Jan 1, 1997 - Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) .... common apps provider; Google Play (for Android) and Apps Store (for IOS) resulted in.
Combating Halal misconceptions among Muslim and Non-Muslim: The potential use of mobile learning application Amir Heidi Askomi1 Farrah Dina Yusop2 Yusniza Kamarulzaman3 Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya
Presentation Outline
Introduction
Purpose of Study
Methodology
Findings
Conclusion
He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah . But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Al-Baqarah 2:173
Introduction
Al-Baqarah 2:168 Al– Mai’dah 5:3, 88 An-Nahl 16:114 - 117 Al-An’am 6:118 – 119, 121, 138, 145 Al-Haj 22:34, 36
Global Muslim
Muslims around the world take great care in dealing with acquiring, preparing and consuming their daily food. Muslims only consume Halal food, which refers to food that are prepared based on specific Islamic principles and thus are legally consumed by Muslims (Samori & Rahman, 2013).
A brief history of Malaysian Halal Agencies
1968 National Council of Islamic Affairs of Malaysia Religious Division, Prime Minister’s Department Islamic Affairs Division (BAHEIS) 1st January 1997 Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM)
Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM)
With a mission to establish an efficient and effective Islamic affairs management, JAKIM become the frontline of Syariah law embodiments in Malaysia (Aziz, Ramli, & Raof, 2016) JAKIM is tasked to check and instil halal awareness amongst food producers, distributors and importers and is also responsible for the issuance of halal certificates Halal Food: Production, Preparation, Handling and Storage – General Guidelines (MS 1500:2004)
In 2015, it is reported that the total exports for the halal industry in Malaysia has touched the 10 billion ringgit (US$2.44 billion) mark, recording a 17.8 per cent growth to 10.8 billion ringgit in the first quarter of this year, compared with 9.1 billion ringgit in the same period a year earlier
The Jakarta Post, 2015
The rapid growth of Halal industry however, hasn’t been without its own surfacing problems Issues such as misconceptions, trust, counterfeiting Halal logo are some of the worrying sign that need to be address Even though Halal concept are widely accepted, it is still not a major element in the daily life of non-Muslim community
Contributing factors
Insufficient education on Halal
Lack of information for the non-Muslim
Misconceptions of Halal status, logos and certifications
Contributing factors
Halal context are not thought directly and only being discussed briefly in manner related topics (Jais, 2014).
…lead non-Muslims to feel that Halal branding is but a step to “Islamicise” the society in non-Muslim countries (Muhammad, 2007, p. 34)
The lack of enforcement in monitoring the usage of certified Halal food has caused the public to question the validity of some products that were claimed to be Halal (Rezai et al., 2012)
Purpose of Study
To understand the perspective from the consumers & the legislatives, and issues surrounding the application Halal food in Malaysia To investigate into the channel of technology used in disseminating information, knowledge and update regarding Halal To inspect the existing mobile application (app) made for the use of Halal consumers and explore areas to improve the technology
Methodology
This study utilized content analysis The data are the literature in the areas of Halal food industry The search of relevant literature involves a 2-tiered process: first, searching and selection of relevant literature based on relevant keywords, and second, analyses of relevant literature. The list of keywords used in all databases included “Halal”, “Halal education, “mobile learning”, and “mobile technology”, among others.
Findings
3 Main Themes;
Malaysian Halal Consumers
Halal Related Issues
Malaysian Halal and Technology
Malaysian Halal Consumers
The acceptance of Halal food products by non-Muslims community in Malaysia is common. This may be due to the fact that some religions do not concerned about Halal, thus not affecting their consumption pattern (Rezai et al., 2010) Halal food is of rising importance not just among Muslims, but also among other religions as this kind of food is considered healthier and ‘cleaner’ (Maierbrugger, 2013) It is in the realm of business and trade, and it is becoming a global symbol for quality assurance and lifestyle choice.
As consumers becoming more knowledgeable of their religion, it is inevitable that they will be more particular on the type of products that they consume. In addition, as consumers turn into more sophisticated in dietary and health related issues, the relevance of halal product information and the belief in the right to be adequately informed will strengthen. However, contrary to the conventional believe, consumers are more likely to seek out and trust information from other consumers rather than form their opinions based on the information marketers push to them (Hawley, 2011)
Figure 1: Edelman (2010) The Customer Decision Journey
Consider Evaluate Bond Advocate Buy
The figure shows that rather than systematically narrowing their choices, consumers add and subtract brands from a group under consideration during an extended evaluation phase. After purchase, they often enter into an open ended relationship with the brand, sharing their experience with it online (Edelman, 2010).
The ‘Evaluate’ and ‘Advocate’ stages are where the online media sharing would take place. Evaluation of product could be positive if there is advocating sharing from other consumers. If consumers’ bond with a brand is strong enough, they repurchase it without cycling through the earlier decision journey stages and maintain in the ‘Loyalty Loop’. This process happens to all consumer’s products, including Halal products.
