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A Comparative Study on Determining a Key Player of the Halal Certification Policy between Indonesia and Malaysia: Focusing on political factors

Jung Hoon PARK 1

1싱가포르 국립대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study aims to find political factors that affected different paths of developing a Halal certification policy between Indonesia and Malaysia. Despite their common histories regarding Islam and other cultural aspects, the Halal certification in Indonesia has been driven by Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI hereafter), a non-governmental association of Islamic scholars (ulama), whereas Malaysian government has been a dominant player of the Halal certification in Malaysia by establishing Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM hereafter), a government agency that deals with Islamic affairs. In this article, I found that both a relationship between the government and the Islamic civil society and the extent of social and political cleavages have an significant influence on determining the extent of the state’s role in involving the issues of Islam in two countries. While the Indonesian state embraced Pancasila, a state ideology that puts an emphasis on religious freedom, nationalism, and secular constitution, Muslim nationalists in Malaysia accomplished their political ascendancy over other ethnic groups by mentioning Islam as a state religion and Malay-favored political systems. Furthermore, in contrast Indonesia, where political Islam has faced limits of Islamization due to a fragmentation of the cleavages within a Muslim society, a clear political rivalry between United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) played an key role in establishing a state-led Islamization, including the establishment of JAKIM.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.