Title: The Islamic consumer and the halal market

Authors: Sedki Karoui; Romdhane Khemakhem

Addresses: University of Economy and Management Sciences of Sfax, Road of Airport Km 4 P14, Sfax City, Tunisia ' Institute of Higher Business Study of Sfax, Road of Sidi Mansour Km 10 3061, Sfax City, Tunisia

Abstract: Despite the growing number of research papers dealing with Islamic consumption and the Islamic marketing themes, concepts like the Islamic consumer and what was used to be called the 'halal' market rise a considerable controversy. Through a literature review relating different theoretical perspectives such as postmodernism, Islamism and its effects on market places, this paper aims to improve our knowledge about the Islamic consumer behaviour and the new emergence of 'halal' market. Opposite to the mainstream thought, this paper argues that being a Muslim does not necessarily involve being an Islamic consumer. Therefore, the Islamic consumer is likely the consumer who seeks to consume some specific products and services that create and symbolise a particular Islamic social identity. This paper is almost the first to establish a clear definition of the Islamic consumer and also of the 'halal' market, distinguishing between the Islamic consumer and the Muslim consumer.

Keywords: Islamic consumer; Islamism; postmodernity; identity; halal market; symbolic consumption.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMB.2019.100041

International Journal of Islamic Marketing and Branding, 2019 Vol.4 No.1, pp.45 - 58

Received: 01 Aug 2018
Accepted: 12 Feb 2019
Published online: 04 Jun 2019 *

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