Received: 30 October 2017 | Revised: 15 January 2018 | Accepted: 15 January 2018

DOI: 10.1111/ijcs.12423

SPECIAL ISSUE
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Religious identity, community and religious minorities’ search

efforts for religiously sanctioned food: The case of halal food in
non-Muslim majority markets

Alhassan G. Mumuni1 | Ann Veeck2 | Mushtaq Luqmani3 | Zahir A. Quraeshi4 |

Yusniza Kamarulzaman5

1
Department of Marketing Haworth College
of Business, Western Michigan University,
Abstract
1903 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo, Michigan This research introduces the concept of search effort to explore the drivers of religion-motivated
49008 consumption by religious minorities. The study draws on three theoretical frameworks to develop
2
Department of Marketing Haworth College a model and hypotheses about the role of religious identity, community, knowledge and attitudes
of Business, Western Michigan University,
in explaining the effort religious minorities exert to uphold religiously motivated consumption
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008
3
behaviour. Using the search for halal food in the United States as a research context and data from
Department of Marketing Haworth College
of Business, Western Michigan University, a survey of U.S. consumers to test a model of search effort, the study finds that insistence on reli-
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008 giously motivated behaviour is a strong predictor of consumers’ willingness to exert effort towards
4
Department of Marketing Haworth College the behaviour. In turn, degree of religiosity, attitude towards the behaviour and religious self-
of Business, Western Michigan University, identity are strong positive predictors of the level of insistence. Further, religious knowledge and
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008
sense of religious community are strong positive determinants of attitude towards the behaviour.
5
Faculty of Business and Accountancy,
The model provides an improved conceptualization of the relationship between religious identity
University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia 50603 and consumer behaviour, particularly religiously sanctioned or motivated consumption. Theory and
research implications are outlined and potential avenues for further exploration are identified.
Correspondence
Alhassan G. Mumuni, Department of
KEYWORDS
Marketing, Haworth College of Business,
Western Michigan University, 1903 W halal food, religious community, religious identity, religious minorities, religiously sanctioned con-
Michigan Ave. Kalamazoo, MI 49008. sumption, search effort
Email: alhassan.mumuni@wmich.edu

1 | INTRODUCTION
Ritually aligned religious behaviours such as worship, prayer, fasting
and pilgrimage require special efforts by adherents. For religions that
have strict dietary requirements and practices (e.g., kosher for Judaism
and halal for Islam), adherents also frequently have to exert additional
effort in consumption-related behaviours. This is particularly so in mar-
ket environments where they are religious minorities, as these markets
tend to be relatively underdeveloped with respect to providing food
options that meet these dietary requirements. For instance in the U.S
the halal food market is characterized by severe lack of availability
(especially in small towns and rural areas), limited options and higher
prices relative to comparative offerings in traditional food channels
(Kamarulzaman, Veeck, Mumuni, Luqmani, & Quraeshi, 2016). The sit-
uation is not much different for kosher, although a case can be made
for a slightly more developed kosher market. At the same time research
and anecdotal evidence suggests that significant portions of the Jewish
and Muslim populations in the U.S. and Europe where they are minor-
ities, opt to maintain the dietary requirements of their religions, insist-
ing on consuming kosher and halal despite the absence of conveniently
available options. Studies in the U.K. (Ahmed, 2008), France (Bonne,
Vermeir, Bergeaud-Blackler, & Verbeke, 2007) and Belgium (Bonne &
Verbeke, 2008; Bonne, Verbeke, & Verbeke, 2009; Verbeke, 2000) find
that significant proportions of Muslims in these countries uphold halal
meat consumption despite perceived lack of availability. In the U.S., it is
estimated that 75% of Muslim households follow Islamic dietary laws
in some form or another (Hussaini, 2004).
Against this backdrop, kosher and halal food seekers in these mar-
kets face significant procurement challenges. If they live in small towns
or rural areas they may have to drive long distances to nearby larger
towns to obtain supplies, and further contend with relatively higher pri-
ces and limited choices compared to options in traditional retail

