The Discourses and Symbolism of Halal in Indonesian Public Communication
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21580/halalin.2024.1.2.12Keywords:
Discourses of Halal, Symbolism of Halal, Indonesian Public CommunicationAbstract
This study explores how the concept of halal is represented, communicated, and symbolized within Indonesian public discourse. As a Muslim-majority country, Indonesia has witnessed a growing presence of halal narratives not only in religious contexts but also across political, economic, and socio-cultural spheres. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, this research examines media texts, advertisements, government campaigns, and public discussions to reveal how halal functions both as a religious norm and a cultural symbol. The findings indicate that halal is often used strategically to shape consumer behavior, affirm political identity, and reinforce moral values in the public domain. Additionally, the discourse surrounding halal reflects tensions between tradition and modernity, as well as the commodification of religious identity in contemporary Indonesia. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how religious terminology and symbolism are adapted in public communication to influence social perception and national identity formation.
References
Atiah, I. N., & Fatoni, A. (2020). Sistem jaminan halal: Studi komparatif Indonesia dan Malaysia. Syi’ar Iqtishadi: Journal of Islamic Economics, Finance and Banking, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.35448/jiec.v3i2.6585
Fairclough, N. (2013). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Fealy, G., & White, S. (2012). Expressing Islam: Religious life and politics in Indonesia. ISEAS Publishing.
Fibrianti, N., & Niravita, A. (2020). Halal certification systems: A comparison between Indonesia and Turkey. Pandecta Research Law Journal, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.15294/pandecta.v18i2.48095
Fitria, T. (2020). Halal certification and its impact on consumer behaviour in Indonesia. Journal of Halal Studies, 3(2), 45–59.
Henderson, J. C. (2016). Halal food, certification and halal tourism: Insights from Malaysia and Singapore. Tourism Management Perspectives, 19, 160–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2015.12.006
Ikhwan, I. (2024). Systematic review on Indonesia halal certification. Ekonomi Islam Indonesia, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.58968/eii.v6i2.554
Immawati, S. A., et al. (2023). Creating millennial generation loyalty through customer perceived value on halal local cosmetic products. Sentralisasi, 13(1), Article 2950. https://doi.org/10.33506/sl.v13i1.2950
Ismail, A. U., et al. (2023). Exploring halal awareness within a heterogeneous society: The case of meat consumers in Indonesia. Journal of Halal Science, Industry, and Business, 1(1), 26–39. https://doi.org/10.31098/jhasib.v1i1.1533
Jan, A., Marimuthu, M., Hassan, R., & Mehreen, M. (2019). Sustainable business practices and corporate financial performance in Islamic banking. Sustainability, 11(23), 6606. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236606
Mahliza, F., & Prasetya, P. (2023). Halal cosmetics and consumer behavior: Insight from millennials. Journal of Enterprise and Development (JED), 6(1), 121–132. https://doi.org/10.20414/jed.v6i1.8802
Mejova, Y., Benkhedda, Y., & Khairani. (2017). Halal culture on Instagram. Frontiers in Digital Humanities, 4, Article 21. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdigh.2017.00021
Nafis, M. C. (2019). The concept of halal and thayyib and its implementation in Indonesia. Journal of Halal Product and Research (JHPR), 2(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.20473/jhpr.vol.2-issue.1.1-5
Nasrullah, R., Mulyana, D., & Nugraha, A. (2022). Symbolic politics and halal certification: A discourse analysis of Indonesia’s halal logo. International Journal of Communication Studies, 14(4), 233–250.
Purwanto, A., Haque, M. G., Sunarsi, D., & Asbari, M. (2021). The role of brand image, food safety, awareness, certification on halal food purchase intention: An empirical study on Indonesian consumers. Journal of Industrial Engineering & Management Research, 2(3), 42–52. https://doi.org/10.7777/jiemar.v2i3.144
Puspita, A. T. (2024). Halal food shopping behavior of millennials: Evidence in Indonesia. Islamic Marketing Review, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.58968/imr.v2i2.347
Sosianika, A., & Amalia, F. A. (2020). Uncovering Indonesian millennial’s halal food purchase intention: Halal value and halal logo as the antecedents. International Journal of Applied Business Research, 2(1), 31–45. https://doi.org/10.35313/ijabr.v2i01.91
Susilawati, C., Joharudin, A., Abduh, M., & Sonjaya, A. (2023). The influence of religiosity and halal labeling on purchase intention of non-food halal products. Indonesian Journal of Halal Research, 5(2), 77–89. https://doi.org/10.15575/ijhar.v5i2.22965
Tieman, M. (2017). The application of halal in supply chain management: In-depth interviews. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 8(3), 418–436. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIMA-01-2016-0001
Widyaningrum, R., et al. (2021). Risks and opportunities of the household food industry with online systems during the COVID-19 pandemic in DIY. Journal of Food and Culinary, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.12928/jfc.v4i1.4123
Wilson, J. A. J., & Liu, J. (2011). The challenges of Islamic branding: Navigating emotions and halal. Journal of Islamic Marketing, 2(1), 28–42. https://doi.org/10.1108/17590831111115222
Yulita, A. I. R., & Fauziah, S. (2019). Perilaku konsumen milenial Muslim pada resto bersertifikat halal di Indonesia: Teori perilaku terencana. Journal of Economics and Business Aseanomics, 3(2), 96–? . https://doi.org/10.33476/jeba.v3i2.960
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Halal International Journal

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The copyright of the received article shall be assigned to the journal as the publisher of the journal. The intended copyright includes the right to publish the article in various forms (including reprints). The journal maintains the publishing rights to the published articles. Therefore, the author must submit a statement of the Copyright Transfer Agreement.*)
In line with the license, authors and third parties (readers, researchers, and others) are allowed to share and adapt the material. In addition, the material must be given appropriate credit, provided with a link to the license, and indicated if changes were made. If authors remix, transform or build upon the material, authors must distribute their contributions under the same license as the original.
________
*) Authors whose articles are accepted for publication will receive confirmation via email and send a Copyright Transfer Agreement.








