Toward a Framework for Halal Education Certification: A Conceptual Proposal
Keywords:
halal certification, Islamic higher education, institutional isomorphism, Muslim student inclusion, accreditationAbstract
Halal certification is a mature, standardized institution in food, cosmetics, and tourism, yet no comparable, auditable standard exists for "halal education" as an institutional category. This paper makes two contributions. First, it identifies and explains a specific disciplinary silo effect, the near-total non-overlap between the halal-industry certification literature and the Muslim-student-inclusion literature, that has prevented a unified halal education standard from emerging, despite both literatures independently documenting the components such a standard would require. Second, drawing on institutional theory, it proposes a seven-domain Halal Education Certification (HEC) framework, benchmarks it against existing analogous instruments (Malaysia's MS 1900:2014, JAKIM's certification manual, ISO 22000, and AAOIFI's Shariah governance standards), and outlines a validation pathway (expert Delphi panel followed by pilot institutional audit) needed before such a framework could be operationalized. The paper closes by addressing a direct counter-argument, that institutional halal certification risks functioning as an exclusionary rather than inclusive signal in pluralistic higher education, and argues this tension, rather than being resolved, should be built into the framework's governance design.
Keywords: halal certification, Islamic higher education, institutional isomorphism, Muslim student inclusion, accreditation
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