At the International Halal Market Conference in Brunei Darussalam in June 2010, founder Shahed Amanullah spoke on the halal marketplace and Halalfire's role in it. He also urged the audience, made up of Halal industry professionals from around the world, of their obligation to grow the Halal marketplace by making Halal relevant to non-Muslims.
From an
article about the conference:
Shahed also highlighted that 'halal' could not only be used as a product but as a link that can bring Muslims and non-Muslims together, by showcasing Islam for its beauty. "I think that 'halal' will mean whatever we make it to mean. And the way I envision 'halal' is that it is a vehicle for a wide variety of Islamic values; not just the way you slaughter meat," he said. "It's a great vehicle to introduce some wonderful things about our religion that have universal appeal. If we can introduce those into 'halal', (then) a non-Muslim consumer can look at it and say, 'wow, I didn't know that Muslims cared about that, I didn't know they cared about the treatment of animals, I didn't know they cared about environmental concerns'. It will really play with their perceptions of Islam and Muslims,' he said. Food breaks down cultural barriers very easily and quickly, said Shahed, who also runs the world's largest database of halal restaurants and markets, zabihah.com.
