Description
From food products to fashions and cosmetics to children's toys, a wide range of commodities today are being marketed as "halal" (permitted, lawful) or "Islamic" to Muslim consumers both in the West and in Muslim-majority nations. However, many of these products are not authentically Islamic or halal, and their producers have not necessarily created them to honor religious practice or sentiment. Instead, most "halal" commodities are profit-driven, and they exploit the rise of a new Islamic economic paradigm, "Brand Islam," as a clever marketing tool.
Brand Islam investigates the rise of this highly lucrative marketing strategy and the resulting growth in consumer loyalty to goods and services identified as Islamic. Faegheh Shirazi explores the reasons why consumers buy Islam-branded products, including conspicuous piety or a longing to identify with a larger Muslim community, especially for those Muslims who live in Western countries, and how this phenomenon is affecting the religious, cultural, and economic lives of Muslim consumers. She demonstrates that Brand Islam has actually enabled a new type of global networking, joining product and service sectors together in a huge conglomerate that some are referring to as the Interland. A timely and original contribution to Muslim cultural studies, Brand Islam reveals how and why the growth of consumerism, global communications, and the Westernization of many Islamic countries are all driving the commercialization of Islam.
Author: Faegheh Shirazi
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Published: 08/02/2016
Pages: 294
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.70h x 6.00w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9781477309469
ISBN10: 1477309462
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Islamic Studies
- Business & Economics | Marketing | General
- Business & Economics | Consumer Behavior | General
About the Author
Faegheh Shirazi is a professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Her previous books include Muslim Women in War and Crisis: From Reality to Representation.