings and
slip unharmed in the Muslim market as long as it doesn’t do something that
scratches, even remotely, the religion of Islam. Religion to Muslim consumers
is highly regarded even by those who are not easily classified as religious
people. When Nike introduced a new design of sports shoe with a symbol on
them which looked like the Arabic script for ‘God’, a massive campaign ensued
in which masses of Muslim consumers participated forcing the company to
apologize and withdraw the design from the market. It is worth noting here
that Nike in the Arab world used to be associated with Westernized lifestyles
mainly adopted by people who are not classified as religious.
To disassociate a company from a country that is at risk of confrontation

– political or otherwise – with Muslim countries, organizations or groups, an
MNC should be truly a multinational, i.e., belong to the world as a whole not
to specific country or a few elite ones. It should have international citizenship
so that consumers all over the world can say that this MNC is theirs. Having
an international citizenship will make the company immune to the immense
political changes associated with the Middle East, and consequently with the
wider Muslim population.
Association with ‘Friendly’ Countries
Another approach to enhance the company’s image in the Muslim consumers’

minds is to be actually associated with countries that are perceived positively,
or at least neutral. Switzerland, despite all of the chronic hostilities between
Muslims and some Western powers historically and in the present, remains a
favourite destination for Arab oil money. Swiss products in the Middle East
have an almost sanctified status, up to this point at least, since the vote to
ban the construction of minarets in mosques in November 2009 will have a
negative long-term effect on the country’s image. This approach is nonetheless
risky. Due to the political turmoil the world has plunged into and with
new coalitions emerging, a friend today could be a foe tomorrow. Strongly
associating a company’s image with a specific country could have catastrophic
consequences. The massive boycott of the Danish products came almost out
of the blue: Danish producers didn’t anticipate it and Muslim consumers
never had any previous concerns about Denmark because that country was
relatively unknown to them. As such its products enjoyed a market relatively
void of serious international competition; its brands easily pushed their way
into refrigerators in Muslim homes. It is very difficult to find a Muslim who
doesn’t know what Puck is. Danish brands, had they been positioned since the
start as international instead of Danish, would have suffered much less from
the boycott.
Image Management
To manage the company’s or country’s image successfully the political concerns

of Muslim consumers must be addressed. The UK, which is much better at
image management than the USA, enjoys a prominent position in the Middle
Eastern market despite being a major partner to the US in all hostilities with
Muslims. There are more Range Rovers in the United Arab Emirates than in the
whole of Europe, aside from the UK itself. France, which also does a relatively
good job with image management (although not as good as the UK), enjoys
a superior position in the bottled water market; French water is sold at very
high premiums when compared to local and regional brands. Spanish olive
products crowd the shelves of Arab supermarkets and Danish dairy products
were an Arab favourite before Denmark’s fall from approval.
Image management should be pursued as a remedy if and when a

company’s or a country’s image is distorted for some reason, usually political
or religious. To endeavour to build a reputation at any price – maybe provoking
target market – and then to try and manage that reputation is not a wise
choice when consumers as emotional as the Muslim consumers are concerned.
Unfortunately, consumers are unforgiving and to them ‘once a sinner is always
a sinner’, rarely would they heed to the teachings of their religion which greatly
praises the attribute of being able to forgive. Thus, the notions of ‘any publicity
is good publicity’ or ‘I don’t care what they say about me as long as they spell
my name right’ is an approach that should be avoided in most cases, such as in
cross-cultural marketing where religion might be involved.
Conclusion
The influence of the religion of Islam on the behaviour of its followers cannot
be overestimated. The Islamic law, the Shariah, is so comprehensive that it
describes what a Muslim should and should not do during his/her entire waking
hours. The Muslim begins his day at dawn with ablutions and performing the
dawn prayers and ends it with night prayer nearly two hours after sunset.
Three other prayers have to be performed between dawn and night at specified
times and each is usually done with a separate ablution. Being in contact with
the Quran and the Sunnah five times a day will undoubtedly have a profound
effect on a Muslim’s behaviour. Add to that having to fast an entire month each
year, giving two obligatory alms (the 2.5 per cent money tax and the breakfast
tax at the end of Ramadan), giving voluntary donations according to one’s
means, performing hajj and attending Friday prayers, end of Ramadan prayers
and end of hajj prayers. A Muslim’s life revolves around the script and what it
instructs. Abiding by it is a worship that will bring a Muslim closer to Allah. A
Muslim’s decisions are made with one clear aim in mind and that is to please
Allah, the creator, the merciful and the companionate. As a result, any decision
or course of action that will upset Allah will not be considered.
Although one might argue that not all Muslims are God-fearing and
thus the above discussion doesn’t apply to them, the influence of observant
Muslims and overly Islamic cultural norms and traditions are so immense in
Islamic society that it becomes difficult for the less observant Muslims not to be
observant, at least in public.
International marketers cannot afford to ignore the religious factor in the

decision making process of the Muslim consumer. Regardless of the background
of the marketer, be it capitalism, liberalism, socialism or something else, those
consumers have a different orientation towards life that might not exactly fit
with the pre-packaged marketing formulas or with the prevalent marketing
wisdom. They have a unique code of practice and they embrace that code with
zeal. Non-conforming marketers will find themselves on a collision course with
their prospects and customers and their brands will soon be removed from the
shelves of supermarkets in Muslim countries.
International marketers must help Muslims become more observant and

must include that fact in their marketing communications. I was once in Mecca
amid a sea of pilgrims from all over the world. The ones sitting beside me were,
as far as could tell, from Indonesia or Malaysia. I was silently praising God for
all the bounties he had bestowed upon me. While I was doing that I kept hearing
the sound of successive clicks the source of which which I couldn’t immediately
identify. After a little concentration I saw that my Asia-Pacific brothers were
praising God with the help of technology; they were using little hand-held
devices, very simple, to count and record how many times they praised! I don’t
know what brand was carved on the Praiser, but the manufacturing firm has
made it all the way to Mecca.
Key terms:
• The Muslim consumer
• Shariah-compliant Muslims
• The non-Muslim consumer
• Halal logos
• Muslim consumer behaviour
• Muslim consumer demographics
• ‘Hostile’ and friendly countries of origin.
References
Ali, J. (2009). ‘Haj vital to Saudi economy.’ Gulf News. 29 November.

Badawi, J. (2007). ‘Social relationships in Islam.’ Retrieved 1 December, 2009,
from http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1173
695223318&pagename=Zone-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout.
Khalid, B. (n.d.). ‘The Islamic dress code.’ Retrieved 28 November 2009 from
http://www.albalagh.net/food_for_thought/dress.shtml.
Lugo, L. (2009). ‘Mapping the global Muslim population: a report on the size
and distribution of the world’s Muslim population.’ Pew Research Center.
Retrieved 1 December 2009 from http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/
Demographics/Muslimpopulation.pdf.
revertmuslims.com. (2009). ‘Social life in Islam.’ Retrieved 1 December, 2009,
from http://www.revertmuslims.com/islam/social_life_in_islam.htm.
8
Islamic Branding: Concepts and
Background1
There is a new big thing in the world of marketing and it is green, not
the familiar grass-green of the environment, but a deeper green – the
traditional color of Islam.
Young 2007
Learning Objectives

• Compare religious and ethnic branding with Islamic branding
• Differentiate between Halal and kosher as religious products
• Differentiate between Islamic products and Islamic brands
• Identify the various types of Islamic branding
• Identify the Halal customers
• Identify the Halal categories
• Describe the importance of innovation in Halal
• Describe the difficulties in Halal certification
• Describe the growing importance of Halal logistics.
1 This chapter has been previously published as Alserhan, B. A. (2010). ‘Islamic branding: A
conceptualization of related terms.’ Journal of Brand Management 18: 34–49.
Introduction
Religious brands like Halal and kosher can capture a craving for purity that
goes beyond the religious duty of their faithful adherents. The vast majority
of kosher customers are not of the Jewish faith and, likewise, many Shariah-
compliant firms reveal that not all of their customers are Muslims. For example,
at the Jawhara Hotels, an alcohol-free Arabian Gulf chain, 60 per cent of the
clientele are non-Muslims, drawn by the hotels’ serenity and family-friendly
atmosphere. Likewise, a quarter of the Dutch-based cookie and chocolate
company Marhaba’s customers are non-Muslims (Power and Abdullah
2009). While Muslims consume 16 per cent of kosher products in the US
alone, demand for Halal food products by Jewish and Christian consumers is
increasing as those customers become aware of the Halal brand. These religious
products, unlike ethnic products which base their appeal mainly on being
exotic, are associated with the more profound concepts of cleanliness, purity
and kindness, in addition to being different and exotic.
Islamic religious brands, or Halal brands, are prepared according to the

Islamic principles that guide what is permitted not just in the food industry but
also in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, logistics, clothing, finance, hospitality and
banking (Minkus-McKenna 2007), thus extending the religious umbrella much
more widely than kosher or ethnic products, which are mainly associated
with the food industry. Although this extension provides a much greater
opportunity for a diverse mass of businesses to engage profitably, the Halal
market remained unexplored by the majority of non-Muslim multinational
corporations until very recently and the relatively small number of MNCs that
dared to engage Halal at an earlier stage now enjoy the results of their timely
intervention; they dominate 90 per cent of the Halal food market.
Non-Muslim MNCs like Nestlé, Unilever, L’Oréal, Colgate, Baskin Robbins

and Campbell Soup, among others, continue to invest heavily in addressing
the Islamic dietary, lifestyle and consumption requirements. For example, at
the Nestlé corner at the third annual World Halal Forum WHF exhibition,
information on Shariah-compliant Smarties, PowerBars, Maggi Noodles, ice
cream and Koko Krunch breakfast cereal was displayed. Moreover, Nestlé is
investing CHF 85 million in Malaysia in 2009 to meet the increasing demand
for Halal products of which Nestlé Malaysia is the Centre of Excellence. The
investment supports the setting up of new regional plants for Nescafé and
non-dairy creamer as well as the expansion of its Maggi facilities (Power 2008).
These companies build on and transform the image of their brands from being
I s l a m i c B r a n d i n g: Co n c e pt s a n d Ba c kg ro u n d 139
international to being Islamic, i.e., accepted by the Muslim consumer as Halal

brands. A successful transformation can be immensely beneficial to jump
start an MNC’s brand in an Islamic market. International corporate brands
are only significant if they successfully translate the core value proposition of
the corporate offering into the new Islamic market, a difficult task that can be
achieved only when the entire firm lives and breathes the brand and every
aspect of the firm reflects the brand values and essence (Melewar and Walker
2003), i.e., Halal.
This chapter aims to provide a better understanding of Islamic branding

through conceptualizing the terms relevant to firms’ brand Islamization efforts.
It emphasizes the importance of Muslims as a distinct potential market that
remains noticeably under-researched and demonstrates that the novelty of the
topic itself is worthy of consideration since research about Islamic branding
is non-existent despite the huge potential the Islamic market presents; it also
defines and differentiates between the concepts of Islamic products and Islamic
brands, conceptualizes the major branding considerations an Islamizing firm
needs to consider and provides a valuable source of insights for future research
as well as a benchmark for practitioners.
Importance of Islamic Branding
In order to engage the Halal market, firms need to employ brand Islamization
strategies based on information obtained from the Islamic market, including
customers, competitors and the business environment. With such information,
firms can further develop their organizational values, norms, practices and
structure in order to be appreciative of the novelty of the Islamic market.
Firms willing to target Muslim consumers need different strategies to those

used for targeting traditional consumers. Their marketing strategies must be
aligned with Islamic values, standards and guidelines. However, research has so
far been characterized as being narrowly focused and limited to understanding
marketing decisions based on Western ideologies and principles (Zakaria and
Abdul-Talib forthcoming). According to Paul Tempral, an expert on Islamic
branding: ‘To date, there has been little formal research into the branding issues
associated with serving these markets – which represent a sizeable commercial
opportunity for many brand owners and developers’ (Temporal 2008).
Islam creates an identifiable culture because it provides a way of life for

people at both organizational and personal levels. The challenges in doing
business in Islamic countries thus come from the fact that Muslims have a
different set of values and beliefs that guide their behaviour in both business
and non-business situations. The importance of these sets of values in business
have only recently come to the attention of world marketers. Recognizing a
substantial opportunity in this market, non-Muslim multinationals like Tesco,
McDonald’s and Nestlé, as well as many others, have massively expanded their
Islamic operations; it is estimated that they control 90 per cent of the global Halal
market. These and many other mainstream companies are making significant
programs specifically designed for the Muslim consumer.
Understanding the Muslim consumer mandates that the strategic market-

orientation of these firms be assessed and implemented differently since related
decisions are culturally bound; different consumer segments require different
approaches. Achieving marketing mix standardization when implementing a
marketing strategy in an international market is difficult (Kustin 2004), and in
fact it has been suggested that standardization is only effective in homogeneous
markets (Jain 1989) while adaptation and localization strategies are needed
in heterogeneous, i.e., Islamic or Western markets (Duncan and Ramaprasad
1995). Nestlé, in a statement posted in its website’s FAQs, says:
Nestlé encourages its national operations to adapt products locally, in

order to respect the local, regional and national habits and the tastes,
cultural and religious backgrounds of consumers as well as their
purchasing power. While all products must correspond to our quality
requirements, they vary extensively in composition, recipe, packaging
and branding.
Religion as a Brand
According to William Drenttel in his emotional ‘My Country is not a Brand’:
Branding has its value in commerce and its leads to better commercial
communication, to understanding the needs of an audience, or building
long-term relationships with consumers. However, when the vocabulary
of a nation’s foreign policy is the vocabulary of branding, then it is, in
fact, selling Uncle Ben’s Rice. This transaction, with the vocabulary of
the supermarket counter, is not how I envision my country speaking to
the rest of the world. The symbol for a country should not be created by
branding experts.
Drenttel 2004
Drenttel’s comments might apply even more closely to major world

religions such as Islam, Judaism and Christianity that are being vigorously
commercialized. Nonetheless, regardless of what one might think about the
commercialization of religions or national symbols, such a trend has become
an acknowledged fact in the business world that needs to be contended with.
Having said that, it is worth noting that commercializing Islam is much

less likely to occur due to the nature and teachings of the Islamic faith itself.
In Islam there are clear and strict conditions that must be adhered to before
a firm can get on the marketing vehicle of religion. In Islam brands cannot
be Shariah-compliant until they fulfil many conditions related to ingredients,
logistics, impacts and intentions. Such fulfilment results in Halal or wholesome
products. In this regard religion plays an active role in transforming businesses
into ethical entities whose goals rise above sales and revenues. Hence, it is my
view that firms enduring the agony of changing their production processes
and marketing practices to become Shariah-compliant have earned the right to
use the words ‘Halal and Islamic’ to support their marketing efforts. I don’t see
much harm in utilizing religion to improve the business environment or make
life better in a more general sense. After all, isn’t that what religion is supposed
to do?
Nonetheless, some manufacturers have gone too far in their efforts to

