Halal Food and Terrorist Organizations in Australia Case Study

Introduction

There is a great number of cultures in the word and it is obvious that they have unique features which make them different from another. These differences are formed under the influence of different factors, such as environment, mentality of people and religion. All these factors are very important and they depend on each other. Environment influences formation of the mentality of people while it, in its turn, leads to the appearance of certain religion and its peculiarities. People believe in certain things which can seem illogical or even ridiculous to other people, however, they are very important for them and, that is why, these beliefs should be respected. However, unfortunately, very often some conflicts can appear within the framework of different religious and cultural issues. Though, modern age is considered to be the era of tolerance and democracy, some misunderstandings still remain and they can be very dangerous. It is possible to analyze manifestations of this problems in order to understand the nature of conflict better.

Nowadays, Islam is one of the most popular religions in the word which still obtains popularity. It is obvious, that some peculiarities connected with this religion exist. First of all, these peculiarities are connected with food preferences. Moslems are prohibited to drink alcohol or eat pig meat. That is why, special products are needed for them in different countries¹. Australia is not an exception. Moreover, some fears are connected with the money which is obtained from distribution of these products. However, there are also fears connected with the reaction of Islamic Law and terrorist groups on this issue. That is why, taking into account importance of the question, it is possible to analyze the issue of halal food in Australia, its image there and different perspectives on its promotion. Additionally, the fear connected with the development of terrorism due to the incomes obtained from selling halal food should also be investigated.

Literature Review

There is a great number of sources devoted to the issue and they can be used in our research. First of all, the article Byron Cookie Company breaks silence on anti-Halal can suggest some basic information connected with the issue, providing a reader some ideas of mutual dependence between halal brands and terrorism. Additionally, the article Claims Halal certification fees fund terrorism ‘absolutely wrong’ suggests some other perspective on these problems, providing the information which will be useful in discussion connected with the issue of terrorism and halal products and brands.

Moreover, the article Representations of Islam in the politics of Mosque development in Sydney by Kevin Dunn also can be used in the research. It investigates such important aspects of the issue as image of people, who belong to this very religion and aftermath of such attitude towards them. The author sates that usually Muslims are taken as “fanatical, intolerant, militant, fundamentalist, misogynist and alien”² However, the author also underlines the fact that all these judgments are based on stereotypes and people are not able to admit real state of affairs which, in its turn, influences policy and leads to the appearance of different kinds of fears connected with the issue of Islam. Additionally, great number of different articles in the Internet can also be used as sources.

Methods

Resting on these facts, some certain methods to conduct research are chosen. The thing is, that there is much information which could be found in the Internet connected with the issue. Media analysis became the main method for our research. Different newspapers, articles, journals available in the Internet, online libraries and data bases were analyzed. There are several reasons for this choice. First of all, it can help us to obtain new and reliable information connected with the issue, as using the Internet it is possible to find the newest articles on the topic of halal food and different organizations connected with it. Additionally, it should be said that it is rather difficult to remain objective in modern world. People are influenced by various means of media which present information from different perspectives.

That is why, analyzing different articles and journals, it is possible to take into account numerous points of view on the problem which exists nowadays and try to make certain conclusion being objective and detached. Resting on these facts, the analysis of media is chosen as the best method as it allows to obtain information and make clear and understandable conclusions connected with the issue of halal food and its possible connection with terrorist organizations.

Main Body

Australia nowadays is often mentioned in different newspapers and journals. One of the main reasons of it is some problems connected with halal food, its producers and money, obtained from its sales and which could be used to support different terrorist organizations³. Nowadays, movement which is known as The Boycott Halal is rather popular in Australia. Its main aim is to make people believe that products, which have halal certification, can promote development of terrorism as the greater part of money, obtained from the sales of this production, is given to terrorist organizations⁴. This movement is especially popular nowadays, because of the great problem connected with the actions of terrorist organizations which are very active in the modern world⁵. Terrorism is one of the most important issues nowadays which, additionally, leads to the appearance of fear among people. That is why, different countries try to fight with it in different ways.

However, it should be mentioned that not only terrorists are affected by the campaign created against halal products. There is a great number of people all over the world, which consider Islam to be their religion and feelings of these people could be ruffled. That is why , one more threat appears. People can organize protests against this campaign in order to protect their rights and culture. It is impossible to foresee the aftermath of this confrontation as there is a great number of examples in history which show complexity and severity of conflicts which are based on some cultural and religious issues.

