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Muslims are becoming increasingly concerned about Halaal. As a result, the Muslim market is growing; a sign of a newly confident Muslim identity based on an Islamic lifestyle.
Issue 73
Igniting the Spirit of Islam
tor is worth well over $1 trillion a year.
MUSCLE The buying power of American Muslims alone is $170 billion annually. Muslims are the fastest-growing segment of the middle class in Britain; they have big families: an average of 3.4 children against the national average of 1.9; so they buy big cars; they spend money on home decoration and vacations. The Halaal food industry accounts for 16% of the global food industry.
Non-Muslim multinationals like Tesco and McDonalds are recognizing this fact and are designing products for the Muslim market. Domino's sources halaal pepperoni from a Malaysian company for the pizzas it sells; KFC is testing halaal-only stores in UK, and the Subway sandwich chain has halaal franchises across UK and Ireland. Swiss food giant NestlÊ set up its halaal committee in the 1980s, and has facilities to keep its halaal and nonhalaal products separated. Nestle’s turnover in halaal products was $3.6 billion in 2008.
Throw in the fast-growing Islam-friendly finance sector and the myriad other products and services: cosmetics, real estate, hotels, fashion, insurance, and the sec-
The burgeoning Islamic finance industry, as well as other Islamic sectors, is winning non-Muslim customers. Investors are attracted by Islamic banking's more con-
Islamic Focus
Sep 2009
servative approach: Islamic law forbids banks from charging interest. The Islamic finance industry is growing at 15% a year, and could reach $4 trillion in five years. NON-MUSLIMS At hotels like Jawhara, an alcohol-free chain, 60% of the clientele are nonMuslims, drawn by the hotels' serenity and familyfriendly atmosphere. Dutchbased company Marhaba, which sells cookies and chocolates, gets 25% of its customers from nonMuslims; people concerned about food safety. Non-food companies like LG and Nokia are offering Islamic applications for their cellphones to win Muslim customers. Muslims modeling their life on Islam has seen them regaining their power to dictate terms. Adapted from Time Magazine article by Carla Power
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