586 | © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ijcs Int J Consum Stud. 2018;42:586–598.
MUMUNI ET AL.
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channels. Accordingly, these consumers have to expend considerable
effort seeking food that meets the dietary requirements of their reli-
gions, as Murphy (2013) showed for the Jewish minority in Ireland. Yet,
despite the increase in transnational religious communities in much of
the world, there is relatively little research on the notion of search
effort by religious minorities for religiously sanctioned food and the
drivers of these search efforts.
This study fills this gap in the literature by examining the drivers of
consumers’ search efforts for halal food in a non-Muslim majority mar-
ket context. Using data from a survey of U.S. consumers to test a
model of search effort, the study finds that halal food search effort is
positively correlated with consumers’ tendency to insist on consuming
halal. In turn, tendency to insist on halal is positively determined by
attitudes towards halal, religiosity and Islamic self-identity, while atti-
tudes are positively determined by halal knowledge and sense of
Islamic community. With these findings, the study makes important
contributions to the specific literature on halal food consumption and
to the broader literature on religion-sanctioned food consumption, par-
ticularly for religious minorities. For the halal food literature, the contri-
bution is two-fold. First, as the first study to systematically investigate
the concept of search effort in non-Muslim majority markets, it pro-
vides a broader perspective to understanding halal food motivations,
attitudes and behaviour in these markets than the attitude-intention-
behaviour paradigm that has dominated much of current thinking in
this area. Second, it provides a basis for recommending actionable
managerial strategies for effectively promoting halal products in these
markets. For the broader question of religion-sanctioned food con-
sumption, the model can be applied to understanding food choices and
search efforts of other religious minorities (e.g., Jews and Hindus) in
the U.S. as well as in other parts of the world.
Literature relevant to the study is reviewed in the next section,
beginning with a brief primer on the concept of halal. Following that
the study’s underlying theoretical framework, conceptual model and
hypotheses are outlined. The study methods are next presented, fol-
lowed by the analysis and results. A separate section discusses the
results and outlines implications for theory and practice while a final
section addresses the study’s limitations and offers suggestions for
future research.
2 | LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 | The concept of Halal
Halal is a concept in Islam that refers to anything (object or action) that
is permissible under Islamic principles and practices. It is one of five
designations used to define the boundaries between lawful and unlaw-
ful—fard (compulsory), mustahabb (recommended), halal (allowed), mak-
ruh (disliked) and haram (forbidden). Of these, halal and haram are the
commonest, and undoubtedly the most widely encountered in the daily
lives of Muslims. Therefore, they are also widely viewed as two polar
opposites, and the distinction between halal and haram has become a
fundamental guiding principle in Muslims’ day-to-day choices in gen-
eral, and dietary choices in particular, thereby playing a significant role
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in defining Muslims’ food consumption norms and practices. A person
who strictly adheres to the Islamic faith is expected to avoid food prod-
ucts that are deemed haram, and is permitted to consume only those
that are halal. Specifically, nine categories of food are haram in Islam
(Eliasi & Dwyer, 2002; Regenstein, Chaudry, & Regenstein, 2003): (a)
blood, (b) all kinds of intoxicants, including alcohol, (c) pork and prod-
ucts derived from pigs, such as lard and gelatin, (d) carnivorous animals
with fangs, such as lions, dogs, wolves, or tigers, (e) birds with sharp
claws (birds of prey) such as falcons, eagles, owls, or vultures, (f) land
animals such as frogs or snakes, (g) permissible animals (e.g., cows,
sheep, etc.) that are slaughtered without pronouncing the name of God
(Allah), (h) permissible animals killed in a manner that prevents their
blood from being fully drained from their bodies and (i) meat of permis-
sible animals that die without being properly slaughtered, for example,
by being strangled, gored, or savaged by a beast of prey, and so forth.
Accordingly, most Muslims avoid pork or food that contain pork
ingredients and derivatives, and will not eat meat from carnivorous ani-
mals or birds of prey. But even for animals whose consumption is oth-
erwise permissible (e.g., sheep) the manner of slaughter further
determines whether the meat is halal. The animal must be slaughtered
while pronouncing the name of God and with its face turned towards
Mecca. The slaughtering must be done with a very sharp knife to make
the process as painless and possible. Together these requirements con-
stitute the concept of zabihah, that is, proper Islamic slaughter ritual.
Thus, zabihah is a necessary condition for meat of permissible animals
to be halal.
Some writers are beginning to suggest that even for permissible
animals, following proper Islamic slaughter rituals (zabihah), should not
be sufficient for meat to be characterized as halal. They argue that,
drawing from the Islamic concept of halalan tayyiban the halal designa-
tion should mean that proper responsibility and care has been taken to
assure the welfare of animals, employees, and land involved at every
stage of the process from farm to market (Robinson, 2014). Accord-
ingly, there is a growing trend in some sections of the literature to
broaden the concept of halal to encompass the way animals are raised
and handled prior to slaughter. Additionally, the concept of halal is
increasingly being broadened to include the way halal meat is handled
from point of slaughter to point of sale—the concept of halal logistics.
This addresses issues relating to separation of halal and non-halal
goods during warehousing and transportation to avoid cross-
contamination (Tieman, 2011; Tieman, Ghazali, and van der Vorst,
2013; Zailani, Arrifin, Abd Wahid, Othman, & Fernando, 2010). In this
article, the term halal is used within the context of food (and particu-
larly meat) to denote products derived from permissible animals that
are slaughtered according to proper Islamic slaughter rituals (zabihah).
2.2 | Halal food in non-Muslim majority markets
There is a sizeable literature on halal food based on studies conducted
in countries with Muslim majorities such as Malaysia (e.g., Abdul Aziz &
Chok, 2013; Abd Rahman, Asrarhaghighi, & Ab Rahman, 2015; Ambali,
Ahmad, & Bakar, 2013), Turkey (e.g., Atalan-Helicke, 2015), the United
Arab Emirates (Ireland & Rajabzadeh, 2011) and Pakistan (Awan,
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Siddiquei, & Haider, 2015; Mukhtar & Butt, 2011) as well as in non-
Muslim majority countries such as the U.K. (e.g., Ahmed, 2008; Ayyub,
2015), Belgium (Bonne et al., 2009), France (Bonne et al., 2007), New
Zealand (Wan-Hassan & Awang, 2009) and the U.S. (Kamarulzaman
et al., 2016). Studies in non-Muslim majority countries that are relevant
for the present study have used both descriptive and modelling
approaches to understanding halal consumption in these markets. The
descriptive studies have examined a variety of issues, including con-
sumers’ concerns about authenticity of halal products (Ahmed, 2008;
Bonne & Verbeke, 2008; Verbeke, Rutsaert, Bonne, & Vermeir, 2013),
preferred shopping outlets for halal (Ahmed, 2008; Verbeke et al.,
2013) and willingness to pay a price premium for halal (Verbeke et al.,
2013). For instance, Ahmed (2008) finds that although an overwhelm-
