A Sociological Approach to the Phenomenonof Halal Food: A Case of Malaysia

Year 2013, Issue: 31, 155 - 171, 01.12.2013

Adem Efe Mehmet Özay

Abstract

The social interactions of Malay Muslims with non-Muslim Malaysians emerged depending on the circumstances have become the subject of various researchers in the modern era. The concept of Halal Food, which has been popularized through the establishment of various religio-bureaucratic institutions, can be considered as a unique area for the ethno-relations around the food consumption in Malaysia. In this sense, the relationship of ethno-social and religious segments structured around the phenomenon of Halal Food conditioned around deserves to be considered as a research field of Sociology of ReligionThis treaty deals with concisely the phenomenon of Halal Food which draws attention as one of the salient stages of the socio-political changing process in the country. This process, as a conscious preference of Malay political elites, has been the subject of construction which was supposed to guarantee social existence of Malay Muslims who had been recognized socio-economically as the underprivileged segment. The phenomenon of Halal Food, brought up through the various institutions in Malaysia, has not been in the personal initiative of the Malay Muslims, instead it has already been moved to public arena by the force of implementation of law. The usage of this phenomenon in technical sense attracts attention as one of the strong symbolic expressions of institutionalized Islam. This process work as two dimensions. The first one is related to demands of Malay Muslims who became the subject of expansion of higher education and urbanization especially since the late of 1970s and specially 1980s. On the other hand, it has also functioned as a vehicle to make the non-Muslim minorities to recognize that Islam is the dominant religio-cultural aspect of the Malaysian society. As revealed by some researchers, there is no doubt that the practices during this era not only correspond to social demands in one side, but also are considered as reflections of Islamization in political field owing to the internal and external factors

Keywords

Halal Food, Malay Muslims, globalization, social change

HELÂL GIDA OLGUSU VE UYGULAMASINA SOSYOLOJİK BİR YAKLAŞIM: MALEZYA ÖRNEĞİ

Abstract

Modern dönemde, değişen toplumsal koşullara bağlı olarak Malay Müslümanların, Müslüman olmayan çevrelerle kamusal alanlardaki sosyal etkileşimleri çeşitli incelemeler konu olmuştur. Çeşitli dini bürokratik kurumların uygulamaya geçirilmesiyle gündeme gelen Helâl Gıda Olgusu, Malezya’daki etnik grupların gıda tüketimi olgusu etrafında etkileşimlerinde ayrıcalıklı bir alan olarak değerlendirilebilir. Bu anlamda “etnik, sosyal ve dini grupların” gıda olgusu etrafında yapılaşan ilişkileri din sosyolojisi bağlamında araştırılmayı hak etmektedir. Bu çalışma, Malezya sosyo-siyasi değişim süreçlerinin önemli aşamalarından biri olarak dikkat çeken Helâl Gıda olgusunu toplumsal ilişkiler bağlamında kısaca ele almaktadır. Bu süreç, Malay siyasi elitinin bilinçli bir tercihi olarak, ülkenin çoğulcu etnik yapısı içerisinde eğitim ve sosyo-ekonomik geri kalmışlığı ile dikkat çeken Malay Müslümanların toplumsal varlığını garanti altına alacak bir yapılaşmaya konu oldu. Malezya devletinin çeşitli kurumları vasıtasıyla uygulamaya koyduğu Helâl Gıda olgusu Malay Müslüman bireylerin inisyatifinden çıkmış ve yasaların yaptırımcı gücü ile birlikte kamusal alana taşınmıştır. Helâl Gıda olgusunun gündelik yaşamda teknik anlamda kullanılmaya başlanması, ülkede yaşanan kurumsallaşan İslâm’ın en önemli göstergelerinden biri olarak dikkat çekmektedir. Bu süreç, iki yönlü olarak işlemektedir. İlki 1970’ler ve özellikle de 1980’lerden itibaren yüksek öğrenimin yaygınlaşması ve şehirleşme süreçlerine konu olan Malay Müslümanların bir anlamda ‘içten’ geldiği varsayılabilecek taleplerine cevap niteliği taşırken, Müslüman olmayan azınlıklar nezdinde de İslâmiyet’in ülkenin başat dini/kültürel vechesi olduğunu fark etme veya ettirmenin adıdır aynı zamanda. Kimi araştırmacıların ortaya koyduğu üzere bu dönemindeki icraatlar, kuşkusuz ki biryanıyla toplumsal bir talebe tekabül ettiği gibi, dönemin iç ve dış faktörlerinin yol açtığı genel İslâmlaştırma sürecinin politikadaki yansıması olarak da dikkat çeker

Keywords

Helâl Gıda, Malay Müslümanlar, küreselleşme, toplumsal değişim

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