Additionally, the issue of halal products and money obtained from their distribution is not so simple and there are several points of view on it. It is possible to analyze another perspective in order to understand the issue better. Owners of companies which produce different halal products have their own point of view. They are surprised by the belief that money, obtained in this way, can be used to support terrorists. Additionally, they outline the ways in which this money is spent, stating the fact that very often incomes, obtained from their business, help to develop areas where these products are distributed⁶. Additionally, some threatening tendency could be observed. People follow stereotypes connected with Muslims and start to think that every Muslim is bad⁷. This tendency can lead to aggravation of ethnical conflicts.

It is known that these conflicts can result in millions of victims all over the world as representatives of this culture and religion live in a great number of different countries. However, negative image of halal products, which is now created in Australia due to the activity of this campaign, can be taken as one of the main fear factors in Australian society⁸. People understand possible aftermath of some actions connected with the restriction of this kind of products and they also have fear of terrorist groups. It is obvious that tension, which exists in society, can lead to unpredictable results. With this in mind, it should be said, that the problem of halal products is very topical nowadays in Australia⁹.

Besides, it should also be said that society is not united against people who belong to other culture and religion¹⁰. It is just the initiative of the group of people, which, however, obtained great popularity. This increase could also be connected with the terrorist activity in the Middle East. People are scared by some possible aftermath of conflict which happened there and that is why they try to find some reasonable explanation and ways to react. Under these conditions, the campaign against halal products can be taken as the way to express feeling and emotions and try to influence situation in the world.

With this in mind, having analyzed the main aspects of the campaign against halal products in Australia, it is possible to make a certain conclusion. First of all, it should be said that one of the main factors which leads to the appearance of ideas of this sort is fear connected with the activity of terrorist organizations. Unfortunately, modern age can be characterized by a great number of conflicts connected with different organizations of this sort. That is why, people try to make some steps which could help them to influence the situation in the world and feel themselves as a part of some global processes. Additionally, stereotypes based on religious and ethnic issues are also important. People believe that Muslims are dangerous and, that is why, the world should be able to resist them. However, such attitude leads to the aggravation of the problem. With this in mind, some efficient solution should be found.

Reference List

Adams, I. ‘Globalization: Explaining the dynamics and challenges of the halal food surge’, Intellectual Discourse, vol. 19, no. 1, 2011, pp. 123-145.

‘Australians OK with halal industry: PM’, Daily Telegraph, 2015, Web.

Bolt, A., and H. Sun. ‘Hidden profits from halal certificates should be exposed and stopped’, Daily Telegraph, 2015, Web.

‘Byron Cookie Company breaks silence on anti-Halal’. ABC. 2014, Web.

‘Claims Halal certification fees fund terrorism ‘absolutely wrong’. ABC. 2014, Web.

Dunn, K. ‘Representations of Islam in the politics of Mosque development in Sydney’, Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, vol. 93, no. 3, 2003, pp. 291-308.

‘Fact file: What is halal food?’. ABC. 2015, Web.

‘Fact check: Does halal certification fund terrorism?’, ABC, 2015, Web.

Hildebrant, J. ‘The evils of Islamic State vs halal-certified Vegemite. Gee, that’s a tough one…’, Daily Telegraph, 2015, Web.

Soesilowati, E. ‘ Business Opportunities for Halal Products in the Global Market: Muslim Consumer Behaviour and Halal Food Consumption’, Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities, vol. 3, 2010, pp. 151-160.

Footnotes

1. ‘Fact file: What is halal food?’. ABC. 2015, Web.
2. K. Dunn,’Representations of Islam in the politics of Mosque development in Sydney’, Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, vol. 93, no. 3, 2003, p. 291.
3. A. Bolt, A., and H. Sun. ‘Hidden profits from halal certificates should be exposed and stopped’, Daily Telegraph, 2015, Web.
4. I. Adams, ‘Globalization: Explaining the dynamics and challenges of the halal food surge’, Intellectual Discourse, vol. 19, no. 1, 2011, p. 127.
5. ‘Byron Cookie Company breaks silence on anti-Halal’. ABC. 2014, Web.
6. E. Soesilowati, ‘ Business Opportunities for Halal Products in the Global Market: Muslim Consumer Behaviour and Halal Food Consumption’, Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities, vol. 3, 2010, p. 153.
7. ‘Claims Halal certification fees fund terrorism ‘absolutely wrong’. ABC. 2014,. Web.
8. J. Hildebrant, ‘The evils of Islamic State vs halal-certified Vegemite. Gee, that’s a tough one…’, Daily Telegraph, 2015, Web.
9. ‘Fact check: Does halal certification fund terrorism?’, ABC, 2015, Web.
10. ‘Australians OK with halal industry: PM’, Daily Telegraph, 2015, Web.