ing majority of U.K. Muslims believe that supermarkets like Morrison’s
and Sainsbury’s offer more hygienic (94% of respondents) and better
quality (90% of respondents) halal meat than local butchers, the vast
majority (80%) are unlikely to buy halal meat from these supermarkets
due primarily to lack of trust in the authenticity of halal meat sold in
these retail chains. Bonne and Verbeke (2008) report similar findings
for Muslim consumers in Belgium, identifying four segments of con-
sumers on the basis of expressed confidence in ability of Belgian and
local Islamic institutions to assure halal status of meat products, which
they name indifferent, concerned, confident and Islam idealists.
Studies that have modelled the determinants of consumers’ halal
food choice in non-Muslim majority markets have largely done so using
the theory of planned behaviour as conceptual framework. For instance
using this framework Bonne et al. (2007) find that intention to eat halal
meat consumption among French Muslims is determined by positive
attitudes towards halal meat, influence of peers and perceived control
over consuming halal meat. They also find that religious self-identity
significantly moderates the relationship between motivation to comply
with peer influence and intention to eat halal meat. Building on this
study, Bonne et al. (2009) find that intention to eat halal meat among
Belgian Muslims is determined by their attitudes towards health and
perceived safety barriers. Specifically health attitudes positively impact
intention while meat safety barriers like hygiene, lack of information
and control are found to negatively impact intention to eat halal meat.
Taken together the studies reviewed in this section help shed light
on the nature of consumers’ perceptions, attitudes and consumption of
halal food products in non-Muslim majority markets. However, the lit-
erature suggests that these same issues are also relevant in Muslim-
majority countries. For instance, Ireland and Rajabzadeh (2011) find
that in the United Arab Emirates, consumers are just as concerned
about halal status of their purchases as in European countries. Similarly,
the theory of planned behaviour has also been applied to successfully
study consumers’ intention to choose halal in Muslim-majority coun-
tries such as Pakistan (Awan et al., 2015; Mukhtar & Butt, 2011) and
Malaysia (Abd Rahman et al., 2015; Alam & Sayuti, 2013; Said, Hassan,
Musa, & Rahman, 2014). Therefore, knowing that consumers in non-
Muslim majority markets are concerned about halal status of products
and that their intention to consume halal can be explained by attitudes,
perceived behavioural control and other constructs derived from the
theory of planned behaviour does not quite address the unique
MUMUNI ET AL.
challenges posed by limited availability of halal options in these mar-
kets. For instance a recent study in the Netherlands points out a weak
halal governance system in adapting to the needs of a heterogeneous
Muslim community (Kurth & Glasbergen, 2017), while another in Japan
highlights similar supply chain issues in the country’s halal food system
(Fujiwara & Ismail, 2017). Indeed, Verbeke et al. (2013) suggest that
because of the very limited availability of halal labelled fresh meat in
Belgium Muslim consumers use ‘Muslim ownership’ of a shop rather
than a halal label as an extrinsic search characteristic to infer halal sta-
tus of meat. This indicates the relevance of search efforts in these mar-
kets. Yet no study to date has investigated the underlying drivers of
consumers’ halal search efforts in non-Muslim majority markets, under-
scoring the need for this study.
3 | THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK,
CONCEPTUAL MODEL AND HYPOTHESES
The focal dependent variable in this study is consumers’ halal food
search effort. Consistent the consumer behaviour literature on product
search effort (e.g., Beatty & Smith, 1987), halal food search effort is
conceptualized as the amount of effort and sacrifice (in time, money
and risk) that a consumer is willing to exert to acquire halal food prod-
ucts. Three theoretical perspectives provide the organizing framework
for exploring its drivers in non-Muslim majority markets—marketing
theory’s classification of goods and the specific characteristics of spe-
cialty goods (Copeland, 1923; Holton, 1958, 1959; Luck, 1959), brand
insistence theory and attitude formation theory.
Marketing theory classifies consumer goods into convenience,
shopping and specialty products based on consumers’ willingness to
expend effort in acquiring the good. According to this scheme, a spe-
cialty product is a good or service that possesses such unique charac-
teristics (or special brand identification) that a significant group of
buyers is willing to expend considerable effort to obtain it (Luck, 1959).
We suggest that halal food in non-Muslim majority markets (particu-
larly meat) have this specialty goods status for a number of reasons.
First they possess the unique halal attribute imbued by the slaughter
process that other meat products on the market do not possess; sec-
ond they have limited availability occasioned by the lack of participa-
tion by traditional food manufacturers and distributors; and third, there
exists a segment of consumers who are willing to expend additional
effort to procure them. Accordingly, consumer behaviour implications
of specialty products are relevant for understanding consumer behav-
iour towards halal food in non-Muslim majority markets. In particular, a
unique characteristic of specialty products is consumers’ tendency to
insist on them and to not accept substitutes. Indeed, Copeland’s classi-
fication of goods (Copeland, 1923) uses an effort-insistence scheme
under which convenience goods require low effort and low brand
insistence, shopping goods are those for which the consumer exerts
high effort but with low brand insistence, and specialty goods are char-
acterized by high effort and high brand insistence. When insistence
and effort are separated temporarily, it is necessarily the case that
insistence determines search effort. Thus a primary and direct
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Degree of
religiosity
Halal food
knowledge +
Attitude
toward halal
food
Sense of
Islamic
+
community
Islamic self-
identity
FIGURE 1 Conceptual model and hypothesized relationships
determinant of a consumer’s search effort for a product is their level of
insistence for that specific product.
Brand insistence theory addresses the factors that motivate
consumers to insist on buying a particular brand and to be unwilling
to substitute other brands in its place when it is not available. Kel-
ler’s (2008) customer-based brand equity framework suggests that
brand attitudes are an important precursor to brand insistence (or
‘consumer-based brand resonance’). Specifically, the third step in
this framework’s three-step path to building consumer brand reso-
nance (intensive, active loyalty and insistence) is to elicit proper
consumer responses to the brand’s identity and meaning by placing
attention on how consumer ‘think and feel’ about the brand, that is,
their attitudes towards the brand. Thus brand attitudes are an
important determinant of brand insistence and, therefore, in this
study’s context, attitude towards halal food will be a major driver of
insistence on halal.
Attitude formation theories like the theory of planned behaviour
(Ajzen, 1985, 1991) and its precursor, the theory of reasoned action
(Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) have a foundational premise that attitude
towards an object or behaviour is formed by a confluence of the
strength of beliefs regarding each attribute/outcome associated with
the object or behaviour and the individual’s evaluation of each attrib-
ute/outcome. A fundamental idea in these theories is that beliefs (often
grounded in knowledge) are key inputs to attitude formation. Thus
knowledge of Islamic rulings and requirements for halal should be an