commercialize Islam. Mecca Cola is the perfect example. The company,
building on negative Muslim sentiments, claimed to have introduced the
Islamic alternative to Coca-Cola. As usual people who bought the drink
disposed of the bottles and cans in the garbage while children used the bottles
as an object to kick. Muslims didn’t do anything and continued to purchase
the drink. However, if such a product had been introduced by a non-Muslim
company the fallout would have been extreme and the company might have
been labelled as anti-Islamic for disgracing the name of their most holy place.
As such, non-Muslim companies must be extra cautious; their white dress can
easily spot.
Islamic Branding Defined
Islamic branding can be defined in three different ways, in all of which the
descriptor ‘Islamic’ is used: Islamic brands by compliance (religion), by origin
or by customer.
Islamic Brands by Religion
Islamic brands that base their appeal strictly on being Shariah-compliant are
currently concentrated in the finance and food sectors and, to a lesser degree,
in the growing sector of Halal logistics. These brands are intended to appeal
specifically to the Muslim consumer. Increasingly however, many of these
brands are broadening their appeal to attract other customers. For example,
more than 60 per cent of the customers of Islamic hotels in Dubai are non-
Muslims.
Islamic Brands by Origin
These are brands that acquire the description ‘Islamic’ mainly because they
originate from Islamic countries. Examples include airlines such as Emirates
Airlines, telecoms such as the Emirati Etisalat and the Egyptian Orascom, and
industry such as the Saudi SABIC. These companies don’t promote themselves
as Shariah-compliant since some of them are clearly non-compliant; the UAE
Emirates and Etihad Airlines both serve alcohol to their customers, which
clearly goes against the teachings of Islam. Telecoms also don’t promote
themselves Islamically since they are not religious in character; they apply the
promotional methods of other multinational telecoms.
Islamic Brands by Customer
The third type of Islamic branding is that describing brands that emanate from
non-Islamic countries yet are designed specially to target the Muslim consumer.
Although these brands are usually owned by non-Muslims they are described
as Islamic because of their target customers, i.e., Muslims. They include the
Halal brands of multinationals such as Nestlé, Unilever, L’Oréal, McDonalds,
KFC, and many others. These MNCs are investing heavily in cultivating the
largely vacant Islamic markets. As a result of their efforts they now dominate
90 per cent of the Islamic food, cosmetics and health markets.
Islamic brands by customer are these that are owned by MNCs that have
the skills and the know-how of branding, skills that so far eluded the Islamic
companies operating under the slogan of ‘we are Muslim’, an approach that was
taken for granted until they began facing fierce competition from non-Muslim
companies utilizing a world-class branding expertise to excel in satisfying the
specific needs of the observant Muslim consumer. Both Shariah-compliant
brands provided by Muslim companies and Islamized brands provided by
MNCs share an important theme: their main attraction is the concept of Halal,
unlike the second category of brands that are classified as Islamic by origin
and appeal to customers using the traditional, not the value-laden Islamic
marketing approach.
Islamic Brands vs. Islamic Products
While it might be politically or geographically acceptable to describe all

products originating from Islamic countries as Islamic, it would be religiously
incorrect to do so in cases of Shariah non-compliant products since a non-
compliant product cannot be branded as Islamic. Because brands are closely
linked to emotions, even more so when religion is involved, such a distinction
becomes necessary for companies planning to approach consumers in Islamic
markets under a religious slogan.
In the case of the first two types of branding; Islamic brands by compliance
and Islamic brands by country of origin, there is still some confusion as to the
difference between Islamic brands and Islamic products since they are used in
many cases interchangeably. It is not until the difference between these two is
recognized and abridged that Islamic branding can fulfil its potential (Young
2007). For example, Turkey is a Muslim country yet its total wine production in
2005 was an enormous 287,000 hl according to the International Organization of
Vine and Wine. Any business person with the slightest knowledge about Islam
would know that wine is forbidden and strongly condemned in Islam; there
is no such thing as Islamic or Halal wine. Even Barbican doesn’t promote its
non-alcoholic beer as beer in the Muslim market but rather as a malt drink seen
by many in the Muslim world as good for the kidneys! Therefore, labouring to
brand Turkish wine as an Islamic product wouldn’t make much sense despite
Turkey being 98 per cent Muslim in terms of population and despite being
home of the Ottoman caliphate which led the Islamic world for many centuries.
Another example would be the 350,000 pigs raised by Egyptian farmers (all
pigs in Egypt were slaughtered in 2009 in the wake of Swine Flu). Islam takes
such a strong stand against the consumption of pig products that the Egyptian
pigs became associated in the Muslim psyche with a multitude of social and
physical illnesses, in addition to being a major sin. The answer to the joke
question of how to slaughter pigs in a Halal way to make them Islamic has
much wider applications; a product which is Haram by nature cannot be made
Islamic or Halal by process. Islam approves only wholesome products that
have been raised, prepared and transported wholesomely from ‘farm to table’,
and to the Muslim consumer, pigs and alcohol and their by-products are not
wholesome in the first place.
MNCs need to learn to distinguish between these two in order to

communicate more effectively with their potential Muslim markets.
Generally, engaging these markets has two requirements: providing

Shariah-compliant products and relocating to Muslim markets. Fulfilling these
requirements will not guarantee success but will significantly improve an
MNC’s chances of it. However, to relocate while not paying attention to the core
requirement of being Shariah-compliant will get these companies nowhere in
their efforts to brand themselves as Islamic. Although the location will support
an MNC’s efforts in that regard, it is only secondary to Shariah-compliance.
Relocating to Muslim Markets
Relocating to Muslim markets could be a significant differentiating factor since

it provides assurance to the Muslim consumer in several ways. First, MNCs
with national subsidiaries tend to employ mostly nationals. In the case of MNCs
operating in Muslim countries, it is safe to say that most of their employees in
these subsidiaries will be Muslims, which clearly sends the message that these
products are produced by Muslims for Muslims who wouldn’t be producing
non-Shariah-compliant products. Another advantage is that the product
logistics will be perceived as Halal, i.e., not contaminated during storage,
shipping and, in some cases, not shipped through or by nations or companies
that are being perceived negatively by the Muslim consumer. A third advantage
would be an improved image if these MNCs sourced ingredients locally. Local
suppliers who profit from their business relationships with the MNC will work
as dedicated representatives within their Muslim communities. Sourcing input
locally further strengthens the company’s image as Shariah-compliant since it
is taken for granted that all foodstuffs produced in Muslim countries are Halal.
Relocation may, however, bring a disadvantage: consumers in these

markets may perceive the quality of locally produced items as lesser than those
produced internationally. Some time must lapse before the local subsidiary
can establish itself as a quality producer that stands on an equal footing with
its mother company, with local staff who are competent and locally sourced
material of comparable quality to material sourced internationally.
The Muslim markets in this book are defined as those comprised of people
adhering to the Islamic faith. To them the word Islamic also has geo-political
connotations but when it comes consumption, Halal becomes a basic qualifying
condition and only then all other supplementations and enhancements become
differentiating factors. A product that is not Halal yet intended for Islamic
markets will mostly likely fail regardless of how it is packaged or offered. The
elegant design and packaging of a bottle of Champaign will not lure Muslim
consumers into buying it; the rule is Halal first then enhancements.
The Halal Market
‘We are now at the point where Halal is more than a religious duty. Halal is
big business: counting Islamic finance, as well as drugs and foodstuffs, and is
dovetailing with contemporary consumer concerns from animal welfare to GM
crops and fair trade’ (Power 2008). An MNC tapping into the vast Halal market
makes it more global in terms of attending to the needs of Muslims as a new
segment of customers; companies are not going to be truly global unless they
serve this market (Power and Gatsiounis 2007). For example, Nestlé engaged
with the Halal industry very early in comparison to other manufacturers. In
fact, Halal implementation – covering the aspects of control, assurance and
management in ensuring that products achieved Halal status – began in
Nestlé Malaysia in the 1970s, followed by the formation in the 1980s of a Halal
committee to oversee Halal standards from farm to fork for the company’s
worldwide operations.
This section introduces the major branding considerations that a firm needs
to understand as a prerequisite to entering the Islamic market. They include
defining who the Halal customers are, differentiating between the different
categories of Halal, explaining the importance of innovation in Halal, explaining
difficulties in Halal certification, explaining the growing importance of Halal
logistics and differentiating between Halal and kosher as religious products.
Customers of Halal
Halal is an Arabic word that is equivalent to the English word ‘lawful’ and
‘wholesome’. It is an all-encompassing concept which encourages a Muslim to
adopt products that promote goodness in all aspects of life, safe for consumption
and produced in a clean and healthy environment.
It is predicted that the market for Halal products will continue to grow
substantially. As it grows, it is envisioned that aisles in supermarkets all
over the world will be dedicated to these products, in much the same way
as kosher and other ethnic products do today (Minkus-McKenna 2007). Like
the products of kosher and organic industries, Halal products are moving into
the mainstream and appealing to consumers looking for high-quality, ethical
products. Some Shariah-compliant firms reveal that not all of their customers
are Muslim. For example, at the Jawhara Hotels, an alcohol-free Arabian
Gulf chain, 60 per cent of the clientele are non-Muslims, drawn by the hotels’
serenity and family-friendly atmosphere. A quarter of the customers of Dutch-
based company Marhaba, which sells cookies and chocolate, are non-Muslims
(Power and Abdullah 2009).
Grocers that learn the rules guiding Muslim diets will win a loyal following.
US supermarkets are selling a lot more Middle Eastern foods such as hummus
and couscous these days, as more American consumers develop a taste for them.
But this is just the leading edge of a trend that could result in broader and more
lucrative sales for stores that get to know and serve the US Muslim market.
For example, a recent research by JWT among Muslim consumers highlighted
their importance as a market segment. The report describes the Muslim market
as ‘It’s young, it’s big, and it’s getting bigger.’ In the US, Muslims are already
being described as the ‘new Hispanics’. While recognition of this new target
for primarily Western marketers is timely, the issue is far deeper and more
complex (Minkus-McKenna 2007).
As Muslim populations grow in most countries in the world it is worthwhile

for grocers in appropriate markets to adjust product assortments and marketing
approaches. It is estimated that 70 per cent of Muslims worldwide follow
Halal standards (Minkus-McKenna 2007). But before they can meet the needs
of devout Muslims, grocers have to understand the dietary restrictions that
dictate their purchases, and that might prove harder than it sounds. While there
are some clear guidelines regarding the Muslim diet, there is no worldwide
authority on Halal. Currently there are more than 15 Halal logos in the market,
(Minkus-McKenna 2007).
Halal Categories
The Halal industry is growing in sophistication as well as size. It is no longer

about just meat; it is embracing products from lipstick to vaccines to savings
accounts. To illustrate, in 1990 the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of
America had only 23 clients paying for its Halal certification services. Last year
it certified products for 2,000 companies worldwide (Power and Gatsiounis
2007).
In general, the Halal market can be divided into three interlinked categories:
food, lifestyles and services.
Food
The food category is currently dominated by non-Muslim multinationals such

as KFC and Nestlé although Muslim-owned manufacturers such as Al Islami
brand in the United Arab Emirates and Almarai in Saudi Arabia, as well as a
myriad of small local manufacturers, are growing rapidly. The lack of Arab
Halal brands in the international marketplace is due to the fact that the concept
of Halal food was never an issue at the Arab countries level because it was taken
for granted that all food sold in these markets was Halal. The recognition of the
significance of being Halal didn’t evolve until the Arab markets became more
open to global trade and were flooded with food products coming from non-
Muslim countries which didn’t have a clear understanding of the importance
of the Halal concept to their Muslim markets.
Lifestyle
In the lifestyle category, which is also dominated by non-Muslim multinationals,

Islamic producers of Halal cosmetics, i.e., those made without alcohol or animal
fats, are slowly establishing their brands in the Muslim marketplace. The slow
development of the Halal lifestyle category, in comparison to the food category,
can be attributed to two factors. First, albeit important, this sector didn’t have
the same urgency as food. Second, both Muslims and multinationals learned
late that since Halal actually extends beyond food, and normal day activities
can also be Islamized and classified as Halal. Special Islamic-compliant lifestyle-
related products began to be developed to meet the needs of this market and at
the same time to capitalize on the opportunity it provides.
Services
The services category includes finance, hospitality and logistics, among others.
Of these, the Halal financial services are the most developed with Islamic banks
controlling huge amounts of money and growing at an annual rate of nearly
15 per cent. Banks that operate according to Shariah law are doing well during
the global downturn because they tend to be more conservative. In hospitality,
hotels are increasingly running Islamic lines, such as Dubai’s Villa Rotana,
which offers quieter and more family-friendly places to stay (Anonymous
2009).
Halal Innovation
To keep growing, Halal firms know they cannot simply rely on religion as the
driving force behind their marketing campaigns. At the end of the day, people
will not buy Halal simply because it is Halal. They are going to buy quality
food. Ideology doesn’t make a better-tasting burger, a better car or a better
computer, but it makes a powerful marketing pitch (Power and Abdullah
2009). Halal brands cannot stand still. In the medium term it is possible for
competitors to copy those aspects that have given them the advantage. It is
therefore imperative for them to innovate continuously (Melewar and Walker
2003).
New Halal products and services include food and non-food items and
they originate in the Middle East, Europe and South East Asia. The Swiss food
giant Nestlé is a pioneer in the field. It has a Halal committee since the 1980s,
and it has long had separate facilities for its Halal products. As a result, the
company’s turnover in Halal products was $3.6 billion in 2008 with 75 of its
456 factories equipped for Halal production. For non-food items, companies
like South Korea’s LG and Finnish cell-phone giant Nokia also target Muslim
consumers. LG provides an application that helps direct users to Mecca, while
Nokia provides downloadable recitations from the Quran as well as maps of
locations of major mosques in the Middle East.
Such offerings increase brand loyalty. Mainstream brands can actually

appeal to Muslims without making changes to their core products; these
companies can alter their marketing communications to show Muslims that

their brands care about them as consumers (Power and Abdullah 2009).
Halal Certification
Halal certification assures Muslim consumers on the Halal status of the certified
products; it confirms that the products are permissible under Islamic law. For a
product to be certified it must pass inspection by an Islamic certifying agency.
Although obtaining Halal certification will result in changes in the

production process, it can be very rewarding since Muslims comprise the largest
consumer segments in the world today with a Halal market that is expected to
reach US$2.1 trillion by 2015, not to mention the growth in the demand for
Halal products that is spilling over to non-Muslim consumers.
The Halal food market has exploded in the past decade and is now worth
about 16 per cent of the entire global food industry, which corresponds to
$632 billion annually. If the fast-growing Islamic finance sector and the many
other Islamic products and services – cosmetics, real estate, hotels, fashion,
and insurance – are counted, the sector is worth nearly $1.5 trillion a year.The
Islamic finance industry’s value is growing at around 15 per cent a year, and
could reach $4 trillion in five years, up from $500 billion today, according to a
2008 report from Moody’s Investors Service (Power and Abdullah 2009).
Kosher and Halal
Muslims and Jews, although separated by a bloody past, a grim present and an
uncertain future, are united in at least one thing: their dietary restrictions. Halal
(Muslim) and kosher (Jewish) have significant similarities that make them
interchangeable in many cases; Muslims and Jews can consume each other’s
foods.
Kosher and Halal describe an assortment of foods and beverages that are
acceptable to Muslims and Jews. However, unlike kosher, which applies only
to food, Halal is a term encompassing not only foods and drinks, but all other
matters of daily life; it includes everything a Muslim does – trade, finance,
entertainment, work, education, consumption, etc. Nonetheless, both of these
food laws have their roots in scripture, the Bible and Torah for kosher and the
Quran for Halal.
To be more specific, while Islam prohibits all intoxicating alcohols, liquors

and wines, these are considered kosher. Thus, foods and drinks showing the
kosher symbol while containing alcohol are not Halal. Gelatine is considered
kosher by many Jews regardless of its source of origin. For Muslims, if the
gelatine is prepared from non-Shariah compliant source, it becomes Haram
(prohibited). Enzymes in cheese making are considered mere secretion
according to some kashrut organizations, which makes all cheese kosher.
Muslims, on the other hand, look for the source of the enzyme. If it is from
pigs, it is considered Haram. Hence cheeses showing kosher symbols may not
be Halal (Hussaini 1993).
Moreover, both Halal and kosher share a strict emphasis on cleanliness that
is considered even by the non-observant as synonymous with good food, which
potentially broadens the appeal of Halal and kosher beyond their traditional
niches.
In the United States, the kosher food industry is valued at $100 billion
and 90,000 kosher products, compared to about 1,000 Halal-certified products.
Muslims’ purchases account for 16 per cent of the entire US kosher food
industry. On the other hand, although Halal products attract some Jewish
consumers, Jewish purchases of Halal are very small by comparison (Minkus-
McKenna 2007).
Challenges Facing MNCs entering Islamic Markets
Brand Entry Mode
A major issue facing MNCs contemplating an entry into Islamic markets is

