The Halal Strategy
From boycott to economic independence
Tajuddin Ingram
In the wake of the state of Israel’s genocide on the people of Gaza, the global Muslim community adopted boycotting as an immediate act of protest against individuals and corporations with direct or indirect links to the Israeli state and its occupation.
Boycotting is not new to those involved in pro-Palestinian activism as its a central element of the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, whose goal is to use economic pressure to achieve Palestinian liberation, mirroring the tactics of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.
Although this strategy is understandable as a tactic of punishment against entities complicit in the oppression of the Palestinian people, the drawbacks of boycott efforts in America are that they’re often reactive and overly broad. Targeting global conglomerates like Microsoft or Disney can dilute mobilization and impact due to their sheer size.
In practice, such boycotts risk becoming symbolic rather than transformative, unless paired with the creation of alternative systems that foster lasting autonomy. In these situations, guidance can be drawn from Islamic tradition and obligations as well as other communities that have evolved in America.
Islamic obligations often function not only as obligations but as spiritual catalysts for the creation of decentralized networks. For instance, because Jummah is wajib for men, regular congregations naturally form, allowing communities to emerge even in areas with a sparse Muslim presence often at a faster pace than other religious groups.
After the collapse of the anti-religious Soviet Union, Muslims were able to reconstitute themselves through informal Jummah gatherings when mosques were shuttered by the state, driven by the immediate necessity to fulfill a core Islamic requirement. In contrast, Orthodox Christians struggled to recover, partly due to their reliance on state support and the more ritualistic nature of their congregational practices. (Frank)
By applying this same principle to the marketplace, one can observe a similar phenomenon driven by another core Islamic force: the concept of halal.
The extent of Halal dietary restrictions, also known as Zabiha, can vary depending on culture and Madhab (School of Thought). This piece will refer to halal as the dietary restriction that includes meat slaughtered in accordance with Islamic methods. It will not delve into this debate from a fiqh perspective but from a Ummatic approach.
In the early Muslim community, halal consumption was not just a matter of individual piety but also of collective development. Scholars understood food as a line that divided the ummah and other communities, one that shaped diets, economic networks, governance, and political independence. For example, Ibn Taymiyyah emphasized that consuming only what is halal and Tayyib (pure) was essential for safeguarding the spiritual and material well-being of the Muslim community. Thus, to him, preserving halal was linked to maintaining the moral and political integrity of the ummah. (Maevskaya)
When Muslims lived under non-Muslim political authority, dietary law became a means of maintaining distinctiveness in addition to following Sharia. For example, under colonial rule in India, Muslims often insisted on halal-only diets as a way of resisting forced assimilation into British and Hindu-majority systems. South Asian ulama issued fatwas emphasizing the obligation of consuming halal food as a means of safeguarding one’s faith identity (Metcalf).
In the Ottoman Balkans, where Muslims lived alongside Christians and Jews, halal markets became centers of Muslim communal life (Armanios). Even when political boundaries shifted, these networks preserved Islamic social autonomy. By maintaining their own butchers, traders, and certification practices, Muslim communities reduced dependency on outside systems.
Jewish Americans offer a clear precedent for how dietary discipline can serve as a foundation for community power in the United States. Through the development of kosher food systems in major cities such as New York and Chicago, Jewish communities not only developed domestic religious identity but also built robust economic ecosystems (Lytton).
Kosher certification created demand for Jewish-owned businesses, from delis and bakeries to distributors and certifying agencies, ensuring that money circulated within the community and reinforced its institutions. Over time, kosher became so well established that it moved beyond the Jewish market, gaining recognition in mainstream food industries and generating influence far out of proportion to the community’s size. The legacy of this can still be seen today in brands such as Hebrew Nationals, Empire Kosher, and Kedem.
This strategy was also central to African American organizing traditions, which repeatedly emphasized the importance of economic self-determination and keeping wealth circulating within Black communities. Calls for rejecting dependency on hostile systems and building independent structures were one of the pillars of the civil rights movement’s success (Gordon).
Many argue that adopting a halal-only diet in America is too difficult, impractical, or not required due to living in an Ahl al-Kitāb nation. Yet, this perception overlooks both the progress already made and the methods to achieve it. The fact that halal food is more accessible today than ever before is not an accident, it’s the product of deliberate choices and sacrifices made by earlier generations of Muslims who refused to compromise on this sunnah.
The Desi community played a large role in laying the foundation for today’s halal economy in the United States due to cultural emphasis on halal requirements more so than others. When immigrants arrived in the country, they often found themselves in cities and suburbs where halal meat couldn’t be found. As a result, families began small butcher shops and informal distribution networks to serve their families and the community.
These efforts were not just attempts to follow sharia, but also acts of institution-building, quietly creating demand, fostering supply chains, and laying the groundwork for the halal economy we know today.
Halal options are now available across America, from urban centers to suburban grocery stores. National supermarket chains, fast-food franchises, and restaurant groups are increasingly recognizing the halal consumer market as a force, in addition to the observation that halal meat is a higher-quality product.