important determinant of attitudes towards halal food.
Using these three theoretical building blocks, the conceptual
framework in Figure 1 guides the quest in this research to understand
the drivers of consumers’ search efforts for halal food in non-Muslim
majority markets. Classification of goods theory and the specialty good
status of halal food in these markets inform the proposed link between
insistence and search effort. Brand insistence theory predicts the
attitude-insistence relationship, and attitude formation theory suggests
the knowledge-attitude link. Degree of religiosity and Islamic self-
identity are posited as additional determinants of insistence while
sense of Islamic identity is posited as an additional determinant of atti-
tudes based on extant research that is reviewed shortly in the hypothe-
ses development.
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+
+ +
Insistence on Halal food
halal food search effort
+
3.1 | Insistence on halal
Insistence on halal food is conceptualized in this study as the degree to
which a consumer is committed to consuming halal food and is unwill-
ing to make compromises even in the face of severe limitations in his/
her ability to regularly procure halal. Surprisingly, this construct has
received relatively little attention in the literature despite its relevance
for understanding religiously motivated food consumption in general,
and halal in particular. Notable exceptions are the use of the term in
Black’s description of religious consumption among Turkish and Turkish
Cypriot families in Britain who have an absolute prohibition on eating
pork or pork products but no insistence on halal meat (Black, 1985),
Trivedi’s accounts of an early Indian Muslim’s insistence on halal food
during his travels in France and Britain in 1765 (Trivedi, 2003), and
Hargreaves observations about an increasing tendency for Muslims in
post-2005 France to take increased pride in their Muslim identity
through insistence on halal food (Hargreaves, 2015).
As argued previously, halal meat in non-Muslim majority markets
has the status of a specialty product, and there exists in these markets,
a significant segment of consumers who insist on consuming it and are
not willing to make compromises even in the face of severe limitations
in availability. Compared to other Muslim consumers in these markets
who, faced with challenges posed by the limited availability, are willing
to consume non-halal poultry and meat options as long as they are not
pork or contain pork ingredients, these consumers who insist on halal
will be more willing to exert extra effort to maintain their halal con-
sumption. Therefore, the hypothesis is:
H1: In non-Muslim majority markets, halal food search
effort is positively determined by consumers’ level of insist-
ence on halal food.
3.2 | Drivers of insistence on halal
3.2.1 | Degree of religiosity
This is conceptualized as the extent to which an individual is committed
to his/her religion. It reflects the degree to which beliefs in specific reli-
gious values and ideals are held and practiced by the individual
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(Swinyard et al., 2001, p. 17), or the centrality of religion in that per-
son’s life insofar as they direct the person’s daily actions (Heaven,
1990). A significant body of literature suggests that religiosity affects
consumer behaviour (Arli, Arli, Pekerti, & Pekerti, 2016; Bailey & Sood,
1993; Casidy, Phau, & Lwin, 2016; Cornwell et al., 2005; Choi, Kale, &
Shin, 2010; Kamarulzaman et al., 2016; Lindridge, 2005; Mathras,
Cohen, Mandel, & Mick, 2016; Rook, 1985; Sood & Nasu, 1995;
Stillman, Fincham, Vohs, Lambert, & Phillips, 2012) in general, and that
Islamic religiosity impacts halal food consumption (Abd Rahman et al.,
2015), especially in a non-Muslim majority market context (Bonne
et al., 2007; 2008). Thus, a deeply religious Muslim will strive to abide
by Islamic dietary requirements, and will insist on consuming halal even
under conditions of severe limitations in halal availability in a non-
Muslim majority market context. The hypothesis then is:
H2a: In non-Muslim majority markets, insistence on halal
food is positively determined by consumer’s degree of
religiosity.
Attitude towards halal food is defined as a consumer’s level of affect
(positive, negative, or neutral learned predisposition) towards halal food
following Eagly and Chaiken’s (1993) definition of attitude as general
and enduring positive or negative feelings (or learned dispositions)
about a person, object, or issue. As discussed earlier, brand insistence
theory posits that brand attitudes are an important determinant of
brand insistence. Therefore, attitude towards halal will be a major
driver of insistence on halal. Specifically, consumers with more positive
attitudes towards halal food consumption are also more likely to insist
on consuming halal food than those with less positive or negative atti-
tudes towards halal, leading to the following hypothesis:
H2b: In non-Muslim majority markets, insistence on halal
food is positively determined by consumers’ attitudes
toward halal food.
3.2.2 | Islamic self-identity
Drawing on Cleveland and Chang’s (2009) conceptualization of ethnic
identity as the incorporation of ethnicity into a person’s self-concept,
Islamic self-identity is defined as the incorporation of Islam into a per-
son’s self-concept. Cleveland and Chang (2009) suggest that ethnic
identity serves as a psychological locus of cultural effects, functioning
as a mediating, orienting and interpretive framework that systematically
biases how members of a given sociocultural group think, feel and act.
If this is true, then Islamic self-identity will similarly serve and function
as a framework biasing how individuals relate to the larger Islamic soci-
ocultural group of which they are a part. Accordingly, a consumer with
a high sense of Islamic self-identity will have a bias towards acting in
ways that are consistent with this larger Islamic sociocultural group of
which she or he is a part. If that community has a general tendency to
favour consuming halal food, then there is a higher likelihood that the
consumer will also insist on consuming halal food. Therefore, the
hypothesis is that:
MUMUNI ET AL.
H2c: In non-Muslim majority markets, insistence on halal
food is positively determined by consumers’ level of Islamic
self-identity.
3.3 | Drivers of attitude towards halal food
3.3.1 | Halal food knowledge
This construct speaks to the extent to which a consumer is familiar
with Islamic proclamations regarding requirements for food to be halal,
and, therefore, has sufficient knowledge to distinguish between halal
and haram food. Halal food knowledge is posited as a driver of attitude
towards halal for a number of reasons. First, according to the theory of
planned behaviour, beliefs (often grounded in knowledge) are a key
input to attitude formation. Therefore, attitudes towards halal food
should be strongly related to knowledge (beliefs) about halal food. Sec-
ond, in the broader consumer behaviour literature, product knowledge
has been shown to influence information search and processing
(Brucks, 1985) and ultimately product choice. Third, research suggests
that knowledge significantly impacts attitudes towards products like
organic foods (e.g., Aertsens, Mondelaers, Verbeke, Buysse, & Van
Huylenbroeck, 2011; Stobbelaar et al., 2007) and behaviours like die-
tary health prevention (Petrovici & Ritson, 2006) and breastfeeding
(Swanson, Power, Kaur, Carter, & Shepherd, 2006). Within the specific
realm of halal food, previous studies have also shown that halal food
knowledge positively impacts halal food purchase intentions even for
non-Muslim consumers (Abdul Aziz & Chok, 2013). Therefore, it is
expected that halal food knowledge will be strongly related to attitudes
towards halal, and the hypothesis then is:
H3a: In non-Muslim majority markets, attitudes toward