whether to use the existing brands, create new brands designed specifically
for these markets, use tester brands or use a mix of all or some of these. For
example, should Nestlé introduce the same successful brands it sells outside
the Muslim world unchanged, or should it brand them differently? What would
make better business sense: to sell Smarties as is to Muslims or to develop a
new brand of them specifically for Muslims? Should McDonalds sell Big Macs
and the rest of its product range in the Arab Muslim market or should it sell
MacArabia and similar Arabized brands?
The answers to these questions are not straightforward. Managing and

developing a single corporate brand is far simpler and more cost-effective than
managing a portfolio of country or region-specific brands. Such an international
expansion of a corporate brand is bound to create economies of scale in its own
right. However, there are also disadvantages in using the existing corporate
brands unchanged. A company entering the Islamic market may be able to
spread its risk by using a tester brand that in essence can afford to fail because
the company could in theory reintroduce itself to the market with a different
offering in the future. If an existing brand was used to enter that market and
it failed to be accepted as Islamic, failure would damage the company’s future
efforts to engage that market (Melewar and Walker 2003).
Country of Origin
The country of origin of the MNC is of special importance for companies

wishing to enter the Islamic market. The Muslim consumer is emotionally very
sensitive due to several factors including the unity between religion and life
in Islam, unlike Western consumers whose behaviours have largely evolved
independent of the influence of religion due to the historical separation between
state and faith in Western societies. (Although some might argue, rightfully so,
that the behaviour of religious Westerners is influenced by their religion; the
difference is surely that Christianity is less specific about dress, food etc. And
of course many Westerners are not religious at all.) This inseparability affects
Muslims’ attitudes and behaviours towards products they buy and companies
they deal with. For instance, all Danish companies are still stumbling from the
cartoons published in a Danish newspaper several years ago because they were
seen by the Muslim population as derogatory to an Islamic subject. In fact these
companies faced a massive consumer boycott that resulted in serious losses for
many of them. The effect of these cartoons will prevent any Danish company
in the near future from establishing itself in the Islamic market, especially as
there are viable alternatives to the Danish brands. Even the more established
and rooted American brands face difficulties in the Muslim market during
tensions between Muslim states or individuals and the United States. Melewar,
an international authority on branding and brand management, warns that
different nations have differing degrees of national identities. These identities
not only take the form of patriotism, but they can also determine how likely a
nation is to endorse the brand of a particular country. In order to understand
this opportunity, the corporate brand must first understand whether the
perception of nationality help or hinder it (Melewar and Walker 2003).
On the other hand some countries are perceived positively by the Muslim
consumer. Switzerland, e.g., has no history of conflict with Muslims, it is the
chosen place where many Muslims keep their money and spend their vacations.
Being associated with a positively perceived country facilitates a company’s
entry into the Muslim market.
Global Halal Standards
Halal standards help companies and customers distinguish what is accepted

from a Shariah perspective. A product can either be Halal or Haram depending
on its ingredients and all the activities associated with it from the point of
origin to the point of consumption and going through the entire value chain
that created it. As illustrated in the case of the Australian Muslim scholars
and the Australian beef industry, many of these standards remain either
underdeveloped or lacking consensus. This is so due to the novelty of Halal and
Haram as commercial terms and the globalization of markets which brought
Muslim consumers face to face with products from non-Muslim nations that
they have historically seen as adversaries. Before globalization there was no
mentioning of the word ‘Halal’ among Muslim consumers, aside from those
travelling to non-Muslim countries, since products in the Muslim markets were
produced locally or by neighbouring Muslim countries, where Halal was taken
for granted.
The exposure to an array of foreign products resulted in a need to

standardize Halal for the benefit of both businesses and consumers. As
experience has shown, setting global Halal standards that firms can follow
when developing products for their Islamic prospects proved to be a daunting
task. The difficulty arises from the fact that the process requires that many
parties must be involved, including Islamic scholars, trade experts and food
scientists. These parties also don’t make the job of an Islamizing firm easy with
their long lists of terms and conditions, thus making the goal of becoming
Halal-certified hard to attain. In doing so, they might be forgetting that one of
the most basic teachings of the religion of Islam is that everything that Allah
created is Halal, with minor exceptions (Power and Gatsiounis 2007). Those
experts unfortunately seem to view the process the other way around; Haram is
the rule and Halal is the exception.
Moreover, too many Halal certification agencies are being set up all over the
world with some of them definitely not up to the task either because they lack
the expertise or because they are not following mainstream Islam. Although
the proliferation of these agencies might seem confusing to the novice Muslim
market entrant, it is worth noting that there are some agencies that have the
expertise, skills and regulations that qualify them as Halal certifiers. Basically
all government-backed agencies and large Muslim groups’ institutions are
considered trustworthy sources by consumers and, thus, firms should strive to
get their Halal logo certified by at least one of them, instead of getting the more
risky independent certifiers who might have jumped on the Halal bandwagon
for profiteering. Specifically, Saudi, Emirati, Sudanese and Malaysian approvals
are highly regarded across the Muslim world.
Conclusion
In order to maximize their chances of success in Islamic markets, MNCs need to

build branding localization competencies. In comparison to their local Muslim
counterparts, multinationals generally commence with the key advantage of a
higher level of managerial competence in marketing and brand building. These
MNCs are equipped with sophisticated marketing and brand-building skills
that are far ahead of most of their local counterparts – many of which are still
struggling to master elementary distinctions such as the difference between
marketing and sales (Williamson and Zeng 2004).
In spite of having the branding expertise to begin with, Western brands

usually lack the cultural awareness and local knowledge needed for the
successful penetration of Islamic markets (Temporal 2008). A hasty entry
unequipped with the required level of awareness and knowledge will hinder
or at least delay a brand’s Islamic penetration. There are numerous examples
to learn from in this regard. A famous drug company marketing a new remedy
in the United Arab Emirates used pictures to convey its message. The first
picture on the left was of someone ill, the next picture showed the person
taking the medication, the final picture on the right showed a healthy person.
What Arab consumers saw was a healthy person taking the remedy and then
falling ill; Arabs as well as many Muslim people including Pakistan, Iran, and
Afghanistan read from right to left (Alserhan 2010a). If major firms still make
these mistakes one can only image what novice entrants might do.
A firm intending to enter the Islamic market has to carefully weigh the
various brand entry modes available to them, namely: creating new brands,
using existing brands, using tester brands or using a mix of all or some of these.
The choice must be linked to the firm’s corporate strategy and at the same time
based on thorough understanding of the Muslim consumer, Shariah principles

and the implications of the concept of Halal on the various organizational
marketing aspects. Firms need to recognize that Halal status must be achieved
throughout a firm’s supply chain. Implementing Halal in some stages and
excluding it in other stages will render the brand un-Islamic, not exactly the
desirable outcome firms hoping to capitalize on the opportunities provided by
this huge market would want to see.
Key Terms:
• Religious branding
• Islamic branding
• Islamic products
• Islamic brands
• Brand Islamization
• Halal logistics
• Halal certification
• Halal categories
• Ethnic brands
• Kosher brands.
References
Alserhan, B. A. (2010a) ‘Entrepreneurs and trade names: evidence from the

United Arab Emirates.’ European Business Review, 22(2): c.
Alserhan, B. A. (2010b). ‘Islamic branding: A conceptualization of related
terms.’ Journal of Brand Management 18: 34–49.
Anonymous (2009). ‘A Halal shopping cart.’ Time South Pacific (Australia/New
Zealand edition) 173(20): 32–3.
Drenttel, W. (2004). ‘My country is not a brand.’ Design Observer, 25 November.
Retrieved 11 September 2009, from http://www.designobserver.com/
observatory/entry.html?entry=2707.
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the influencing factors.’ Journal of Advertising 24(3): 13.
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Meezan International Publishing, The Islamic Food & Nutrition Council of
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Guidelines and case studies.’ Journal of Brand Management 11(2): 157–70.
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9
Islamic Branding 2:
Brands as Good Deeds1
Check list for Journey to Hell: War, Drugs and Danish Products.
A billboard in Pakistan, 2006
Learning Objectives

• Understand the influence of religion on Muslim
consumers’ political and economic decisions
• Understand the Muslim consumers’ motivations to boycott
• Understand the development and practice of Islamic branding
• Appreciate the vast potential of the Islamic market
• Define Islamic branding
• Understand the essence of Islamic branding.
1 This chapter has been previously published as Alserhan, B. A. (2010). ‘On Islamic branding;
brands as good deeds.’ Journal of Islamic Marketing 1 (2): 101–106.
Danish Brands and the Politics of Boycotts
All Danish businesses suffered significant losses in Islamic markets when

Muslim consumers boycotted their goods to protest at the publication of
caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad. The drawings published by newspaper
Jyllands-Posten in September 2006 sparked protests in Muslim countries. Islam
widely holds that representations of the Prophet Mohammad are banned for
fear they could lead to idolatry.
The boycott was costly to Denmark’s companies and raised fears of

long-term damage to the trade ties between Muslim consumers and Danish
companies. These damages could go beyond exports, extending to service
contracts, shipping and production facilities in the area – losses that are
difficult to quantify. However, in certain industries it is possible to understand
the magnitude of loss. For example, Arla Foods, one of Europe’s largest dairy
companies, is thought to be the worst hit, losing an estimated $1.6 million each
day during the peak of the boycott.
Danish brands such as Havarti cheese, Puck, Arla, LURPAK, Hazz, ecco, Lego
and many others were removed from the shelves of stores in Muslim countries
around the world as Muslims awaited an apology for the offensive cartoons.
The boycotts began in Saudi Arabia in January 2006 when supermarkets either
put up signs saying ‘stop buying Danish goods’ or removed products from
their shelves.
Since the boycott began in Saudi Arabia, it has spread to almost all Muslim
nations. For example, a supermarket in Cairo run by France’s Carrefour has
signs saying that it is not offering Danish products ‘in solidarity with Muslims
and Egyptians’. A spokesman for Carrefour in France said the store was a
franchise run by an Egyptian company. Carrefour stores run by partners
and franchises are free to make commercial decisions according to their local
situations. In Indonesia the importers association boycotted Danish goods. In
Syria, banners on walls and storefronts all call for consumers to avoid Danish
products. Employees of the Danish Lurpak butter agent in Syria raised a banner
in front of their Damascus office saying: ‘Yasser al-Srayyed [the agent’s name]
has stopped importing Lurpak.’ The situation caused great concern among
the members of the Confederation of Danish Industries, which represents
Denmark’s major companies. There was also the fear that the consumer in the
future will not remember exactly what happened, but they will remember an
I s l a m i c B r a n d i n g 2: B r a n d s a s G o o d D e e d s 159
unfavourable connection to Denmark. Such a negative association is detrimental

and it is not how the Danish industries want to be perceived in Islamic markets.
A byproduct of the boycott is that some Danish companies are distancing

themselves from Denmark and putting more emphasis on being international
brands rather than Danish. Charlotte Simonsen, the spokeswoman for Lego,
explains ‘We have never marketed ourselves as a Danish product, we see
ourselves as an international brand.’ Such an action seems to be very important
taking into consideration the feelings of Muslim consumers who believe the
lines on the Pakistani billboard quoted at the beginning of this chapter.
Finally, in many supermarkets in the Islamic world, empty retail shelves

with labels in English and Arabic indicate that Danish products have been
withdrawn. Some commentators though have said that the shortfall may
represent an opportunity for other brands, including Fonterra (New Zealand),
Kraft (United States) and Nestlé (Switzerland). See China Daily (2006).
Introduction
The practice of Islamic branding has been gaining considerable momentum in

academic circles within the past few years, both within and outside the Islamic
world. The significant publicity it continues to attract, and generate, resulted
in the organization of numerous high-profile events in various parts of the
world, the production of journal articles and books, the formation of dedicated
research groups and special projects, and at least one academic journal: the
Journal of Islamic Marketing. In fact, the field is already experiencing a severe
shortage of experts due to the ever growing worldwide demand for Islamic
branding skills. Considering the length of time needed to make a branding
expert and the novelty of this particular area of inquiry, one could say with
certainty that this shortage is not expected to ease within the foreseeable future.
The huge demand on Islamic branding expertise, which is fuelled by the

massive size of the Islamic market, the growing number of multinationals
competing there and the newly emerging trend of well-financed companies
from the Islamic world targeting non-Islamic markets, can only be forecasted
to increase.
An additional skill-related problem that Islamic branding has to deal with

is that many of those who are described as experts on Islamic branding tend
to view the concept from the same perspective as conventional branding, i.e.,
projecting traditional branding techniques which are culturally bound onto this
new and qualitatively different market. Such an approach to Islamic branding
limits their ability to adequately appreciate its full context and implications.
Finally, a key obstacle facing academics and practitioners today is the lack
of a precise definition that clarifies what is and what is not Islamic branding. A
review of the growing, yet inadequate literature, reveals that the connotations
of the concept remain overly broad; it is being used differently by different
people presuming that they are using the description ‘Islamic’ correctly.
An Overview of the Islamic Market
The Muslim market is composed of approximately 21.01 per cent or 1.43 billion
of the entire world population (CIA 2009). Muslims represent a majority in
more than 50 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe and their religion, Islam,
is considered the fastest growing among all religions on earth (Saeed et al.
2001). Those 1.43 billion Muslims live in economically feasible numbers in most
countries in the world. The global Muslim consumer market is estimated at
US$2.7 trillion today, and is forecast to reach a staggering $30 trillion by 2050
(JWT 2007).
The largest Islamic body, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC),
is composed of the economies of 57 member states, 50 of which are overly
Muslim. The remaining members have large Muslim populations, although
Muslims are not a majority in them. The percentage of Muslims in Russia, e.g.,
approximately stands at 15 per cent, yet Russia is a member state. India on the
other hand, has a Muslim population of 150 million but its membership of the
OIC is blocked by some countries due to geopolitical reasons.
Those 57 countries have a combined GDP of nearly US$8 trillion (before the
oil boom of 2008). The richest country on the basis of GDP per capita is United
Arab Emirates. The recent boom in oil prices has significantly increased these
figures in all oil-producing Muslim countries. In 2008, Abu Dhabi, a member
emirate in the United Arab Emirates, had a per capita income of US$75,000,
which is double that of most European countries, and almost double the US
figure.
The Halal market, i.e., products that are Shariah-compliant, represents a

significant portion of these countries’ economies. Moreover, other countries
that are not members of the OIC but have feasible Muslim minorities also
contribute to the global size of the Halal market, which is currently estimated at
approximately USD 670 billion (Nestorovic 2010). Table 9.1 includes some very
interesting figures that help clarify why multinationals are venturing into the
Halal market, which is estimated to grow at 15 per cent annually making it the
fast growing market in the world.
As discussed in Chapter 8, the Halal industry includes three main

categories: (1) food, which is currently dominated by non-Muslim multinationals
such as KFC and Nestlé, (2) lifestyle, which is dominated by non-Muslim
multinationals, and (3) services, including finance, hospitality and logistics,
among others. Islamic services, especially finance, are currently dominated by
Muslims, although this might change as more major countries and regions,
notably China and Europe, develop an interest.
Table 9.1 Size of the Halal market
Region value Muslim population (Million) Halal food market

US$ (Million)
South Central Asia 653 210,000
Africa 491 144,250
West Asia 195 116,850
South East Asia 236 97,300
Europe (including Russia) 51 63,750
China 130 22,925
North America 7.1 12,425
South America 3.1 1,550
Oceania 0.6 900
TOTAL 1,766.80 669,950
Source: Adopted from Nestorovic (2010)
1. True Islamic brands. These brands satisfy the three descriptions of

