Not Eating the Muslim Other: Halal Certification, Scaremongering, and the Racialisation of Muslim Identity

Abstract

Campaigns against the halal certification of food in Muslim-minority societies reveal the shift in the representation of Muslims from a visible, alien presence to a hidden, covert threat. This paper uses one such campaign in Australia as a point of entry for analysing the ramifications for Muslim identity of this ‘stealth jihad’ discourse. Muslims living in the west are increasingly targeted not for ‘standing out’ as misfits, but for blending in as the invisible enemy. The scare campaign against halal certification closely parallels previous campaigns against kosher certification, highlighting the increasing resemblance between contemporary Islamophobia and historical anti-Semitism.