halal food are positively determined by consumers’ level of
halal food knowledge.
3.3.2 | Sense of islamic community
This addresses the convergence of an individual’s desire to belong to a
larger Islamic collective, and establish a mutually influential relationship
and emotional connection with that collective, following McMillan and
Chavis (1986) and McMillan (1996). A consumer with a high sense of
Islamic community will feel an emotional attachment to their local Mus-
lim community, actively participate in its activities, feel a strong bond
towards the community, and generally take pride in belonging to the
community. Given that food codes serve to bind groups together across
time and space (Durkheim, 1915/1965), and consumers tend to com-
municate their religious identities to third parties through consumption
choices (Coşgel & Minkler, 2004), it is likely that such a consumer will
have a strong positive attitude towards halal food consumption as a
mechanism for signalling affirmation of the broader moral codes of the
community (Rappaport, 1971), as well as internalizing this commitment
to the community (Sosis & Alcorta, 2003). We, therefore, expect that:
H3b: In non-Muslim majority markets, attitudes toward
halal food are positively determined by consumers’ sense
of Islamic community.
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4 | METHODOLOGY
Data for the empirical study were collected via a cross-sectional survey
conducted in the U.S. using a structured self-administered question-
naire. Both the offline and online versions of the questionnaire were
administered using a combination of convenience, purposeful and
snowball sampling techniques. In the offline administration, paper-and-
pencil questionnaires were distributed to respondents in cities with
sizeable Muslim populations in the state of Michigan. Researchers vis-
ited mosques and/or Islamic centrrs in these cities during Friday pray-
ers, sought permission from the relevant mosque/centre authorities
and distributed the questionnaires to respondents after the completion
the prayers. Many respondents completed and returned the question-
naires on the spot. Others chose to complete them at home and return
them to a sealed box left at the respective mosque/centre for later
retrieval by the researchers. The researchers requested these respond-
ents to take along additional questionnaires to distribute to friends and
acquaintances who did not attend prayer that day (the snowball com-
ponent of the offline administration). The online version was similarly
administered using convenience and snowball sampling methods. A
general Qualtrics reusable survey link was sent to friends and acquain-
tances of the authors with encouragement to forward the link to their
own friends and acquaintances.
The data collection process resulted in 387 usable completed
questionnaires (264 online and 123 offline responses). Pairwise com-
parison of responses to a random sample of questions in the study did
not show statistically significant differences in online and offline
responses, indicating that the two samples could be combined for the
hypotheses testing. Socio-demographic profile of the sample shows
that it is slightly skewed towards males (56.7%) and upper middle class
respondents (62.9% have annual household income above $75,000),
and heavily skewed towards married (81.9%) and highly educated
respondents (92.3% have at least some college education). Almost
three quarters of respondents are immigrants (born outside the U.S.
but now permanent residents or citizens).
4.1 | Measures
Halal food search effort was measured using a five-item scale that
included items such as ‘I am willing to drive extra miles to buy halal
food’ and ‘I check product labels to see if the ingredients are halal
before purchasing’. Insistence on halal was measured using a three-item
scale, and included items such as ‘I will never eat meat or chicken that
is not halal’ and ‘If halal meat or chicken is not available I choose sea-
food or vegetarian instead’. Measures for both constructs were devel-
oped for this study using acceptable measure development procedures
(Churchill, 1979) because no previous study has specifically examined
them for halal food.
Halal knowledge was measured using a three-item scale, two of
which were adopted from Salehudin (2010) and Ambali, Ahmad, and
Bakar (2014). Sample items in the scale are ‘I have enough knowledge
to differentiate between halal and non-halal food’ and ‘It is easy for me
to differentiate between halal and non-halal food’. Islamic self-identity
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was measured using a four-item scale adopted from Cleveland and
Chang (2009), and included items such as ‘It is important for me to
maintain an Islamic identity in this country’ and ‘I am proud to identify
with Islamic culture’. Degree of religiosity was similarly adopted from
Cleveland and Chang (2009), and consisted of a seven-item scale with
items such as ‘My relationship with God is important to me’ and ‘My
Islamic faith is very important to me’.
Sense of community was measured using an eight-item scale
adopted from Lambert and Hopkins (1995), and included items such as
‘I feel like part of family when I am with other Muslims’ and ‘I am proud
to let other Muslims know that I am a Muslim’. All the above measured
used a 5-point Likert disagree/agree scale with 1 5 strongly disagree
and 5 5 strongly agree. Only the endpoints of the scale were labelled.
Finally, Attitude toward halal was measured by asking respondents to
compare halal and non-halal meat on four dimensions using a 5-point
scale anchored only at the end-points with the phrases, with 1 5 Non-
halal is better and 5 5 Halal is better. This approach to measuring atti-
tudes towards halal is inspired by studies suggesting that halal food not
only has religious associations, but is often perceived to be healthier,
tastier and more hygienic by Muslims and non-Muslims alike (Ayyub,
2015; Regenstein et al., 2003). Measures of all study constructs are
shown in Appendix.
4.2 | Measure validation
Psychometric properties of the measures were assessed using confirm-
atory factor analysis conducted using LISREL 8.80 for Windows
(Joreskog & Sorbom, 2004) and maximum likelihood estimation. The
measurement model was fit to a covariance matrix of the observed var-
iables. Standardized factor loadings, t values and item reliabilities are
shown in Table 1, which also shows composite reliability (CR) and aver-
age variance extracted (AVE) for each scale, both computed using the
Fornell and Larcker (1981) criteria.
The overall model statistics show acceptable fit of the measure-
ment model to the data [e.g., v2(481 d.f.)) 5 910.49 (p < .001); Root
Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) 5 0.048; Goodness-of-
Fit Index (GFI) 5 0.88; Adjusted Goodness-of-Fit Index (AGFI) 5 0.85].
Furthermore, individual item reliabilities are all above 0.7, and standar-
dized factor loadings are all above the recommended level of 0.5
(Anderson & Gerbing, 1988), indicating that, for all items, more than
50% of the item’s variance is shared with its respective construct. Com-
posite reliabilities for all constructs are above the recommended 0.7
(Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010; Hulland, 1999), indicating
acceptable internal consistency reliability of the measures. Further-
more, average variance extracted for each construct is above 0.5, indi-
cating acceptable convergent validities (Barclay & Smith, 1997; Hair
et al., 2010).
Discriminant validity was assessed using the standard Fornell-
Larcker criterion. For any pair of constructs their average variances
extracted (AVEs) were compared to the square of their pairwise cor-
relation, and discriminant validity was indicated if the AVEs were
both higher than the squared correlation. Results of this test are
shown in Table 2, which also shows the raw interconstruct
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MUMUNI ET AL.