Islamic branding; they are Halal, produced in an Islamic country,
and they target Muslim consumers. The word ‘true’ which is used
here doesn’t mean that the other categories of Islamic branding are
‘wrong’. For example, the vast majority of the brands that originate
from Islamic countries are Halal, simply because they were intended
for the Muslim consumer in the first place.
2. Traditional Islamic brands. Brands originating in Islamic countries

and targeting Muslims. As explained above, these are assumed to
be Halal. Prior to the globalization of Islamic markets, it was taken
for granted that all brands available there were Halal.
3. Inbound Islamic brands. Halal brands that target Muslim consumers

but originate from non-Islamic countries. These brands were mostly
Islamized, i.e., changed in order to make them Halal.
4. Outbound Islamic brands. Halal brands that originate from Islamic

countries but do not necessarily target Muslim consumers.
The Essence of Islamic Branding
Attempting to understand and approach the concept and practice of Islamic

branding in the traditional sense of branding will deprive firms of real business
opportunities within the attractive Islamic market. This market, which is
growing exponentially, is drawing both Muslims who want to practise their
religion correctly and non-Muslims who are motivated by the simplicity, purity
and humanity that Islamic brands are assumed to embody.
For Muslims, branding cannot be separated from faith, which dictates that
all actions should be divine and that one loves and hates not because of his
human desires but because his feelings are in line with Allah’s guidance. Trade
relationships, e.g., even though they result in the satisfaction of earthly desires,
should be forged with a divine intent between business parties. Hence, the
entire relationship ceases to be of a materialistic nature and transforms into
a good deed that will be noted in the divine record of each individual. What
makes Islamic branding different is that manufacturers do not manufacture
objects, they manufacture righteousness; sellers do not sell objects and things,
they invite into a righteous life; and buyers do not buy necessities and material
comfort, they engage in worship. Such an understanding gives Islamic

branding greater impetus and makes it much more powerful in connecting
with customers than traditional branding.
Islamic branding is about blending the religious with the materialistic and
the heavenly with the worldly. It is about religiously integrating the brand into
the lives of adherents, where it is incubated and lived with the sure anticipation
of Godly rewards. In Islam, all actions are judged by their underlying motive
or the intention behind them. Thus all actions and motions undertaken by a
Muslim, if motivated by a pure intention become good deeds regardless of
their outcomes. With the right intentions, things as simple as breathing, eating
and washing, among numerous other activities, become good deeds that please
Allah and warrant His satisfaction (Saeed et al. 2001). Thus, when a Muslim
rejects a Haram product or consumes a Halal one, it will count towards his good
deeds. For example, eating healthy food is doubly rewarding for Muslims
who, in addition to the prospect of a good health enjoyed by everyone, get the
extra reward of knowing that they are complying with the teachings of their
religion. The same example applies to almost all types of consumption and
consumables. While non-Muslim consumers can be allured by the apparent
benefits which can be easily realized within a relatively short time period,
Muslims’ consumption is driven by a second yet more potent factor, i.e., doing
a good deed. Thus if brand A of water is more Islamic than brand B then
Muslims are to actively adopt the first and actively neglect the second. Brands
endorsed by religion become good deeds and that is what all brands that target
the Muslim consumer should strive to do.
Islam is not only about Halal and Haram, as commonly understood by

Muslim and non-Muslim branding experts who are either not well-versed in the
related Islamic teachings or view them from an abstract perspective, i.e., Halal
and Haram. Moreover, many of those experts fail to appreciate the basic Islamic
fact that Halal is the norm and Haram is the exception., which literally means
that the majority of the things that Allah created and taught people about are
created Halal; it is what people themselves do that transforms them into Haram.
To illustrate, grapes are commanded in the Quran as fruits from paradise.
However, processing them into intoxicating drinks makes them Haram. The
Internet is Halal but using it to exchange or disseminate pornography and
hatred is Haram. Cutting down a tree to build a house to shelter a family is
Halal but cutting it down to build a summer house that will remain vacant most
of the year is extravagance.
In particular, non-Muslim branding experts have difficulty differentiating

between living Islam and having some knowledge about it and, thus, many
of their branding consultations fall short of appreciating the depth of a brand
ingrained in religion. It is not difficult to memorize the few items that are
considered Haram in Islam. In fact, it doesn’t take an expert to say that Islam
prohibits the consumption of wine, but it takes one to appreciate the strength of
the general Muslim public’s feelings towards wine consumption. To illustrate,
I was once invited to a dinner in the UK with a group of people who were
supposed to be among the very few experts in the western hemisphere on
Islamic branding. While they were discussing the potential of Islamic brands
they were sipping wine. The point to be made here is that brands are strongly
attached to emotions and their success depends on living, or at least feeling,
them. In addition to abstract knowledge, they require passion, sincerity and
honesty; discussing them from a purely academic perspective means depriving
them of their soul. Sipping wine, dining on pork and discussing Islamic brands
is certainly non-Islamic and that is probably why Western expertise, despite
leading the branding efforts in the Islamic world for the last several decades,
has so far failed to produce the long anticipated wave of Islamic super-brands;
they failed to live these brands because the underlying motivation for their
branding efforts are commercial, the descriptor ‘good deeds’ is absent. What
many experts see, including Muslims, is an opportunity for commercial gain,
not one that has the potential to add an ethical dimension to the prevailing
branding practices.
Although branding to Muslims could make use of the branding techniques

developed by Western experts, it has to take into consideration the spiritual
needs of the target Muslim consumers. For Muslims, who are growing ever
more spiritual, all actions are integrated and all actions are either pleasing or
displeasing to Allah. Thus, they are careful about what, when, where, how,
from whom and how much to consume. Marketers could easily forget this long
chain of interrelated questions and issues to consider and thus risk alienating
their Muslim customers. In fact, as noted earlier, Muslims are intrinsically
motivated to actively boycott brands that seem to be in violation of some
of the teachings of Islamic. The word actively means encouraging others to
boycott as well. For example, a majority of Muslim customers who are aware
of the Danish brands say that the quality and the price of these brands are
competitive, if not superior. However; many Muslims stopped buying them
throughout the Muslim world because they were actively branded as bad deeds,
a sin; no one wants to be seen sinning! Being branded as a bad deed among
Muslim consumers is a marketer’s nightmare.
Key Terms:
• Islamic branding
• Good deeds
• Halal market
• Halal industry
• True Islamic brands
• Traditional Islamic brands
• Inbound Islamic brands
• Outbound Islamic brands
• Marketing focus
• Purity
• Humanity
• Branding consultations.
References
Alserhan, B. A. (2010a) ‘Entrepreneurs and trade names: evidence from the

United Arab Emirates.’ European Business Review 22(2): c.
Alserhan, B. A. (2010b). ‘Islamic branding: A conceptualization of related
terms.’ Journal of Brand Management 18: 34–49.
China Daily (2006) ‘Muslim boycotts of Danish products costly.’
17 February 09:12. Retrieved June 2010 from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/
english/doc/2006-02/17/content_521276.htm.
CIA (2009). The World Factbook. Washington, DC: CIA.
JWT (2007) Study reveals one of America’s biggest hidden niche markets.
New York. Retrieved 19 February 2011 from http://muslimadnetwork.com/
archives/jwt-study-reveals-one-of-americas-biggest-hidden-niche-markets.
Nestorovic, C. (2010) Trends in the European Halal Business. Seminar at the
United Arab Emirates University.
Saeed, M., Ahmed, Z. U. and Mukhtar, S.-M. (2001) ‘International marketing
ethics from an Islamic perspective: a value-maximization approach.’ Journal
of Business Ethics 32: 127–42.
10
Islamic Hospitality
Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should be hospitable with
his guest.
Prophet Mohammad
The Luthan Hotel & Spa is the first hotel in Saudi Arabia where
women can publicly attend conference, swim, dine or use the gym
anytime they please. All staff at the Luthan are female, from director
to porters. Hotels like Luthan are growing in the region.
Thomas 2008
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand and describe:
• The relationship between Islamic hospitality and Islamic tourism
• The relationship between Arab hospitality and Islamic hospitality
• Islam’s view of customers: guests not customers
• The status of guests in Islam
• The scope of Islamic hospitality
• The market for Islamic hospitality
• The requirements of Islamic hospitality
• The challenges facing Islamic hospitality.
Halal Holidays in the Sun1
Muslim women can often be seen swimming while veiled – though they may
not want to on beaches where most women are wearing bikinis. The problem
also occurs in some resorts in Muslim countries with an international tourist
trade. Expensive hotels in some Arab countries actually ban veiled women
from their pools so that Western guests feel at home. One answer for Muslim
families who want to play in the water together is Halal tourism.
The idea took off several years ago, as hotel companies witnessed the
success of the Shariah-compliant banking and investment sector and saw their
opportunity. It encompasses the main aspects of Shariah-compliant living such
as alcohol abstinence, Halal food, separate mosques for prayer and modest
dressing. And with nearly 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, the potential
market is huge.
Mizan Raja, his wife Nazma Begum and their four children travelled this
summer from the UK to Alanya, on Turkey’s southern, Mediterranean coast,
for a beach holiday. They had been to British resorts before – such as Brighton
and Southend-on-Sea – but Nazma could only watch while the others played.
‘I really thought I was missing out to be honest, like I was held back from doing
something that was really fun and enjoyable. But here, everybody has been
getting involved and having lots of fun,’ she said.
Women-only Facilities
Large screens in the reception area of the family’s four-star hotel advertised the
hotel’s facilities, without using female models. Between enjoying the beach, the
restaurants, the segregated spa facilities and pool areas, guests hear the call to
prayer five times a day.
Another feature that many women consider the highlight is an open-air

women-only swimming pool on the sixth floor, at the very top of the hotel.
Even the elevator accessing the pool is for women alone.
Before Nazma and I got into the pool we were both checked for cameras
and mobile phones. Nazma’s experience of women-only pools in England was
quite different, she said. ‘I’ve actually been to a women-only pool session and
all of a sudden a man walked in and he was going to be the lifeguard, which
1 This section is by Shaimaa Khalil, reporter for BBC World News travel show Fast Track.
I s l a m i c H o s p i ta l i t y 169
contradicted what it was all about,’ she said. A remarkable thing about the
women-only pool area is how relaxed the women look. Most of the women in
the hotel were covered. They either wore a headscarf (hijab) or full-face veil
(niqab).
In the ladies’ pool, however, none of the women were covered, and some
were wearing regular swimming costumes. ‘One person, the other day, I didn’t
recognise her!’ Nazma said. ‘She was wearing the burkini [an Islamic bikini]
but she looked so different because she [normally] wears the niqab. I could
see her face and she was smiling. You could tell she felt safe and secure in this
environment,’ Nazma added.
Growing Market
On the beach I met Thuraya Al Haj Mustafa, a Palestinian-German who has

been coming to Turkey with her family for the past five years. They were one of
the first families to try the Halal beach holidays. ‘What I enjoy myself is being
able to go to the beach with my whole family, not just my husband, to go to
the sea. I can go as well. I can swim with my children,’ she said. ‘I can have fun
with them. You know in Arab countries like Palestine its normal for ladies to
sit by the beach but not to swim. Here I can do everything I like,’ Thuraya said.
With countries like Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia leading the way in
Halal tourism, the Middle East has yet to exploit this young, growing market.
Dubai-based Almulla Hospitality, e.g., recently unveiled plans for a Shariah-
compliant brand, comprising of 30 hotels, and targeting Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt and Malaysia. By 2013, Almulla wants to
have 150 properties worldwide − including 35 in Europe − and plans to spend
over $2 billion to reach its goal but there has been no news of its development
Only a handful of Shariah or Halal hotel developments have so far materialized
in the region – yet the World Tourism Organisation says Gulf travellers spend
$12 billion (£7.7 billion) annually on leisure travel.
Abdul Sahib Al Shakiry, an Iraqi tourism expert and founder of Islamic

Tourism Magazine, said that a good chunk of this money could be channelled
into the Halal tourism industry. ‘People want to spend money and if you give
them what they want, they’ll spend money in this direction and there will be
business,’ he said. But while some welcome the arrival of the Islamic beach
holiday, others see it as a form of isolationism.
‘Double Standards’
‘I find it very alarming,’ says Muslim writer and columnist Yasmin Alibhai-
Brown. ‘Cultural racism or religious racism, which is what this to me is, is
saying there is no common humanity. That we have to, even on holiday, be
apart from the rest of you. ‘You can go on holiday anywhere in the world and
you don’t have to drink, nobody forces you to drink.’ I accept the Halal food
argument but there are always other things you can eat. ‘How would we feel if
there were Christian –White only holidays advertised?’ she said. ‘We would be
appalled. You can’t have double standards.’
Thuraya, on the other hand, said that such holidays are not isolating
but rather bring people together. ‘You see Muslim people from all over the
world. You have Muslim people from China, Russia, Belgium, and France.
‘The other thing is that when I go to any other normal vacation or hotel they
wouldn’t accept me wearing the burkini,’ she added. ‘They don’t make me
feel comfortable so why should I go there? I’m not searching for isolation but
there’s no other possibility for me as a Muslim lady,’ she said.
Whether or not Halal tourism drives people apart, or brings them together,
one thing is for sure – Mizan, Nazma and their children had a fantastic time on
this beach holiday.
On their last day in Alanya, Nazma told me that the one thing that has
given her a sense of freedom she had not had before is the burkini. ‘I’m not
held back any more. I’ve been able to go in the sea and take part and not think
twice. Everyone I’ve seen has been wearing burkinis, so I don’t feel like the odd
one out. It’s been a really good experience and something that we want to come
back and enjoy next year.’
Introduction
Islamic hospitality is a thriving sector that is attracting significant attention and

investment. The sector, which reflects a new trend in the hospitality industry
in the Islamic world, focuses on the adoption of business practices and finance
based on the Islamic principles of Shariah. This trend is developing rapidly
and becoming more diverse since it is no longer associated only with religious
tourism. Its latest manifestation is the development of fully fledged Shariah-
compliant hotels and facilities in many places around the world, not just Mecca
and Medina in Saudi Arabia. These hotels provide a competitive range of

services rivalling those provided by traditional Western-style hotels.
Although these hotels are being branded primarily as either dry hotels
or Islamic hotels, their customers come from different cultural and religious
backgrounds. While the religious appeal is effective in attracting Muslims,
attracting Western tourists is based on motivations to travel that associated
with well-being, conscious-lifestyles, and cultural appreciation (Stephenson
et al. 2010).
Even though one might contend that these hotels – Islamic hotels – have
long existed in Saudi Arabia, it can easily be argued that the Saudi hotels were
dry hotels, not specifically Islamic hotels; those hotels didn’t exhibit the Islamic
hospitality experience, they merely operated according to the governmental
regulations which ban alcohol, nightclubs and mixing in public. The spirit of
an Islamic hotel was lacking in them, they were money-making hotels, not
true Islamic guest houses where guests are honoured because they are guests
rather than because of the size of their pockets or because of the power of their
sponsoring organizations.
The new wave of Islamic hotels are different, they are Islamic because
they have made a conscious choice to be so. It is true that their owners have
recognized an opportunity but it is also equally true that their approach to
capturing that opportunity is more professional than their rather archaic
predecessors whose Islamic hospitality model was underdeveloped. This
new generation of hotels aims to position and brand themselves as Islamic
experience providers, not Halal hotels, Halal being only part of that experience.
Having a room with a Qibla sign, a prayer rug, a bidet or an arch in the room
is certainly not enough for that experience to be considered authentically
Islamic. An Islamic hospitality experience must embrace the Islamic notions of
hospitality in relation to congeniality and respect to visitors (Al-Hamarneh and
Steiner 2004) and relates to principles embedded in the Quran emphasizing the
absolute importance of being a good host (Din 1989).
The Islamic principles of hospitality which embraced many of the pre-