Halal Related Issues
Many issues and challenges are identified that could either have a minor impact or be a major obstacle. One of the main challenges for the authority is the area of enforcement. The lack of enforcement by JAKIM personnel in monitoring the usage of certifies halal logo has caused the public to question the validity on some of the services claiming to be halal (Shafie & Othman, 2006). These imbalance scenarios were then escalated through the ease of sharing of social media. In 2011, a report in United Kingdom reveals that Ribena and Lucozade drinks, may contain a small amount of alcohol. This unconfirmed news then spread in the social media rapidly and eventually reached Malaysian shore. A YouTube recording indicating a well-respected local preacher sharing his verdict on banning the products is one of the highlight of the unfortunate event.
Conflict of authority and governance in between federal and state government may also be a factor that contributes to this scenario as stated by a study conducted by (Noordin et al., 2009). Since the authority was given to a numbers of legislators, information control becomes nuisance. In the Cadbury case in 2013, a test was run on one of its products by the Minister of Health laboratory that later identified traces of porcine DNA. Although the test was known to be an uncontrolled test, in which the products were taken randomly from open shelves in the market and may be contaminated by its surrounding, the result was leaked onto the Internet. This single unethical action resulted in month long damage control by both the legislative and Cadbury company. This incident defines the area in which improvement will need to be done swiftly.
Malaysian Halal Technology
JAKIM has fully integrated their services to be online. The main channel is their official portal available through the domain www.islam.gov.my. Available in Malay and English language, the portal provides complete background information on JAKIM, e-services, latest media updates, references for Syariah guidelines and many more. The portal is indeed comprehensive, pack with information and most importantly, frequently updated. JAKIM also are currently using twitter as a medium to disseminate information, news and updates.
Over the past 8 years, with the introduction of smart phone and its exponential adoptions, mobile applications or mobile apps has been one of the major distributors of information. Halal-based mobile apps are not a new category. A search through, the two most common apps provider; Google Play (for Android) and Apps Store (for IOS) resulted in a long list of existing Halal apps from all over the globe. The result can be categorized into a few groups as accordingly;
Table 1. Types of Halal-based apps in both Google Play and Apps Store
Types
Descriptions
1.
Halal food geo-locator
Apps to locate Halal food products & services providers via GPS tracking.
2.
Halal scanner
Apps to scan Halal products, barcode/ QR code/ labels and check with the online Halal database.
3.
Halal Directories
Directories of Halal providers/ certificates/ additives
4.
Halal Recipes
Food preparations & recipes
Malaysian Halal apps are among the listed apps within the search. Not being left behind, both government and non-government organizations release their own apps with different purpose and objectives.
Table 2. Malaysia Halal-based apps 1 2
3
Name Publisher My Mobi Halal 2.0 Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) Halal Apps
Halal Industry Development Corporation
My JAKIM
The Malaysian Administrative Modernisation & Management Planning Unit (MAMPU)
Publish Year 2008 2010
2012
Platform Not varified
Features Barcode Scanner
Mobile Apps - IOS, • Halal Directory Android, Blacberry • News & Nokia • Authorize Bodies Global Halal organizations recognize by JAKIM. Includes the logo for clarifications Mobile Apps - IOS & • Info Solat Android Solat timetable, Kiblat compass & Mosque locator • Koleksi Kemusykilan Agama A list of questions & answers on highlighted topic • Direktori Halal Directory for Halal; Products, Companies, Premises & Abattoirs • Logo Halal Diiktiraf Description of Halal List of authorized International Halal bodies • Doa Harian Daily Doa's • Yasin & Tahlil • Khutbah Jumaat Friday prayers sermons
Table 2. Malaysia Halal-based apps
4
My Halal Apps
5
Halal Square
6
Halal Touch Apps
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
2012/2013
Not verified
Barcode Scanner
Malaysia Microelectronic Solution Sdn Bhd
2013
Mobile Apps - IOS, Android & Windows Mobile
• Directory • Halal Certification Verification
Avidity Ventures
2014
Mobile Apps - IOS & Android
• QR Code Scanner • Halal search directory
As shown in Table 2, the list of Malaysian Halal-based apps can be traced back to as early as year 2008 until 2014. Commonly the apps feature Halal directories, which link with JAKIM’s database, and barcode or QR scanner. Others have extended features such as Q&A’s on Halal matters, information on Halal certifications, and also daily doa’s, Friday sermons, or Yasin recitals. A further analysis founds that the most of the apps targeted the Muslim community with information apply at a literate level of Muslim Syariah laws. The scanner features, either barcode or QR are only hopeful due to the nature that providers needs to register their barcode system or purchase a QR code for individuals’ products. It is also not fully functioning with most are not working at all.
Conclusion
The use of social media nowadays can be considered as the mainstream media. The findings of this literature reviews indicates that online information are the best ways to spread information rapidly. Mobile applications are seen as one of the emergent trends in distributing information. Mobile learning applications that combine with user’s learning preferences will encourage and motivate them to search more of Halal products. However the results also indicated how the technology is still yet to be fully operational. Though some shows sign of significant innovations towards the local Halal industry. It is important, however, for the developer to carefully plan their implementations to ensure they are fully utilized. Chong et al. (2011) recommended that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, quality of services, and cultural aspects significantly affect mobile learning adoption in Malaysia and thus should be considered in planning and implementation activities. Finally, it is high time for more research investigating the impact of specific mobile applications on user motivations and learning performances to ensure stakeholders benefited from mobile learning.