T AB LE 1 Results of confirmatory factor analysis of study constructs

Loadinga tb IRc

Attitude towards halal food (CR 5 0.87, AVE 5 0.63)d

Q16d Humanely processed 0.81 – 0.88
Q16e Hygienically processed 0.74 14.23 0.80
Q16f How healthy it is 0.85 13.04 0.93
Q16g Taste 0.78 11.42 0.85

Halal food knowledge (CR 5 0.86, AVE 5 0.67)

Q17b I have enough knowledge to differentiate between halal and non-halal food 0.88 – 0.95
Q17c I have access to good information about halal and non-halal food 0.78 16.47 0.85
Q17d It is easy for me to differentiate between halal and non-halal food 0.80 16.81 0.86

Insistence on halal food (CR 5 0.86, AVE 5 0.67)

Q18a I will never eat meat or chicken that is not halal 0.88 – 0.95
Q18c I will not buy a food product if my peers or family have doubts about whether it is halal 0.70 16.09 0.73
Q18e If halal meat is not available, I will choose seafood or vegetarian instead 0.87 23.39 0.94

Halal food search effort (CR 5 0.93, AVE 5 0.66)

Q18f I check product labels to see if all ingredients are halal before purchasing 0.79 20.66 0.86
Q18g I check to see if meat or chicken is halal before eating it 0.91 – 0.97
Q18h I check if a restaurant serves halal food before I eat there 0.87 30.04 0.94
Q18i I am willing to drive extra miles to buy halal food 0.79 20.87 0.86
Q18j I am willing to pay more for food that has been certified as halal 0.76 19.48 0.82

Islamic self-identity (CR 5 0.91, AVE 5 0.71)