Islamic Arab hospitality traditions apply not only to hotels but to all areas
where customers are present including educational institutions, hospitals and
sports facilities, to name only a few. From this perspective the expansion and
growth possibilities for this sector become endless as they no longer remain
primarily restricted to hotels. Having said that, it should be understood that
the Islamic hotel business by itself is vast enough to warrant the huge funds
planned for investment in it until the year 2020 when it is expected to fully
mature and parallel its Western-style counterparts.
Arab Hospitality before Islam
Pre-Islamic Arab society attained and nurtured legendary levels of hospitality

and generosity to guests unparalleled throughout history anywhere else. Arabs
have gone, and continue to go, to extremes to please their guests and earn their
satisfaction. When Islam came and Arabs became Muslims these traits were
endorsed by the religion and made good deeds that bring a Muslim closer to
Allah, the Most Generous and the Giver.
Arab historians recounted numerous incidents of Arabs competing to

honour their guests. For example, the following story is narrated about the
man who is known as the most generous Arab that ever lived, Hatim Al-ta’e
(lived around the end of the Days of Ignorance, about AD 590). Hatim was
questioned:
‘Have you come across any one more generous than yourself?’
Hatim replied: ‘Yes, I have.’
Hatim was asked: ‘Where?’
Hatim said: ‘I had been travelling in the desert when I came across a
tent. Inside it there was an old lady while behind the tent a goat lay tied.
When the old lady saw me she approached me and held the reins of my
horse so that I could dismount. A little later, her son arrived and was
immensely pleased to have me as their guest. The old lady said to him:
“Commence the preparations to entertain our guest. Go and slaughter
the goat and prepare some food.”
‘The son said: “First I shall go and collect some firewood,” but the old
lady said: “Going to the desert and bringing the firewood shall consume
a lot of time due to which our guest would have to remain hungry for
long, and this would be contrary to social etiquette.”
‘The son, breaking the only two lances he had, slaughtered the goat,
prepared, and presented the food. When I asked about their condition, I
realized that the goat had been their only possession and yet, they had
slaughtered it for me. I said to the old lady: “Do you recognize me?”
She said no, I said: “I am Hatim Al-Ta’e. You must come with me to
my tribe so that I can entertain you and shower you with gifts and
presents.”
‘The old lady said: “Neither do we seek any reward from our guests
nor do we sell bread for money,” and she refused to accept anything
from me. Witnessing this generosity, I realized that they were far more
generous and munificent than me.
EZsoftech n.d.
Arabs even named the dog ‘the voice of consciousness’ and ‘the creator of
reputation’ because it attracts guests by barking and helps them locate hosts.
Moreover, when it was too windy to light a fire at night dogs were dispersed and
tied around the neighbourhood so that guests would be guided by their noise
to the camp. Until this day, the most generous man of a Bedouin community
will place his tent on the right side of the camp; and that is how guests know to
whom they should go.
The Status of Customers in Islam: Customers as Guests
The religious view of the customer as a guest is central to the conduct of

Islamic hospitality. In Islam a guest is to be treated with the utmost respect
whether he is an acquaintance or a stranger. In fact, being generous to a guest is
associated with believing in Allah and in the Last Day, which are two of the five
pillars of faith (Iman) in Islam; To believe in: Allah, His angels, His books, His
messengers, and the Last Day (Day of Judgment). The prophet says: ‘He who
believes in Allah and in the last day let him be generous to his guest.’ Although
not being generous to one’s guests will not render a person a non-believer, the
teachings of the Prophet demonstrates the importance of giving proper care
and attention to guests through linking hospitality directly to with faith.
The implication of this association is that in order to practise a higher level

of faith and become an ever better Muslim, a Muslim’s faith must be reflected
in everything he does from removing harm from other’s ways and honouring
guests, all the way through to martyrdom.
Guest Treatment in Islam
Islam teaches that guests are to be well treated and to the best of a host’s
resources and abilities. There are many Quranic and prophetic teachings in
this regards that specify the general guidelines that underlie such treatment in
terms of duration, sustenance, place, manners, greetings and tenderness:
Duration
Although there is no upper limit for how long a guest is to be treated as a guest,
all guests are entitled to a minimum of 24 hours of preferential treatment in terms
of services provided. Nonetheless, after the minimum period is concluded the
guest continues to be honoured, as a good deed by the host: ‘Whoever believes
in Allah and the Last Day let him be generous to his neighbour. Whoever
believes in Allah and the Last Day let him be generous to his guest in what he gives.’
A man said, ‘And what should he give O Messenger of Allah’ He replied, ‘A day and
a night, and one must honour his guest for three days. Whoever does more then it is a
charity for him. And whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day let him speak
fair or stay quiet’ (Prophet Mohammad).
Cuisine
The preferential treatment of guests includes serving the best available food
that a host can afford: ‘There is no person like a person who takes the reins
[of his horse] and fights for the sake of Allah, avoiding people’s evil, and a
person among his sheep in the outskirts giving meal to his guest, honouring his right’
(Prophet Mohammad).
Place
The Hadith above also indicates that hospitality should be provided where it
is needed most. The value of the services provided by a host located in close
proximity to many other hosts is not as valuable as those provided by a lone or
a few hosts in underserviced areas, e.g., city outskirts.
Good Manners
Islam places supreme importance on the cultivation of good manners and noble
moral qualities. There are many prophetic teachings in this regard: ‘The best
of you are those who possess the best manners’, ‘On the Day of Recompense
nearest to me will be one who displays in one’s daily life the best of manners’,
‘On the Day of Reckoning the most weighty item in the “Balance of Deeds” will
be good manners’, and once a Companion asked the Prophet, ‘What is there
that takes a Muslim to Paradise?’ The Prophet replied, ‘Fear of God and good
manners.’
Islam has also described the manner in which a person should meet his
guests. These include, among others, cheerfulness and sincerity. ‘And your
smiling in the face of your brother is charity, your removing of stones and thorns
from people’s paths is charity, and your guiding a man gone astray in the
world is charity for you’(Prophet Mohammad).
Muslims have also been warned against bad manners and are taught to
cultivate all good and noble moral and social qualities and to avoid everything
that is mean or wicked (Nomani n.d.). The Prophet said: ‘A man with bad
manners and a bad moral conduct shall not enter Paradise’, and ‘No sin is more
detestable to God than bad manners.’
Greeting
Islamic hospitality, aside from being associated with faith, is also associated
with the finer points of Islamic lifestyle traditions. One of the most basic of
these traditions is the Islamic greeting of as-salaamu ‘alaikum (God’s Peace be
upon you). ‘When you are greeted with a greeting, greet with better than it or
return it. Allah takes count of all things’ (Quran 4:86). This greeting, although
seemingly of a simple nature, has protocols specifying its use. ‘The rider
should salute the walker, the walker the sitter, and the few the many’ (Prophet
Mohammad). Finally, the Islamic greeting is not composed only of words but
also shaking hands, which is encouraged as blessed and rewarded. ‘When two
Muslims shake hands, their sins fall to the ground, as leaves of the tree fall to
the ground’ (Prophet Mohammad).
Tenderness
Tenderness and the readiness to oblige and to put others at ease are all virtues
of the highest order in the Islamic pattern of morality (Nomani n.d.). ‘Hell’s
fire is forbidden for those that are mild and gentle and make it easy for others
to deal with them.’
‘God is compassionate and likes compassion in His creatures. He grants

more to the kind and the tender-hearted than to those that are harsh and severe.’
Gentleness of Speech
In Islam, gentleness of speech is a virtue and rudeness is a sin (Nomani n.d.).

‘Speak fair to the People’ (Quran 2:83). ‘To speak politely is piety and a kind
of charity’, ‘To indulge in intemperate language and in harsh behaviour is to
perpetrate an injustice and the home of injustice is Hell’, and ‘Rudeness in
speech is hypocrisy (i.e., the quality of a hypocrite).’
On the other hand, the guest is expected to be considerate to his host’s

circumstances, not burdening him with what he cannot afford. A guest should
not exploit his prescribed rights because he too has prescribed duties. The
Prophet said: ‘It is unlawful for a Muslim to stay with his brother until he
makes him fall into sin.’ The companions said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, how can
he (the guest) make him (the host) fall into sin?’ He replied, ‘That he stays with
him while he does not have [enough money] to serve him food.’
To conclude, the following paragraph from Imam Ghazali’s book, ‘Ihyaa

‘Uloom-ud-Deen’ (i.e., Revival of Religious Sciences) sheds some light on how
Prophet Mohammad treated his guests:
The Messenger of Allah would honor his guests. He would even spread
his garment for a non-relative guest to sit. He used to offer his guest his
own cushion and insist until they accept it. No one came to him as a
guest but thought that he was the most generous of people. He gave each
one of his companions sitting with him his due portion of his attention.
He would direct his listening, speech, gaze and attention to those who
were in his company. Even then, his gathering was characterized by
modesty, humbleness and honesty. He would call his companions by
their Kunyah – the name they are known by to others – to honour them.
Definition and Scope of Islamic Hospitality
Currently Islamic hospitality is defined as one that caters to the needs of

Muslim travellers, tourists, vacationers, holiday goers and businesspeople
who look for a family-friendly, tranquil, entertaining, and culturally sensitive
and experience-enriching hotel. Although the use of the term is being, for
now, limited to the development of Islamic hotels, its scope is much broader
and includes other areas such as catering, hospitals, and most other services’
businesses. In fact it includes each single encounter between people, whether
business-related or otherwise. For example:
1. Islamic hospitals were established in the Middle East much earlier

than hotels; the Islamic Hospital in Amman, Jordan, went into
operation in 1982.
2. Most educational institutions and many universities in the Arabian

Gulf have gender-based facilities where male and female students
do not mix anywhere in the campus.
3. The airline catering industry has long catered to the needs of

Muslim travellers by serving Halal meals.
4. Gender-based gyms and coffee-shops are also proliferating in many

Muslim countries.
5. Female-only entertainment and folklore bands exist.
6. There are all-female-operated jewellery stores.
7. Female chauffeur services are available.
Although one might argue that many of these services traditionally fall
outside the hospitality domain, the way they operate, and especially their front-
stage employees, are engaged in what might be rightly described as hospitality
activities, and more so, Islamic hospitality activities. Islamic hospitality, which
is based on being kind, honest, hospitable and merciful to everyone whom a
Muslim meets, raises the status of a client, any client, from a customer to a
guest; a guest to the company’s premises and facilitations whether that guest is
an actual or a virtual guest in the company’s cyberspace.
The Market for Islamic Hospitality
Director to porter, the Luthan Hotel in Riyadh employs only females. The hotel
demonstrates the trend of emerging demand for hotels that accommodate the
needs of a Muslim clientele. It also denotes the growing interest from Shariah-
compliant investment funds in the booming regional tourism industry where

Muslim investors controlling seemingly infinite liquidity are following their
principles (Thomas 2008). Such a principled attitude to investment represents
a generous opportunity for Shariah financers. Although how much of this
opportunity can be translated into actual demand for Islamic hotels is difficult
to determine, it is argued that demand is enough to satisfy one-third of the
new hotels being constructed in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This is so
because demand for these Islamic hotel services is no longer coming only from
the rich in the Muslim world. Overall, Muslims are travelling more, on business
and on holiday, and they want principled hotels during their travel. Hotels
that target this new niche include Sharjah’s Coral International, Flora Group of
Dubai, Grand Seraj Hotels & Resorts, Rotana’s Rayhaan, KM Holdings’ Tamani
Hotel, and Almulla Hospitality which is planning to invest $2 billion in creating
the world’s first and largest Shariah-compliant international hotel chain.
In total, these projects are planning hundreds of new Islamic hotels around
the globe to tap into the rising regional demand from GCC citizens travelling
abroad, which the World Trade Organization estimates at $12 billion per year.
By 2020 there will be 900 new hotels worth $1 trillion (Thomas 2008).
Although these hotels are trying to position themselves as culturally

sensitive Arab and Islamic hospitality brands created using Shariah-compliant
funds, no brand has successfully achieved that status yet. That is of course,
aside from the Mecca and Medina brands in Saudi Arabia that are being
developed solely for religious tourism; their brand targets customers in these
two cities and there are no plans to capitalize on their brand equity and expand
anywhere else.
While the immediate target for investments in Islamic hotels seems to be

the Muslim clientele, particularly observant families from the Gulf, middle-
class Muslims who are travelling more, and non-Muslim travellers are also
being approached. The increase in the demand from Muslims is due, among
other factors, to the increased self-awareness among Muslims who are shying
away from travelling to the ever more family-hostile Western environment
and searching for the more peaceful and surprisingly thrilling and diverse
alternative within the Islamic countries. To quote a prominent Muslim writer,
Naseem Javid: ‘The West’s constant scrutiny of Muslims around the world
has now created an unstoppable awareness among Muslims to recreate and
redefine their identity, manage their affairs, and establish their own standards’
(Javed 2007). As the example at the beginning of this chapter illustrates, instead
of travelling to Europe where a Muslim family will be exposed to severe cultural

differences, travelling to Dubai, Malaysia, Turkey or Saudi Arabia provides
Muslim families with the much needed feeling of security and tranquillity.
While the religious affiliation of Islamic hotels plays a major promotional

factor when selling to Muslims, non-Muslim travellers are attracted by the
appeal of a culturally different approach to hospitality and a sense of peace and
humanity that are lacking in the Western model of hotels where the concept of
hospitality has lost much of its content due to cultural issues, rigorous profit-
seeking and severe budget cuts.
Shariah Compliance Rules for Islamic Hotels
Investors in the Islamic hospitality sector, which is beginning to mature,

have ‘suddenly’ come to recognize the fact that Muslim travellers represent
approximately 10 per cent of the huge global travel market and that Muslims
travel, like everybody else. However, Muslim travellers are different. They are
deeply guided by a comprehensive set of religious rules and guidelines that
specify how, when and where many of their activities should be carried out. As
such, Islamic hospitality, in addition to assuring Muslim clients that the food
is Halal without their having to ask and that all hotel operations are Shariah-
compliant, there are numerous related activities that enhance the image of the
hotel as an Islamic hotel. These activities are not necessarily classified as Halal
or Haram; they are part of fine touches of the Islamic lifestyle.
One of the most comprehensive lists of these fine touches that signify the
Islamic identity of the hotel has been provided by Almulla Hospitality. The
company which claims that ‘Our brand proposition is so distinct that guests
will be confident that our brand values have universal consistency’ is one of
the most important investors in the field of Islamic hospitality. According to
Almulla, the common rules that must be adhered to by a hotel to classify as
Islamic include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Islamic finance. Islamic hotels should be financed from funds

compliant with Shariah regulations and part of the revenue must
be contributed in the form of Zakat (obligatory charity) (Bakr 2008).
2. Markers indicating direction of Mecca. Markers should be placed

in hotel rooms because Muslims must face Mecca every time they
pray. These markers can be placed on the ceiling, the walls, the
floor, or any other object within the room. Basically these markers
are basic black or green arrows with the word Qibla (Mecca) written
beside them. This is not a Shariah requirement but a faith associated
augmenter of the core service provided by the Islamic hotel.
3. No alcohol to be served on the premises. It is widely known that

