Apparently, the “halal travel” industry is booming. And there’s one hotel that is certainly taking advantage of it. Looking to profit off of the rise in halal tourism, the PNB Perdana Hotel in Malaysia has become the first halal certified hotel in the country. It proudly boasts the certification, which they deem a good marketing tool for Malaysian business to attract foreign travelers from Muslim countries. Funnily enough, the general manager claims that “It’s like a normal hotel.” Yet, the certification comes with certain regulations and guidelines that makes that statement void. Food is strictly halal, obviously, and there is a women’s only gym, but there are qualifications beyond that as well. For example, “non-Muslim guests are allowed to eat pork or drink alcohol in their rooms, which undergo a special cleaning process after checkout to make sure they’re halal for the next occupant.” Additionally, “the hotel has even employed a Sharia law academic who makes sure its business operations are all compliant with Islamic principles.” Even the halal certification process for the restaurant and kitchens is rigorous, which “covers all the halal product supply chains, from the ingredients, to the process, to the packaging and also the storage.”

This commercialization of the term “halal” is nothing new, as we have discussed previously in class. We have seen examples of halal clothing, perfume, makeup etc. This issue is a contentious one, with some strongly opposed to this exploitation of religion, and others arguing that it is not unique to Islam, yet is treated and viewed differently and more harshly/critically than when it is done in different religions and circumstances. In this case, I wonder if the same arguments are valid. While this is still clearly a very blatant attempt to capitalize off of religion, especially given the unconventional application of the word and meaning of halal, perhaps it could be argued that this is not necessarily malicious by nature. The article did not expand upon this aspect of the hotel, but when I attempted to look up the cost per night, it did not appear to be more expensive than most other hotels just because of it’s halal stamp of approval. This is one of the main arguments and points of criticism when it comes to other forms of halal consumerism, such as halal clothing which mark up the prices exuberantly for the halal branding. Since that doesn’t appear to be the case in this situation, is there any reason to criticize this adaptation of the word halal? One could argue that this hotel merely provides a service and caters to a Muslim demographic, a demographic which now has the option to stay in a halal hotel if they so choose, while also still being tolerant of non-Muslims. Is it fair to suggest that this is an exploitation of Islam if it provides an alternative that would make Muslims more comfortable? Or is there an entirely different criticism that can be made of such a business practice/marketing tool? Thoughts?

Link to article: http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/28/news/halal-tourism-hotel-malaysia/