Managing regulatory tensions in international halal food trade

International trade in halal food is an important test case for the practical implications of the notion of Islamic moral economy. While Islamic teachings on food, at the individual level, are relatively clear and unambiguous their connection to the regulatory level is uncertain and contested. The research problem driving the project is the absence of a coherent, purpose-designed regulatory system for international trade in halal food. Instead, trade is governed by a hybrid and incomplete combination of WTO rules, competing third-party certification schemes, and public policy operated by fluid and interactive configurations of public, private and religious actors.