Islam doesn’t tolerate the alcohol-related consumption business.
This substance can be used for industrial purposes but cannot be
consumed at a personal level. A hotel that sells alcohol will not be
considered an Islamic hotel.
4. Halal food must be served; no pork allowed. What applies to

alcoholic beverages applies to pork and pork-based products; an
Islamic hotel cannot serve pork even to its non-Muslim clients and
those clients should not order it in the first place. Even if the Halal
food is isolated from pork and any other food which is not Shariah-
compliant, the hotel cannot be called Islamic. An Islamic hotel
prepares and serves one type of food only and that is Halal. For
more details concerning what food and other substances are Halal
refer to Chapter 3.
5. Special entertainment but no nightclubs. Unfortunately, in the

minds of many Muslims and non-Muslims, the words ‘Muslims’ and
‘entertainment’ do not come together due to misinterpretation of
Islam by Muslims and incorrect cultural and religious stereotyping
by others. Yet, one of the most significant but misunderstood
Islamic concepts is the role of entertainment in living a balanced
life. Entertainment in Islam is not only permitted, it is endorsed.
Imam Ali, the fourth Muslim caliph, said: ‘The believer’s time has
three periods: the period when he is in communion with Allah, the
period when he manages for his livelihood, and the period when he
is free to enjoy what is lawful and pleasant. And the last part is an
energizer and refreshing for the other parts.’
Entertainment is an important component of the personality

of the Muslim and it is one of his religious duties. The Prophet
said: ‘Entertain your hearts, an hour and an hour’ which means
that time should be dedicated to entertainment in the same way
time is dedicated for pure acts of worship. Such entertainment
takes many forms. For example, the Prophet teaches: ‘Teach your
children archery, swimming, and horse riding.’
Islamic hoteliers should be flexible and creative in providing good

lawful entertainment. Besides swimming, archery and horse-
riding, entertainment could include lively competitions among
guests, watching movies and reading books that do not portray
indecency, family games, poetry and Islamic music, painting and
drawing etc. ‘Passing time is easy, whether it is spent basking in
the calm atmosphere, taking a dip in one of the pools – away from
prying eyes – or sipping on a refreshing fruit cocktail’ (Bakr 2008).
On the other hand, gambling, music, wine, sculpting, female-based
entertainment and indecent performances are forbidden in Islam
(Jaffery 2009).
6. Staff to be predominantly Muslim. Muslim employees are better

equipped to understand the needs and cultural sensitivities of
the Muslim clientele. In addition to the little training that will be
needed to sensitize Muslim staff, their presence provides stronger
assurance to Muslim clientele on the identity and services offered
in the hotel.
7. Male staff for single men and female staff for women and families.
Muslim men tend to be very jealous and sensitive when it comes
to who the female members of their families are exposed to. Even
in hotels and places that are not necessarily Islamic many Muslim
families will ask specifically for a waitress not a waiter to serve
them.
8. Separate male and female wellness facilities such as gyms. Islam

takes a very strong view on mixing between genders and takes
many precautions to ensure that unwarranted mixing does not
occur, for fear of what that might lead to. In these facilities, both
men and women wear clothes that are tight, short or revealing,
dress characteristics that are unaccepted in the Islamic code of
dress. Moreover, Muslims generally, both men and women, are
not as comfortable mixing in public as others and thus many will
just opt out and not use these facilities, eventually reducing their
contribution to the guest’s Islamic hospitality experience.
9. Gender-segregated prayer rooms. The Islamic prayer includes

certain moves, positions and postures which women cannot
perform freely in the presence of men. Prayer rooms are places
where peace of mind is sought and thus all distractions must be
eliminated, including the distraction of men! Also, these rooms
represent secluded nearby getaways where women can pray,
chat and get acquainted easily with all other women in the hotel
regardless of who they are or where they come from because, in
these rooms, all people are equal, there are no ranks and no social
classes.
10. Conservative TV channels. There are more than 60 dedicated

Islamic TV channels and many others are planned. These channels
present talk shows and religious programs, among others which
are both educational and entertaining. International TV channels
such as National Geographic and History channels, and news
channels such as Al Jazeera are well received among Muslims.
The BBC, EuroNews, Bloomberg and the CNN are also among
the choices, albeit with reservations. International sports channels
remain favourites for young Muslims. Finally, children’s channels
such Arabic Spacetoon, Toyor Aljannah and Karameesh are gaining
an increased popularity among Muslim children.
11. Status check. Couples checking in have to provide documents to

prove they are married.
12. In-house religious figures that host seminars and preaching

sessions. In addition to seminars and preaching those figures are
indispensible in the life of Muslims; they answer questions and
provide guidance to Muslims and enable them to know the ruling
of their religion on issues where they seek enlightenment, which
spans all areas of the life of a Muslim, whether business, family, or
individual.
13. Art should not depict the human form.
14. Traditional uniforms. The key point here is that the dress should
fulfil the three conditions of an Islamic dress; it shouldn’t be short,
tight or revealing in any way. Traditional uniforms fulfil these
conditions and evoke a sort of nostalgia, a passion for the past, a

beautiful yet unattainable state of being.
15. Beds are not to be placed in the direction of Mecca. A Muslim sleeps
on his right side with face towards Mecca, left hand extended along
the body, and right hand placed under the cheek. The location of
the hotel will determine the direction of the bed. For example, a bed
in a hotel in New York, US, means that the person faces east with
head south and legs extended north, while a person in China will
face west with head north and legs south; it all depends on the exact
location of the hotel in relation to Mecca.
16. Toilets must not be facing Mecca. Like the position of beds above,
this is not a matter of Halal or Haram; it is a matter of showing
respect to Islam’s holiest place.
17. Quran, prayer mats, subha (prayer beads) in each room or at the
front desk. Many Western hotels provide bibles in guests’ rooms. In
an Islamic hotel, Islamic materials are provided instead.
Although some of these points represent core services without which a

hotel cannot be classified as Islamic, many of them make up the augmented
Islamic hospitality experience needed to compete in this emerging field where
competition is being based more and more, not on the core Halal attributes
offered at the Islamic hotel, but on the finer touches that are seen as Islamic but
are not usually classified as Halal or Haram.
Special Challenges Facing Islamic Hospitality
1. Couples who are not married. Asking non-married couples

checking in to provide documents to prove they are married is
a sensitive issue that needs to be approached with care. Islam’s
view on extramarital relations is unswerving; it is forbidden and
condemned as one of the major sins. The fact that the policy of an
Islamic hotel allows only singles and families should be made clear
beforehand in order to avoid embarrassment at check-in and to
spare unaware guests the trouble of trying to find an alternative
hotel. Unsuspecting guests who arrive at check-in should be turned
down gently and helped to find alternative accommodation. One
point need to be iterated here is that some self-proclaimed Islamic

hotels tend to be flexible.
2. Music. Islamic hotels do not play traditional music; there is no rock

and roll, no rap, no blues and no Mozart! Moreover, since most
non-Muslims wouldn’t be familiar with Islamic music and it will
be difficult to teach them about it during their short stays, Islamic
hotels need to provide alternative entertainment, both private in
room entertainment and public in the hotel in general. Giving
guests the opportunity to meet each other, if they so wish, through
common activities that are open for all to participate will allow
guests to entertain as well as give them a chance to network.
3. Flexibility over certain matters. One point that needs to be iterated

here is that some of the self-proclaimed Islamic hotels tend to be
‘flexible’ in dealing with some of the issue they face. The regional
director of marketing at a four-star Dubai hotel in Dubai explains:
‘Sometimes we are faced with cases where non-Arab couples arrive
and they are not married. We find it rude to turn them away, so
we can be a bit flexible with new arrivals and let them stay in
the same room, just as long as they behave.’ The hotel though
does not explain what is and what is not acceptable behaviour,
knowing that unmarried couples are not allowed to mix in public,
but nevertheless sleep in the same room. A reason underlying this
unwarranted flexibility might lie in the fact that ‘many companies
choose to open Islamic hotels, not for any ethical reason but because
they are becoming profitable’. Hotel owners and managers need to
know that where there is a clear Islamic principle on a matter there
is no room for flexibility or second interpretations. Even flexibility
has its limits.
4. Unqualified staff. Islamic hotels are facing the same problem that
Islamic banks have been having since they were first established in
the 1970s; qualified employees are in short supply. So far there are
no Islamic hospitality degrees and education in this field continues
to be carried out on ad hoc bases. As a result hotels tend to apply
only Muslims and assume that, because they are Muslims, they
know how to behave Islamically, a wrong assumption indeed since
Muslims have only lately have remembered the teaching of their
Prophet: ‘And your smile in the face of your brother is a charity’.
Training, which could be expensive even for Muslim staff , needs to

be carried out professionally either in house or outside, although it
is also hard to find qualified trainers in this emerging field to train
enough people to fill all the vacancies.
5. Loss of revenue from the sale of alcohol. A major challenge to

building and running an Islamic hotel is the loss of revenue from
selling alcohol, which contributes about five per cent of a hotel’s
revenue in a traditional Western-style hotel. Because hotels in
the region are social hubs, many people frequent the hotel not to
stay but to socialize and return home at the end of the night, the
alcohol contribution could be even higher in the region than its
counterparts in the West. For an Islamic hotel this type of customers
will most likely be lost. Therefore, without revenue from alcohol,
Islamic hotels need to generate new and creative revenue streams
and strive for higher occupancy.
6. Marketing. Are these hotels dry hotels or Islamic hotels? Do they

position themselves as ‘Islamic’? If they were branded as Islamic,
would that alienate the non-Muslim clientele? Since most non-
Muslim customers will not be aware of all the benefits that Islamic
hotels offer, Islamic hoteliers need to educate the market and the
consumers in order to create awareness about what Islamic hotels
are, how they operate and how are they different from other hotels.
Conclusion
Without alcohol, night clubs, open gender mixing and Western music, the
Islamic hotel experience might not be for everyone. Nonetheless, those who are
interested in them are enough to keep this sector of hospitality going for a long
time before it reaches maturity; it is rapidly growing and planned to capture
10 per cent of the US$1 trillion to be invested in hotels in the Middle East by
2020. Shariah-compliant hotels, where most investment in Islamic hospitality
is directed, have only recently begun to spread, although dry hotels, which are
commonly confused with Islamic hotels, have for many years existed in Saudi
Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait out of necessity. Since alcohol in these countries is
prohibited, hotels were wrongly classified as Islamic, which created serious
branding and positioning problems. While hoteliers knew that operating
dry hotels is represents an attraction to some, as much as it is detested by
others, they also recognized that relying on being dry is not enough to create
a distinguishable hotel identity that can differentiate the hotel from others.
Without such a clear identity a dry hotel is just another hotel that is missing a
key ingredient in the hotel business: alcohol. And who needs a ‘dry’ hotel at the
outskirts of the Empty Quarter?
Since Arab travellers and holiday goers will continue to represent a very
large portion of this sector’s patrons for the foreseeable future, and since in the
Arabic consciousness there are very few words that are as detested as much
as the word ‘dry’, nashif or jaaf in the Arabic language, hotels in the region
certainly need a different way of branding themselves. Being dry, in other
words not serving alcohol, and the abstract meaning and associations the word
‘dry’ attracts, are not selling points in today’s approach to this emerging type
of hospitality. While the word ‘dry’ has certain connotations in the Western
culture in general, it doesn’t yield the same within Arabic and Islamic culture.
Arab travellers look for oases to escape to and that is how hotels targeting them
should be branded.
Key Terms:
• Dry hotels
• Islamic hotels
• Islamic hospitality
• Arab hospitality
• Religious tourism
• Muslim traveller
• Islamic lifestyles
• Islamic hotel branding
• Islamic hotel identity.
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Index
Abu Bakr 11, 32 Alibhai-Brown, Yasmin 170

Abu Dhabi 17, 160 Al-Islami Cooperative 44, 100, 162
academics 114, 159, 160 Allah 21, 54, 57, 62, 66, 80, 85, 163,
accountability 12, 35 164, 165 , 173
extended 87–90 and commercial covenants 74–5
accreditation 102 consent of 120
actions 57, 119, 120, 164 and consumption 125
adaptation 140 names of 86
adornment 55 promises 89
advertising 40, 93, 96, 103, 116 see also God
false 91 alms see Zakat
Shariah-compliant 90 Almulla Hospitality 169, 178, 179
advertising agencies 96 Alrummani 58
Africa 129, 160, 161 Alserhan, B. A. 137, 153, 154, 157, 162,
Ahid 74; see also covenant 166
airlines 142, 177 animal welfare 120, 145
Al Baraka Islamic Bank of Bahrain 27 animals 15, 37, 40, 65, 103, 123, 130
Al Farooj Fresh 100 transportation of 100–101
Al Haj Mustafa, Thuraya 169, 170 Aqid (contract) 74
Al Islami Cart 100 Arab countries 8–9, 17, 41
Al Islami Meat Shops 100 see also Islamic countrues
Alawneh, S. F. 11 Arab hospitality 172–3
alcohol 15, 42, 43, 57, 58, 59, 64, 85, 92, see also Islamic hospitality
101, 115, 142, 143, 144, 150, 171, Arab markets, pre-Islamic 30–31, 46
in Islamic hotels 180, 185, 185–6 Arab merchants 81
see also wine Arabic language 19, 30–31, 54, 56ff.,
Aldraiweesh 33 83, 84
Al-Faruqi, I. R. A. 11 on Halal logos 118, 119
Al-Hamarneh, A. and Steiner, C. 171 Arabs 30, 31, 46, 57, 90, 115
Ali, A. J. and Gibbs, M. 11 see also Muslim consumers;
Ali, Imam 180 Muslims
archery 181 see also Islamic branding

Arla Foods 158 brand loyalty 148–9
aromas 106, 123 brand names 55, 56, 162
Arqoob 90 see also Islamic brands
art 181, 182 brand skills 143, 159
Asia 129, 160, 161 see also Islamic branding
assurance 107–8, 145 branding consultations 165
attitudes, Muslim 124, 131–4, 151–2 brands 117ff.
attraction 87, 88 see also brand names; Islamic
Australia 101, 104, 152 brands
awareness 81, 107, 116 Brazil 101, 103
bribery 13, 18, 21
bad deeds 57, 59, 86, 88, 124, 165 British Islamic Bank 40
Badawi, J. 128 brokers 36
Bakr, A. 179, 181 burkini 169, 170
balance 11–12 business conduct xi, 4, 9, 10, 14
banks 28, 40, 43, 44, 108, 115 business organizations 14, 15
see also Islamic banks business owners 18
Barbican 143 ethics 10, 12, 14
bargaining 76 business professionals 114
Bassiouni, M. C. 11 buyers 9, 10, 18, 20, 29, 36, 37, 39, 69,
beach holidays 168 77, 163
beards 19 covenant with seller 74–5
beautification 55, 126 and pricing 38, 75–6
beauty 21, 57, 59, 84, 87
Bedouins 173 Caliph 48
beef 100, 101, 152 capitalism 21, 120, 135
Beekun, R. I. 7, 16 Carrefour 76, 101, 158
Begum, Nazma 168, 169, 170 cars 92, 115, 134
behaviour 4, 6, 8, 16, 21, 37–9, 92, 95, cartoons 44, 93, 134, 158
114, 119, 120, 122–3, 127–8, 184 casinos 43
beliefs 86, 140 catering services 107, 177
Belt, D. 116 Catholicism 123
benefits 54, 55, 58, 60, 88 celebrations 94
betting 43 certification 105, 149
books 61, 62, 159, 173, 181 agencies 152–3
borrowers 9, 83 Chachi, A. H. A. and Latiff, S. A. 91
boycotts 80, 134, 151, 158–9, 165 Chapra, M. U. 9, 11, 12
brand entry 150–51, 153 charity 5, 6, 16, 94, 95, 120, 128, 129,
brand Islamization 139 175
index 191
chauffeur services 177 see also Muslim consumers; non-