Q19a It is important for me to maintain an Islamic identity in this country 0.79 22.23 0.86
Q19b I am proud to identify with Islamic culture 0.73 18.34 0.78
Q19c It is important for me to remain close to the Islamic way of life in this country 0.91 – 0.97
Q19d I believe that it is important for Muslim children to learn the values of the Islamic way of life 0.93 24.43 0.98

Degree of religiosity (CR 5 0.96, AVE 5 0.80)

Q20a My relationship with God is important to me 0.79 23.50 0.86
Q20b My Islamic faith is very important to me 0.93 50.13 0.98
Q20c My Islamic faith provides meaning and purpose to my life 0.97 – 0.99
Q20d My Islamic faith is a source of comfort to me 0.91 36.79 0.97
Q20e My Islamic faith is a source of inspiration to me 0.95 46.79 0.99
Q20f My Islamic faith impacts many of my decisions 0.92 39.06 0.98
Q20h I consider myself active in my Islamic faith 0.75 20.53 0.82

Sense of Islamic community (CR 5 0.95, AVE 5 0.70)

Q21a I feel like part of family when I am with other Muslims 0.80 20.67 0.87
Q21b I am proud to let other Muslims know that I am a Muslim 0.76 18.97 0.82
Q21c I feel emotionally attached to other Muslims in my community 0.77 19.51 0.83
Q21d I feel that problems faced by Muslims in my community are also my problems 0.75 19.07 0.81
Q21e I value belonging to a Muslim community that really cares about its members 0.91 – 0.97
Q21f I value belonging to a Muslim community that is willing to helps its members 0.92 31.41 0.98
Q21g I value belonging to a Muslim community that takes pride in its members’ accomplishments 0.93 29.49 0.98
Q21h I support initiatives by my Islamic community that benefit the wider community 0.84 24.06 0.92

Notes.
a
Parameters of completely standardized solution.
b
All t values are significant at p < .01.
c
IR 5 Item Reliability.
P P P P P P
d
Composite reliability (CR) 5 ( kyi)2/[( kyi)2 1 var(Ei)] where var(Ei) 5 1 – kyi2; Average variance extracted (AVE) 5 kyi2/[ kyi2 1 var(Ei)] where
var(Ei) 5 1 – kyi2 [Fornell & Larcker, 1981]. CRs and AVEs are computed using parameters of the completely standardized solution.
Model Fit Statistics: Chi-Square (477 df) 5 894.67; RMSEA 5 0.048; NFI 5 0.98; NNFI 5 0.99; CFI 5 0.99; IFI 5 0.99; RFI 5 0.98; RMR 5 0.045;
SRMR 5 0.048; GFI 5 0.88; AGFI 5 0.85; PGFI 5 0.71.

correlations. The results provide evidence in support of discriminant 5 | RESULTS

validity for all but two of the 21 construct pairs. The only two pairs
for which discriminant are not supported are the insistence-effort
construct pair and the self-identity-religiosity pair, although for the
latter one of the AVEs (that for religiosity) is higher than the squared
correlation.
5.1 | Descriptive statistics
Means, standard deviations and a correlation matrix of the constructs
are shown in Table 3. Religiosity and Islamic self-identity have the high-
est means while halal search effort and insistence on halal have
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T AB LE 2 Discriminant validity test results 5.2 | Hypotheses testing

Construct Pair r r2 AVE1 AVE2 DV? The study hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling
Attitude - Insistence 0.50 0.25 0.63 0.67 Yes (SEM) with LISREL 8.80 for Windows (Joreskog & Sorbom, 2004) and

Attitude - Effort 0.59 0.35 0.63 0.66 Yes maximum likelihood estimation by adding structural paths to the mea-
surement model. The results are in Figure 2.
Attitude - Knowledge 0.31 0.10 0.63 0.67 Yes
The overall model fit statistics show acceptable fit of the structural
Attitude - Identity 0.48 0.23 0.63 0.71 Yes model to the data [e.g., v2(486 d.f.)) 5 983.41 (p < .001); RMSEA 5 0.050;
Attitude - Religiosity 0.48 0.23 0.63 0.80 Yes GFI 5 0.87; AGFI 5 0.84]. Furthermore, the path coefficients indicate

