Miranti Widjoko was invited by Japanese home appliances brand Sharp to the launch of the company’s new refrigerators in Jakarta last year. At an event timed to coincide with the beginning of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, the appliances were introduced as the “first halal-certified refrigerators in Indonesia”, meaning they adhered to Islamic religious requirements. “What? Does it mean that fridges can be haram [forbidden under Islamic law]?” the 45-year-old mother of two wondered at the time. “How does that work?” The Sharp representative told her that the materials usually used to produce fridge compartments could contain traces of animal products that are forbidden to Muslims, she recalls. “When it was time to replace my old fridge, I didn’t hesitate to choose this [halal] fridge,” says Miranti, who had been invited to the launch as a member of the Indonesian Halal Chef Association. Halal , an Arabic word that translates to “lawful” or “permissible” in English, is commonly used to refer to food and drink that has been prepared according to Islamic law. Miranti says she always makes sure the homewares she buys for her family are permitted under Islamic law, especially products that are known to commonly contain non-halal substances. These include cosmetics, toiletries, tissues, cooking brushes, paint brushes, wall paint, groundwater filters, plates and cups, among many other items. “It’s great when they are [labelled] halal-certified,” Miranti says. “Otherwise, I have to make sure there are no substances that are haram by checking what they are made of first.” Indonesia had planned to make halal labelling mandatory for consumer products and services from this month, but the high cost of acquiring certification and the lack of clear guidelines meant millions of local producers were without certification as the deadline came and went. Under the plan, compulsory labelling would have first applied to food and drink products and services from October 17, before being gradually widened to include drugs, cosmetics and other consumer goods. Home to the world’s largest Muslim population, Indonesia is a lucrative market for halal products , and multinational companies such as Nestle and Unilever have plans to capitalise on the growing demand. Consumers have become more aware and critical of the products they use, including the component materials and the manufacturing process Afka Adhitya, product strategy manager for Sharp in Indonesia In recent years the country has seen an increasing number of non-consumable products labelled halal. These include cotton buds, laundry detergent, fabric softener, hijabs (hair and neck scarves) and shoes. This labelling has sparked debate, both online and offline, with many questioning the manufacturers’ motives for putting halal labels on their products. One Indonesian Muslim garment trader came under fire a few years ago for advertising halal hijabs. The trader claimed to be the first seller of such garments in Indonesia, and the company encouraged Muslim women to ensure they covered their hair and necks with “permissible” headscarves, rather than those during whose manufacture non-halal substances were used. “I can totally understand that Muslims need to make sure that the food and drinks they consume are halal. But for clothing, I think it’s irrelevant,” says university student Annisa Harniati. “I wear a hijab myself, but colours and patterns are the main things I consider when buying one.” Among the latest halal-certified items to make the news is Powercat, a Malaysian-made cat food. A Powercat distributor in Jakarta says curious potential buyers usually ask the same question. Sometimes it is the request from the users that makes [Islam] sound complicated. I am pro-halal, but let’s not make it complicated Lukmanul Hakim, chief of MUI’s Assessment Institute for Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics “They would ask me, ‘Why do we need to feed our cats with halal food?’” says the distributor, who requests anonymity. “I will tell them it’s not that the cats need to be fed with halal food. It is for us, the cat owners, who have physical contact with the food when we feed them or when we clean their bowls. “If the food is not halal, and we touch it, we will have to wash our hands as a form of purification.” He says he has been marketing the product for nearly four years, mainly by setting up stalls at events and getting in touch with pet shop owners. Despite being a leading brand of cat food in Malaysia, Powercat is not yet hugely popular in Indonesia, he says. “But the sales have been steady. And my customers are happy. They told me that once fed with Powercat, their cats refused to eat food of other brands.” The cat-food distributor says there are other brands in the market labelled halal, but their certification had not been approved by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the nation’s highest Islamic authority. “To the best of my knowledge, ours is the first and the only one so far in Indonesia to be certified by the MUI,” he says. In Indonesia, halal certificates are issued by the Halal Product Assurance Body, which is run by the MUI. Lukmanul Hakim, the chief of MUI’s Assessment Institute for Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics, says that halal certification of products that do not fall into the food, drugs, or cosmetics categories is still voluntary. Lukmanul says most businesses request certificates from the MUI after consumers inquire about whether their products meet halal standards. “We are the ulema [Indonesia’s top Muslim clerical body] and it is our job to provide answers or explanations to anyone, especially Muslims, who asks for our advice,” he says. “So when they come to us to see whether their products need to be halal-certified, we will look into that.” Lukmanul says not all products can be granted halal certificates from the MUI. The organisation can send a letter of refusal along with an explanation of why certain products do not need to be halal-certified. He cites one rejected request from a natural gas company that wanted to get halal certification for its product. The company, he says, argued that the natural gas would be used in the production of halal make-up and therefore required certification. The MUI, however, did not agree. “We won’t say you need the certificate if you don’t,” Lukmanal adds. “What would people say about us if we did? They would say we just like to make things up.” Lukmanul is well aware that halal certificates are often used by companies as a marketing and promotional gimmick, and the gas company obviously recognised the commercial benefits. “When we told them that they didn’t need their products to be halal certified, they insisted,” he says. “The aim was to add value to their product, and they admitted that.” The chief of the MUI fatwa council, Huzaemah Tahido Yanggo, agrees. She says that although food and drink must be halal for Muslims’ consumption, certification of non-consumable products “is [only] good for promotion”. “The majority [of people] in Indonesia are Muslims,” she adds. “They always look for halal products.” Afka Adhitya, product strategy manager for Sharp in Indonesia, says the company has long ensured the materials used in its manufacturing processes, as well as the production facilities, meet halal standards. The MUI certification for its electronic appliances make this official and public knowledge, he adds. “Consumers have become more aware and critical of the products they use, including the component materials and the manufacturing process,” he says. The addition of MUI-issued halal certificates to some of the company’s products, he says, “will provide a sense of safety and comfort to our loyal customers”. Is it necessary, then, for Muslims to ensure all the non-consumable goods they use or wear are halal? Lukmanul from the MUI answers by encouraging Muslims “not to make Islam complicated”. “The MUI is moderate,” he says. “Sometimes it is the request from the users that makes [Islam] sound complicated. I am pro-halal, but let’s not make it complicated.” Asked which refrigerator he has at home, Lukmanul laughs. “I have no idea,” he says. “I don’t pay attention to that.”