cheating 13, 18 Muslim
cheerfulness 175 consumers
cheese 150 consumption 41, 55, 58, 85, 92
children 130, 181 clothes 126
China 30, 31, 46, 82, 161, 170 food 125
Christians 40, 41, 59, 84, 122, 138, 141, religious concept 122–4, 164
170 social aspects 128–9
cigarettes 42 containers 101, 106
cleanliness 16, 57, 138, 150 cosmetics 138, 147, 149
clothes 124, 126, 138, 169, 170, 181 Council on American-Islamic
see also dress Relations
Coca-Cola 8–9, 42, 44, 141 (Cair) 80
coffee-shops 177 couscous 119, 146
cold-storage facilities 101, 105, 106 covenant 14, 15, 89
colours 93, 94 buyer-seller 74–5
commerce 4, 5, 20, 83, 140 creation 10, 11, 55, 123
commercial banking 44 credibility 118
commercial contracts 70, 72 cross-contamination 106
commercialism see commercialization cuisine 174
commercialization 21, 140–41, 165 cultural differences 62, 84–5, 127,
community 10, 14, 16, 29, 38, 120, 128 131–2, 133, 153, 160, 179, 186
companies 6, 7, 42–4, 85, 138, 159 culture 115, 140, 160, 171
and Halal logistics 101ff. customers 43, 44, 85, 87, 91, 92, 96
pricing for Muslims 73, 76 complaints 88
and Shariah law 8, 66 as guests 173–7
un-Islamic 44 Halal 146–7
see also Islamic companies; and Islamic brands 142–3
multinational companies and Islamic hospitality 171
(MNCs) and sellers’ promises 88–9
Companions of Mohammad 9, 10, 32, see also consumers
36, 122, 124, 129
compassion 75, 96, 176 Danish brands 134, 151, 165
competition 20, 30, 83, 103, 117 boycott of 132, 158–9
competitive advantage 102–3, 109, Danish companies 44, 134, 151, 158–9
117 databases 107
complaints 34 dates 119
consumerism 21 Da’waah (invitation) 81, 82, 83, 97
consumers 4, 43, 69, 72, 115, 121, 140 Day of Judgement 93, 119, 173, 174
alienation of 118 deception 87, 91
defects 92 emotional appeals 92

delivery 56 enjoyment 125
demographics 16, 129–31, 160 entertainment 65, 124, 149, 177,
Denmark 134, 158 180–81, 184
see also Danish companies environment 14, 15, 20, 29, 76, 96, 146
desires 9, 87, 92, 122, 128, 132, 163 ethical practices xii, xiii, 4, 28, 29, 33,
deterrent 88 57–9, 84, 87, 88, 91, 120, 141
Dharuriyyat (necessities) 60, 61 and Halal products 146
diets 146, 149 and hospitality 174–5
Din, K. H. 171 ethnic products 119, 138, 146
discipline 35 Eurofrigo 104
disclosure 92 Europe 105, 119, 129, 161, 169
discrimnation 14 European Union (EU) 104
disputes 34 exchange 114
dogs 173 exotic products 41, 119, 138
Domino’s Pizza 101, 122 experts 131, 139, 141, 152, 159, 164,
Drenttel, William 140–41 165, 169
dress 17, 19, 61, 95, 168, 169, 170, 181, exploitation 12, 20, 33, 77, 88, 91
182 exporters 107
drinks 8, 44, 141, 143, 150 extravagance 16, 55, 73, 92, 124, 125
drugs 58, 92 see also Tarafiyyat (extravagances)
dry hotels 171, 185, 186 extreme practices 127–8
Dubai 59, 104, 142, 148, 169, 178, 179,
184 fair prices 76, 77
Duncan, T. and Ramaprasad, J. 140 fair trade 145
Dunkin Donuts 122 fairness 7, 9, 20, 29, 33, 47, 76, 77, 145
duties 11–12, 77, 120, 127, 130, 176 faith (iman) 5, 11, 16, 35, 61, 63, 85, 86,
117, 163–4, 173
eating 127 and consumption 127–8
economic activities 130 falafel 119
education 62, 73, 124 false assertion 91
educational institutions 171, 177 false bidding 39
Egypt 43, 82, 142, 143–4, 158, 162, 169 families 93, 94, 96, 121, 130, 181, 183
elders 130 fantasy 92
Emaar xi fasting 5, 6, 125, 127, 128, 130, 135
Emirates Airlines 142 financial services, Islamic 106, 108,
emotions 143, 165 161
employees 9, 10, 11, 12, 34, 158, 181, financial system, Islamic 44
184–5 five pillars of life 61, 62, 173
employers 9, 11, 35 flexibility 184
index 193
FMCCs 115 see also products

Fonterra 159 gradualism 81, 85–7
food 54, 57, 61, 73, 92, 123, 164, 174, greed 9, 76, 82
179 greetings 37, 175
consumption 125, 127 grocers 146
global market size 149 guests 171, 172, 173–7, 184
Halal brands 100, 122, 138, 147, 161 duties of 176
Halal market 145ff., 149, 161 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) 178
in Islamic hotels 180 Gulfood Awards 100
foreign investment 4 gyms 122, 167, 177, 181
forgiveness 77
France 27, 134, 158, 170 Hadith 35, 36, 38, 39, 66, 75, 90, 92,
fraud 13, 14 174
free market 72, 74, 77 Hajiyyat (needs) 60, 61–2
free offers 94 hajj 129, 130, 135
free will 12–13 Halal xi, 6, 7, 8, 11, 21, 38, 40, 57, 73,
freedom, concept of 74 96, 164, 179, 180
functionality 55 categories 147–8
certification 105, 149, 152–3
gambling 15, 86, 181 concept of 54, 102, 114, 143, 146
gender 35, 94, 107, 177, 181–2 food brands 118, 147, 161
generosity 75, 77, 172, 173 hubs 101, 103–5, 107
gentleness of speech 176 integrity 100, 106
Germany 131, 132 innovation 148–9
Ghazali, Imam 176 in Islamic hotels 179, 180
Ghoul 85 lifestyle brands 147–8, 161
gifts 173 logistics 102ff., 106, 108–9, 142
global economy 4, 114, 152, 160 see also Islamic logistics
GM crops 145 logos 118, 147, 153
God 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 21, 31, 32, 74, ports 104–5
77, 87, 176 products 7–8, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 54,
attributes of 86 64, 66, 90, 100, 116–17
see also Allah cross-contamination of 106
good / goodness 53, 57, 59, 84, 86, 88, transportation 106
120, 146 services 107–8, 148, 161
good deeds 57, 62, 92, 124, 132, 163, shipping 101, 104–5
164, 165, 172, 174 standards 145
good life 9 supply chain 90, 100, 101, 102, 105,
good manners 174–5 108
goods 39, 43, 54, 57 support services 104, 105, 106
tourism 168–72 Ibn Khaldun 33

use of term 108 identity 16, 17, 40, 54, 114, 178, 179,
see also Halal brands; Halal 186
industry; consumption 122
Halal market; Halalization ideology 148
Halal Audit Company (HAC) 105 Ifsad xi
Halal brands 100–101, 116, 118–19, image 116, 153
138, 143, 145ff., 163 India 30, 40, 82, 117, 160
concept 143 individuals 11, 12, 33
and non-Muslims 138–9, 163 Indonesia 105, 158, 169
see also Islamic branding inequalities 7
Halal industry 100, 101, 103, 104ff., information 81, 85, 91, 95, 107
145, 147, 161 ingredients 106, 107, 114, 152
Halal market 101, 103, 105, 118, injustice 72
138–9, 140, 145, 147, 149, 161 innovation 148–9
Halalization 100 inspection 34
handling 106 insurance 108, 149
Haram xi, 7, 8, 11, 21, 38, 54, 64–6, 72, intangibility 21, 55, 56
91, 92, 102, 103, 165 intentions 164
products 101, 106, 108, 115, 150 interest rates 6, 9, 10, 15, 43, 65
hardships 10 international trade 30
harm 10, 60, 64, 91, 114 Internet 102, 124, 164
Hatim Al-ta’e 172–3 investment 172, 178, 179
health 164 invitation (Da’aa) 83
Hecny group 104 Islam xi-xii, 4–5, 12, 13, 18, 28, 46, 57,
high-pressure selling 91 60, 173
Hisbah 33, 48 and promotions 80–2, 83–7, 96
hoarding 15, 22, 72 and trade 31–2ff.
home 61 see also Islamic market (Souq)
honesty 11, 13, 20, 81, 87, 90, 165, 177 Islamic banks 27, 28, 40, 44, 108, 138,
horse-riding 181 148
hospitals 171, 177 Islamic branding 137–54, 157–66, 185
host 171 academic studies 159
human beings 11, 57, 93 brand entry 150–51, 153
humanity 162, 163, 166, 170, 179 categories 147–8, 162
hummus 119, 146 and commercialization 141
hurt 85 by country of origin 142, 143,
hygiene 37, 106 151–2, 162
hypocrites 90, 176 by customer 142–3, 162
definition of 142, 160, 162–3
index 195
and Halal market 145ff., 153–4 challenges facing 183–5

and hotels 185–6 and customers 173–7
and innovation 148 definition of 176–7
and Islamic products 143–4 and guest treatment 174–6
marketing strategies 140–41 cuisine 174
and religion 141, 142, 162, 163–5 duration 174
Shariah-compliant 142, 143, 162 gentleness of speech 176
skills 143, 159 good manners 174–5
Islamic brands 28 greetings 175
definition of 162 place of 174
types of 162–3 tenderness 175–6
inbound 162, 163 scope of 171, 176–7
outbound 162, 163 Shariah-compliant services 170–71
traditional 162, 163 and Western tourists 171
true 162, 163 women-only services 168–9, 177
see also Islamic branding see also Islamic hotels
Islamic businesses 28, 118 Islamic hotels 138, 142, 148,149, 177
see also Islamic companies and alcohol 180, 185, 185–6
Islamic companies 8, 28, 45, 47, 48, 159 branding 185
and commercialization 141 entertainment in 177, 180–81, 184
by customer 43–4 food in 180
ethics of 87 identity of 179, 181, 186
by location 43 investment in 172, 178, 179
by ownership 43 and markers for Mecca 179–80
products of 42–3 marketing of 185–6
public relations 95 music in 181, 184
Islamic countries 41, 43, 116, 163 new generation of 171, 178, 185
brands from 142, 143 prayer rooms 182
products associated with 119 religious teaching in 182
products produced in 41–2 Shariah-compliant 170–71, 179–83
Islamic economic system 61 staff 181, 184–5
Islamic ethics 9–13, 22, 57, 91, 120, TV channels 182
141, 146, 174–5 women-only facilities 168–9
principles 10–13 Islamic lifestyles 31, 85, 121–2, 131,
sources 9 138, 147–8, 171, 175, 179
Islamic finance xii, 27, 28, 138, 145, Islamic logistics 99–109, 138, 148, 161
148, 149, 161, 162 and assurance 107–8
and tourism 178, 179 and competetive advantage 102–3,
Islamic Hospital, Amman 177 109
Islamic hospitality 138, 148, 161, 162, and cross-contamination 106
167–87 Halal process 100–101, 103
marketing 108 Bezaa’ah 54, 55

and Muslim countries 104, 105 branding 143–4
and non-Muslim countries 101, classification of 60–63
103, 104–5 ethical 57–9
providers 107 Halal 7–8, 41, 42, 44, 45, 54, 60, 64,
responsibility for 104 90, 96, 100ff., 116–17, 145ff.
see also supply chain Haram 8, 54, 64–6, 92, 106
Islamic market (Souq) 27, 29, 47, 48 by use 60
accessibility of 35 Khabeeth 57, 58, 59, 60
behaviour in 37–9 logistics 102
concept 46 Mataa 54, 55
definition of 29, 39–40, 47 Rizq 54, 55, 57
division of 35–6 Sel’ah 54, 55
ethical aspects 33 spiritual meaning of 54–5
organization of 33–7 Tayyibat 54, 55, 56–60
women in 37, 38 definition of 57, 58
see also Islamic markets terminology 54–5
Islamic marketing xii–xiii, 7–8, 28–9, Zenah 54, 55
46–7, 50 see also Islamic branding
branding 139–40ff. Islamic promotions 80–97
concept 47 and deception 87, 91
and ethics 29 as promises 87, 88–9
and Halal logistics 103, 108 and religion 81–2, 83–7, 96
of hotels 185 Islamic Tourism Magazine 169
international 45–6 Islamization 4, 17, 28, 29, 43, 139, 143,
local 45 147, 152, 163
Shariah-compliant 44–6, 106
see also consumers; Islamic Jain, S. C. 140
promotions; Jareer Ibn Abdullah 70
pricing; sellers Javid, Naseem 178
Islamic markets 29, 40–41, 43, 47, 49, Jawhara Hotels 138, 146
45–6 Jews 84, 138, 141, 149, 150
emerging 40, 43, 47, 49 Jordan 41, 162, 169, 177
Halal 145ff. Journal of Islamic Marketing 159
heterogeneous 140 justice (adl) 9, 12
pricing 72–3ff.
primary 40, 41, 43, 47, 49 Kahf, Monzer 69
secondary 40, 41, 42, 43, 47, 49 Kamaliyyat (improvements) 60, 62–3
size of 149, 159, 160–61 KFC 122, 142, 147, 161, 162
Islamic products 7–9, 83 Khalid 126
index 197
Khan, N. 101, 102, 108 Malaysia 41, 101, 104, 105, 138, 145,
kindness 35, 75, 81, 138, 177 153, 169, 179
KM Holdings 178 Makrooh 6–7, 8
knowledge 75, 81, 82, 88, 102, 165 Mal 120, 121
kosher products 114, 118, 138, 146, Mandoob 6
149–50 Mansoor, Z. 100
Kraft 159 manufacturing 101, 103, 163
Kuala Lumpur 101 Maqasid 55
Kustin, R. A. 140 margins 114
Kuwait 185 Marhaba 138, 146
Kuwaiti Finance House 27 market forces 73, 77
market manners 37–9
labels 118 marketers 29, 88, 114, 165
laws 88 holy 81, 82
leaflets 96 pricing strategies 71
Leaman, O. 10 promises of 90
Lefkoff-Hagiusl, R. and Mason, C. H. and religion 135
55, 56 marketing, conventional 7, 28, 29, 44,
Lego 158, 159 46, 55–6, 61, 135, 160
leisure 168–70ff. product levels 55
lenders 9 see also Islamic marketing
LG 148 marketing campaigns 44, 45, 46, 80,
life 87 82, 85, 89, 91, 96, 133, 148
life hereafter 62, 87, 88, 119, 121 Halal aware 114, 116
lifestyle 121–2, 147–8, 161, 175 and Islamic logistics 103, 108
liquor licenses 59 marketing focus 114, 123, 162
loan (Qard) 83 markets
localization strategies 140, 153 international 45
location 33, 38, 41, 43, 104, 144, 148, and Islam 31–2
174 pre-Islamic 30–31, 46, 57
logos 118, 147, 153 see also Islamic market (Souq);
L’Oréal 138, 142 Islamic markets; non-Islamic
Lugo, L. 129 markets
LURPAK 158 mark-ups 114
Luthan Hotel & Spa, Riyadh 167, marriage 182
177–8 material values 9, 54, 55, 58, 74, 121,
163, 164
McDonald’s 140, 142, 150 maximization 121
machines 106 meat 37, 57, 101, 117, 124, 125
Maggi Noodles 138 Mecca 124, 130, 135, 148, 178, 183
markers for 179–80 Islamic 159

Mecca Cola 42, 54, 141 and Islamic brands 142–3
media 42, 93, 95, 124, 131, 132 and Muslim markets 45–6, 122,
medicine 73, 131 132–4, 138, 140, 144, 150–53,
Medina 32, 178 159
Melewar, T. C. and Walker, C. M. 139, and relocation 144–5
148, 151 Mushtabeh 7, 8
men 19, 37, 93, 94, 115, 177, 181 music 92, 93, 177, 181, 184
mental health 92 Muslim consumers 6, 7, 8, 18, 29, 43,
Middle East 101, 129, 133, 134, 148, 44, 45, 58, 82, 113–36, 146
169, 177 attitudes to non-Muslim countries
middlemen 36 124, 131–4, 151–2, 178–9
Minkus-McKenna, D. 138, 146, 147 behaviour 115, 119, 122–3
MISC 101 definition of 115–16
Miswak 40 demographics 129–31
Mithaq 74; see also covenant eating guidelines for 127–8
moderation 92, 124, 125, 127 and Halal logistics 102–3, 106–8
modesty 93 needs 127–8
Mohammad, Prophet 5, 6, 16, 18, 20, and Nike 80
22, 53, 57, 71, 72, 75, 125, 158, non-observing 115
180 and price-setting 70, 75–6
ethical teachings 9, 10, 13, 14, and religion 116–17, 126–8, 135
15, 33 and religious brands 138, 162
and guests 174, 175, 176 rights 73
and markets 29, 32, 33, 37, 38, 46 Shariah-compliant 116–17
and promises 89 and social life 128–9, 130
tribe of 30 and Western lifestyles 121–2, 131,
money 6, 10, 15, 16, 22, 30, 36 132, 151
money markets 36 see also buyers; non-Muslim
monopoly 36 consumers
moral qualities 14, 23, 120, 174, 175 Muslim countries 4, 8–9, 17, 59, 159
mosques 34, 38, 63, 94, 107, 133, 148, and Halal logistics 104
168 Islamic branding in 162
motives 9, 11, 13, 30, 81, 87, 94, 114, Muslim market 15, 16, 45–6, 76,
115, 119ff., 163, 164, 165, 171 116–17
Muhtasib 33–6, 46–7, 48, 72 see also Islamic markets
multinational companies (MNCs) 6, Muslim scholars 5, 6, 18, 58, 60, 127,
8, 9, 63 152
and Halal products 116, 138–9, ethical teachings 9
142 and price controls 72
index 199
Muslim travellers 122, 168ff., 177 59, 85, 159