Adopting a halal-only standard has clear systemic implications, as it redirects consumer spending toward businesses that are either Muslim-owned or certified through halal regulatory bodies. Economically, this creates a closed-loop system where capital circulates within the community, rather than flowing outward to corporations that are indifferent or even hostile to Muslim concerns. This strengthens Muslim small businesses and fosters job creation. It builds institutional capacity, much like other minority communities, such as the African Americans or Orthodox Jews, who have historically utilized targeted spending to enhance collective autonomy.
Over time, a halal-centered economy has shift the market, incentivizing larger producers and distributors to accommodate Muslim needs. This has already occurred in markets such as Australia, where most meat exporter products are halal-certified to meet the global demand from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. In the United States, the halal market is already projected to reach around $88.9 billion by 2026 (Das). Far surpassing the U.S Kosher market, valued at $5.5 billion in 2024 (IMARC Group). This demonstrates the scale of opportunity available if Muslims approach halal as strategy, not merely as ritual.
Thus, halal dietary practice should not only be understood as a matter of individual piety but also as an instrument of collective power-building in America. While boycotts seek to weaken oppressive structures, halal consumption strengthens internal Muslim cohesion and develops economic power.
This dynamic is already visible in several American markets, most notably New York City and the Detroit metropolitan area, where Muslim communities have organically developed successful, self-sustaining economic ecosystems.
In New York, the now iconic chicken over rice emerged from the needs of Muslim taxi drivers seeking reliable halal meals. What began as a practical solution, born from wajib, evolved into a defining feature of the city’s food culture, eventually producing national brands like The Halal Guys, whose model has been exported to regions with far smaller Muslim populations.
Detroit offers a parallel through the rise of Yemeni-owned coffee houses, which while not explicitly halal food, have created third spaces that originally catered to Muslims and have since drawn a large non-Muslim clientele, especially as Starbucks has declined in cultural relevance.
These businesses not only keep wealth circulating within the Muslim community but also pull capital from the broader public into Muslim-owned institutions. As these models grow, Muslims gain opportunities to franchise, manage, and work within these expanding networks, demonstrating how disciplined consumption can evolve into durable economic power.
By consciously centering halal food systems, slaughterhouses, certification bodies, supply chains, and restaurants, the Muslim community develops an independent economic infrastructure that is less vulnerable to the toxins within Western global capitalism, spiritual and physical alike. It also allows those within that infrastructure be more vocal towards injustice such as Palestine and other Islamic causes.
In a society where food is deeply tied to corporate monopolies, investing in halal-centered networks offers Muslims a path to both moral integrity and Ummatic autonomy.
Many insist that Muslim-majority states should be ready to bear sanctions, aid cuts, and diplomatic fallout to defend Palestine and other oppressed Muslims. But such demands are meaningless without individual actions that demonstrate collective resolve. Empty rhetoric and symbolic gestures are no different from the hollow condemnations Muslim governments give while continuing business as usual.
If Muslim Americans are serious about resistance, then it must transcend slogans and adopt strategies that genuinely build lasting independence and power, such as pushing for the adoption of Halal on an individual level and within our communities. Or at the very least, preferring halal meat over non halal options for those that take less strict options on halal.
Eating halal only in America is indeed a struggle, it is by definition an act of greater Jihad. And those who struggle in the way of Allah, amid inconvenience or cost, are Mujahid.
Tajuddin Ingram is a former policy advisor to the New York City Mayor’s Office and the State of New York, and an associate student at Qalam Academy. He writes periodically on his Substack @modernitycritic.
Disclaimer: Material published by Nuun Collective is meant to foster inquiry and rich discussion. The views, opinions, beliefs, or strategies represented in published media do not necessarily represent the views of Nuun Collective or any member thereof.
Works Cited
Maevskaya, Ludmila & Aga, Khaisam. (2023). “Concepts of What Is Allowed and Forbidden in Islam Through the Analysis of Ibn Taymiyyah’s Fatwa.” Transformação, vol. 46, no. 2, 2023, pp. 1–15.
Frank, Allen J. Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons. Orientalia Press, 2000
Metcalf, Barbara D. Islamic Revival in British India: Deoband, 1860–1900. Princeton UP, 1982.
Armanios, Febe, and Boğaç Ergene. Halal Food: A History. Oxford University Press, 2018.
Lytton, Timothy D. Kosher: Private Regulation in the Age of Industrial Food. Harvard University Press, 2013
Gordon Nembhard, Jessica. Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2014.
Das, Sonalika, and Eswara Prasad. “Halal Food Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032.” Allied Market Research, Dec. 2023, www.alliedmarketresearch.com/halal-food-market.
IMARC Group. United States Kosher Food Market Report by Type, Application, Distribution Channel, and Region 2025-2033. IMARC Group, Nov. 2025, www.imarcgroup.com/united-states-kosher-food-market.