Muslims 4, 22, 38, 39, 45, 54, 63, 81, non-Muslims 14, 15, 16, 17, 39, 40, 41,
85, 117, 180 45, 59, 84, 88, 122, 123, 165
consumption 57, 58, 59, 60 and Islamic hotels 142, 178, 184
see also Muslim consumers see also non-Muslim consumers;
majorities 129 non-Muslim countries
minorities 39, 40, 129, 161 North Africa 129
and non- Islamic products 115–16 North America 161
population 16, 129, 130, 160
practising 18–19, 116, 130, 135, 178 Oceania 161
and promises 89–90 odour 123
promotions by 82, 93 offers 94
see also Muslim scholars; Muslim oil 4, 17, 18, 30, 133, 160
travellers Omar Ibn Alkhattab 38
mutual benefits 87 Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) 17, 22, 40,
national identity 151 104, 160
natural farming 124 outsiders 95
needs 5, 11, 15, 16, 86, 87, 122, 127–8 ownership 43
higher 127
Nestlé 41, 43, 63, 138, 140, 142, 145, packaging 55, 106, 107
148, 150, 159, 162 Pakistan 17
Nestorovic, C. 161 paper 96
Netherlands 101, 103, 105, 132, 138 Paradise 16, 19, 37, 81, 123, 124, 164,
networking infrastructure 106, 107 175
neutral attitudes 132, 133 patriotism 151, 162
New Zealand 101, 103 payments 70, 72
Nike 80, 133 Penang 105
Nokia 148 Pepsi 9, 44
Nomani 175, 176 permissibility 64, 65
non-Muslim consumers 49, 85, 115, Persia 30, 31, 82
117–19 persistence 85
definition of 117 Pew Research Center 129
and Halal brands 138–9, 146 pharmaceuticals 138, 145
non-Muslim countries 39, 40, 116, 117 pictures 132–3, 153
‘friendly’ 133–4, 152 pigs 123, 143–4, 150
and Halal hubs 101 see also pork
‘hostile’ 132–3, 151 Pizza Hut 122
and Islamic brands 142–3 Plato 88
non-Muslim markets 41, 45, 47, 49, poetry, Arabic 30, 31, 82, 84, 181
politeness 176 Islamic products

Pomeranz 6 profit 7, 10, 11, 15, 20, 23, 74, 76, 83,
poor people 11, 12, 129 184
pork 8, 57, 58, 59, 65, 92, 100, 101, 144, reasonable 29
180 profiteering 23
Power, C. 138, 145 prohibitions 13–16, 38–9, 59, 64, 66,
Power, C. and Abdullah, S. 101, 121, 123, 150, 180, 181
122, 138, 146, 148, 149 promises 81, 87, 88–9
Power, C. and Gatsiounis, I. 101, 145, definition of 88
152 and extended accountability 88–91
prayer 5, 6, 19, 31, 37, 93–4, 127–8, prophecy 122
130, 135, 168, 182 prostitution 57
and community 128 public employees 34
moderation in 128 public interest 72
price (Thaman) 83 public relations 95
pricing 33–4, 38–9, 69–78 Puck 134, 158
Islamic guidelines 70ff. punishment 15, 34, 58, 96, 124
buyer-seller covenant 74–5ff. purchase (Eshtara) 83
and consumers 70, 75–6 purification 8, 120
price controls 72–3 purity 53, 54, 57, 59, 101, 103, 138, 162
strategies 71 purposes 122
private property 11, 72
procurement 109 Qatar 17, 185
producers 58, 63, 101 Qatar Islamic Bank 27
production, Halal 101, 107–8, 149 quality 55, 56, 76, 148
production technologies 65–6 quality assurance 100
products 7, 8, 10, 28, 41–2, 47, 49, 117 Quraish 30
in conventional marketing 55–6 Quran 5, 7, 12, 23, 31, 53, 60, 62, 64,
hierarchy of 60–61 66, 74, 80–81, 82, 84, 86, 90, 126,
new 65–6 129, 131, 183
pricing 73 and commerce 20, 31, 32, 82
produced in Islamic countries and consumption 125, 126, 135
41–2, 143–4 ethics 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 84
Shariah-compliant 144 and payments 70, 72
terminology 54
traceability 106, 107 racism 93, 170
un-Islamic 7, 8, 36, 42, 43, 45, 54, Raja, Mizan 168
59, 115–16 Ramadan 127, 128, 130, 135
see also exotic products; Halal reading 133
brands; real income 121
index 201
records 107 Sahib Al Shakiry, Abdul 169

recycling 109 Said Al Afghani 31
relationship 75, 76, 87, 163 sale (Ba’aa) 83
religion 28, 29, 33, 38, 39, 42, 44, 47, sales promotions 93–4
57, 74, 75–6, 81, 102, 114, 116, salesperson 90
131, 132, 172, 182 satisfaction 9, 62, 83, 121, 122, 163,
importance of 133, 135 164, 172
and Islamic branding 141, 142, Saudi Arabia 43, 46, 130, 142, 153,
143, 163–5 158, 171
religious beliefs 4, 135, 163 Halal tourism in 169
religious brands 138 hotels 169, 178, 185
religious rituals 127, 130 secrecy 35
religious tourism 170, 178 segments 140, 146
relocation 144–5 self-interest 11, 12
repairs 55 self-reliance 12, 94
reputation 103, 115, 134, 173 sellers 9, 13, 29, 36, 37, 47, 69, 71, 72,
research 129, 139, 140, 159 77, 163
research centres, Halal 107 covenant with buyer 74–5
resources 11, 120 and price setting 38–9, 70ff., 73–4,
respect 93, 171 75
responsibilty 12, 13 promises by 87, 88
restrictions 122, 123 senses 57
see also prohibitions; rules separation 106
revenue, loss of 185 servants 63
Rice, G. 6, 10, 11 services 55, 56, 57, 62
riches 120, 129 Halal 107–8, 148, 161
see also wealth and hospitality 177
righteousness 14, 89, 120, 163 un-Islamic 43
rights 20, 73 sex 92, 93, 124
Rimawi, Hasan 100 shared facilities 106
Roman script 118, 119 Shariah 5–9, 17, 23, 35, 90
Rotana 178 banking/finance 44
Rotterdam 101, 104–5 branding 142, 143, 162
rules 4, 5, 6, 9, 13, 17, 95, 122 and Islamic hospitality 170–72
Russia 17, 160, 170 and Islamic hotels 179–83
and Islamic logistics 102
SABIC 142 marketing 44–6, 50
Sacharow 5 Muslim consumers and 116–17,
Saeed, M. 4, 160, 165 135
safety 55 and pricing 71
products 41, 43, 49, 54, 59, 60, 64 success 119, 120, 121
Sharjah 178 Sudan 153
Shi’a Muslims 129 Sukuk 27
shipping 101, 103, 104–5 Sunnah 66, 129, 135
shopping 93, 94 Sunni Muslims 129
showbiz 95 super-brands 100, 165
Siddiqi, M. N. 11 supermarkets 115, 146, 158, 159
Simonsen, Charlotte 159 supervision 100
sin 6, 7, 13, 58, 85, 132 supervisors 36
sincerity 165, 175 supply chain 90, 100, 101, 102, 105,
skills 143, 159 108, 109, 154
slaughterhouses 101, 118 support 76
social context 9, 128–9, 130 support services 104–5, 106, 107
social responsibility 14, 20, 23 sustenance 54, 55, 73
society 12, 14, 17, 63, 73, 129 swimming 130
Souq see Islamic market women-only 168–9
Souq Aukaz 30, 31 Switzerland 133, 152
Souq Eden 30 symbols 131, 133, 141, 150
Souq Hajar 30, 31 Syria 31, 158
South America 161
South East Asia 104, 105, 161 tangibility 55, 56
spa facilities 168 Tarafiyyat (extravagances) 60, 61, 63,
Spain 134 67, 73
speech 176 target markets 43, 45, 116, 139, 142,
spending 83, 121 148, 159, 162, 163, 178
spiritual values 9, 54–5, 58, 120, 163–4 taxation 9
sport 124 Tayyibat see Islamic products
sports facilities 171 technology products 54, 124, 136
stakeholders 10, 14, 66 see also production technologies
standardization 140 telecoms 142
standards 33, 145 telemarketing 94–5
state 61, 72, 73 Temporal, Paul 139, 153
Stephenson, M. L. K. A. Russell, et al. temptations 10
171 tenderness 175–6
stolen goods 39 Tesco 140
storage 101, 103, 105, 106 test labs 101, 106, 107
stores 177 tester brands 150, 151, 153
students 131, 177 Thailand 105
style 55, 56 theft 13
Subway 122 Thomas, K. 167, 178
index 203
Tieman, Marco 105 universities 177

time 120, 174 University of Southern California 80
tourism, Islamic 168–70ff. unmarried couples 182, 183, 184
investment in 178 usury (Riba)12, 83
see also Islamic hotels utility 120
traceability 106, 107
trade xi, 7, 20, 28 value maximization 7, 8
behaviour in 38 value-added services 109
and Islam 31–2ff., 72 values 13–16, 54, 57–9, 120, 139, 140,
traders 38, 72 163ff.
traditional uniforms 182–3 Vat Logistics 104
training 185 Villa Rotana 148
transactions 36, 46 virtue 120
Shariah-compliant 74 visual recognition 119
unlawful 36
transgression 38 Wajib 6
transparency 91, 92 warehousing 105, 106
transportation 54, 62, 100–101, 106 warranty 55, 56
travel 122 waste 16
see also Muslim travellers; tourism, wealth 9, 11, 12, 13, 16, 59, 61, 62, 82,
Islamic 121, 129, 131
trees 85, 96, 123, 164 concept of 120
trust 11, 76 weapons 38
trusteeship (khilafah) 11, 13 Weber, Max 120
truth 87, 89, 91 weights and measures 34, 36, 82, 83
Tunisia 162 welfare 14, 16, 23, 120
Turkey 104, 143, 162, 168, 169, 179 West Asia 161
Turkumani, A. K. 58 Western countries 40, 92, 124, 178–9
TV 93, 95, 182 attitudes to 131ff.
commercials 96, 103 lifestyles 121–2, 131, 133
see also non-Muslim countries
Umrah 130 Western marketing 139, 165
Unilever 138, 142 Williamson, P. and Zeng, M. 153
United Arab Emirates 17, 43, 44, 100, Wilson, R. 11, 12, 96
132, 142, 153, 160, 162 win (faza) 83
Halal tourism in 169 wine 31, 82, 85–6, 115–16, 123, 143,
United Kingdom xii, 134, 165, 168 150, 162, 164, 165
United States 80, 86, 134, 138, 146, women 17, 35, 37, 38, 82, 94, 95, 96,
150, 151 124, 130
unity 10–11 in advertising 91, 92, 93
Arab 115 wrongdoing 57

in Islamic hotels 168ff., 181, 182
students 177 Yamamah market 30, 31
in swimming-pools 168–9 Young, M. 143
work 12, 20 Yusoff, N.20
workers 106 Yusuf Ali 14
World Halal Forum 138 Yusuf Alqardawi 69
World Tourism Organization 169
worship 5, 6, 23, 82, 92, 116, 124, 128, Zakat (alms) 16, 23, 179
135, 164, 180
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The Principles of Islamic Marketing

This book is dedicated to my mother, Khadra, and to my father, Ahmad, with

Baker Ahmad Alserhan

List of Figures vii

Part 1 Understanding Islamic Marketing

1 Islamic Business Ideals 3

2 The Islamic Market (Souq)27

Part 2 The Islamic Marketing Mix

3 The Islamic Product (Tayyibat)53

4 Islamic Pricing Practices 69

5 Islamic Promotions and Promoting to Muslims 79

6 Islamic Logistics (Halal Logistics)99

Part 3 Issues in Islamic Marketing

7 Muslim Consumer Behaviour 113

8 Islamic Branding: Concepts and Background 137

9 Islamic Branding 2: Brands as Good Deeds 157

10 Islamic Hospitality 167

3.1 The three levels of a product 56

5.1 An approximate guide of some commerce-related words

Islam takes a very long-term perspective in determining what is permissible

Islam is a framework of life and living. It is much more than Halal or

About this Book

The book provides a complete guide of the requirements an organization

Throughout the book, I have used the following Quran translations:

1. Yusufali, available at The Center for Muslim–Jewish Engagement,

2. Pickthal, available at The Center for Muslim–Jewish Engagement,

3. Shakir, available at The Center for Muslim–Jewish Engagement,

Saeed, Mohammad, Zafar U. Ahmed and Syeda-Masooda Mukhtar (2001).

After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand:

In an era when there is an increased and renewed emphasis on teaching and

The Islamic perspective on commerce is increasingly gaining momentum

Moreover, the globalization of the world economy makes it a requirement

The Islamic Law, Shariah

The term Islam itself is an Arabic word meaning ‘submission to God –

Islam provides either general or detailed instructions about what is

Companies seeking to engage in business with Muslim consumers need to

1. Halal, or permissible. It has three levels:

o Wajib, or duty; obligatory acts. Failure to perform them is a

o Mandoob, or likeable; preferable but not obligatory. Not

o Makrooh, or despised; not preferable, discouraged by religion

compliant, it represents the border between compliance and

2. Mushtabeh, or doubted; acts that a Muslim should refrain from

3. Haram, or not permissible; all acts condemned explicitly or

These categories have obvious implications on what companies planning to

Although profit maximization is not the ultimate goal of trade in Islam,

The implications of these categories on the marketing aspect of business

Products and acts that might be seen or interpreted as Makrooh (despised)

Finally, although achieving the status of Shariah-compliant might seem

Islamic Ethical System

In economics, Islam supplies a practical programme that includes detailed

The Quran provides a balanced view of human motivation; desire for

1. Temptations, such as making profit through ungodly ways like

2. Hardships, such as lack of Shariah-compliant funds to support one’s

Principles Governing Islamic Ethics

In general, Islamic ethics are governed by the following principles, each of

of race, colour, sex or religion. More specifically, since we all are

3. Khilafah (trusteeship). People are God’s trustees on the earth.

4. Balance. Islam teaches Muslims to be moderate in all of their

benefit of the society as a whole, not profit, should guide Muslim

5. Justice or Adl. Justice is a central theme in Islam and is required

List of Figures vii

1 Islamic Business Ideals 3

2 The Islamic Market (Souq)27

Part 2 The Islamic Marketing Mix

3 The Islamic Product (Tayyibat)53

4 Islamic Pricing Practices 69

5 Islamic Promotions and Promoting to Muslims 79

6 Islamic Logistics (Halal Logistics)99

Part 3 Issues in Islamic Marketing

7 Muslim Consumer Behaviour 113

8 Islamic Branding: Concepts and Background 137

9 Islamic Branding 2: Brands as Good Deeds 157

10 Islamic Hospitality 167

3.1 The three levels of a product 56