Attitude - Community 0.40 0.16 0.63 0.70 Yes support for the study hypotheses. Specifically, hypothesis 1 posited a
positive relationship between consumers’ halal food search efforts
Insistence - Effort 0.97 0.94 0.67 0.66 No
(effort) and insistence on halal food (insistence). The path coefficient
Insistence - Knowledge 0.21 0.04 0.67 0.67 Yes
between the two constructs is positive (b 5 0.98) and strong
Insistence - Identity 0.51 0.26 0.67 0.71 Yes (t 5 23.32; p < .01), with 96% of variance in effort explained by insist-
Insistence - Religiosity 0.50 0.25 0.67 0.80 Yes ence. Thus the data provides support for hypothesis 1.
Hypotheses 2a–2c posit positive relationships between insistence
Insistence - Community 0.38 0.14 0.67 0.70 Yes
and each of its three determinants—attitudes towards halal food (atti-
Effort - Knowledge 0.23 0.05 0.66 0.67 Yes
tudes), degree of religiosity (religiosity) and Islamic self-identity (self-iden-
Effort - Identity 0.53 0.28 0.66 0.71 Yes tity). Figure 2 shows positive and statistically significant path coefficients
Effort - Religiosity 0.52 0.27 0.66 0.80 Yes between insistence and attitude (b 5 0.38; t 5 6.79; p < .05), and
between self-identity and attitude (b 5 0.20; t 5 2.03; p < .05). However,
Effort - Community 0.39 0.15 0.66 0.70 Yes
the path coefficient between religiosity and attitude, although in the pre-
Knowledge - Identity 0.33 0.11 0.67 0.71 Yes
dicted positive direction, is only marginally significant (b 5 0.19; t 5 1.98;
Knowledge - Religiosity 0.27 0.07 0.67 0.80 Yes p 5 .05). Thus hypotheses 2a and 2b are strongly supported by the data
Knowledge - Community 0.22 0.05 0.67 0.70 Yes while support for hypothesis 2c is weaker.
Finally hypotheses 3a and 3b posit that consumers’ attitude
Identity - Religiosity 0.86 0.74 0.71 0.80 No
towards halal food (attitude) is positively determined by their level of
Identity - Community 0.69 0.48 0.71 0.70 Yes
halal knowledge (knowledge) and sense of community (community).
Religiosity - Community 0.62 0.38 0.80 0.70 Yes The results in Figure 2 show significantly positive path coefficients
Notes. between knowledge and attitude (b 5 0.24; t 5 4.23; p < .05) and
r2 5 Square of correlation between constructs in the pair. between community and attitude (b 5 0.36; t 5 6.56; p < .05). Thus,
AVEi 5 Average variance extracted for construct i in the construct pair.
the hypotheses are both supported by the data.
DV? 5 Discriminant validity established?.

6 | DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

relatively lower means and larger standard deviations. This suggests
that, while respondents are generally united in seeing themselves as
religious and self-identify with Islam, they nevertheless exhibit rela-
tively greater variation in the extent to which they insist on halal and
the level of their halal search efforts, making it worthwhile to seek an
explanation for this variance.
The goal of this research was to examine drivers of halal food search
efforts in non-Muslim majority markets where, due to relatively under-
developed halal food segments, consumers face significant challenges
in obtaining halal options. The research drew on consumer goods clas-
sification theory, goal-effort theory and the theory of planned

T AB LE 3 Descriptive statistics and correlation matrix of latent variables

Mean SD Attitude Insistence Effort Knowledge Identity Religiosity

Attitude 4.11 0.94 1.00

Insistence 3.68 1.19 0.50 1.00

Effort 3.90 1.08 0.59 0.97 1.00

Knowledge 4.09 0.85 0.31 0.21 0.23 1.00

Identity 4.54 0.69 0.48 0.51 0.53 0.33 1.00

Religiosity 4.62 0.67 0.48 0.50 0.52 0.27 0.86 1.00

Community 4.27 0.73 0.40 0.38 0.39 0.22 0.69 0.62

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Degree of
religiosity
Halal food β = 0.24
knowledge (t=4.23*)
Attitude
toward halal
food
Sense of β = 0.36
Islamic (t=6.56**)
community
Islamic self-
identity
FIGURE 2 Parameter estimates for structural model
Notes: 1) Betas are from the completely standardized solution. 2) ** p < .01; *p < .05.
3) Model Fit Statistics: Chi-Square (486 df) 5 983.41; RMSEA 5 0.050; NFI 5 0.98; NNFI 5 0.99; CFI 5 0.99; IFI 5 0.99; RFI 5 0.97;
RMR 5 0.062; SRMR 5 0.067; GFI 5 0.87; AGFI 5 0.84; PGFI 5 0.71.
4) Squared multiple correlations for structural equations: Attitude 5 0.22; Insistence 5 0.37; Effort 5 0.96
behaviour to develop and empirically test a conceptual model relating
halal food search efforts to its various hypothesized drivers. The results
show a strong positive relationship between halal food search effort
and consumers’ level of insistence on halal. In turn, religiosity, attitudes
towards halal, and Islamic self-identity are strong predictors of halal
insistence, and halal food knowledge and sense of Islamic community
are strong drivers of attitude towards halal. A number of theoretical
and practical implications can be drawn from the results.
An important theoretical contribution of this research is the intro-
duction of search effort as a useful construct in the study of consum-
ers’ halal food search behaviour in non-Muslim majority markets. This
construct can serve as a strong proxy for, or indicator of, loyalty and
commitment to halal food, and can be used as a segmentation variable
to better understand halal consumers in these markets. Researchers
and food manufacturers can then use this as a basis for tracking these
consumers’ sensitivity to halal food issues in these markets.
The finding that both halal food knowledge and sense of commu-
nity positively impact consumers’ attitudes towards halal food has man-
agerial implications for marketing halal products in non-Muslim
majority markets. Specifically, food companies interested in cultivating
halal-insisting buyers may have better success in doing so by focusing
on increasing buyer attitudes towards halal through dissemination of
meaningful knowledge about halal meat production, processing, and
handling processes in general, and how these apply to their specific
offerings. This will serve a dual purpose of both educating consumers
about halal requirements, and making them aware of the halal attrib-
utes of their own offerings. This is particularly likely to be effective if
independent, authentic, and credible sources are used to convey this
information. Furthermore, the positive impact of sense of community
on attitudes towards halal suggests that halal food companies that con-
nect and work with Muslim communities may be more effective in cul-
tivating halal food insisters among these consumers. In this regard, it is
noteworthy that the top three factor loadings for the sense of commu-
nity construct were pride in community member’s accomplishments,
valuing a community that helps its members, and belonging to a com-
munity that cares about its members. These points to the possibility
that attitudes towards halal food can be enhanced through proactive
MUMUNI ET AL.
β = 0.19
(t=1.98*)
β = 0.98
β = 0.38
(t=6.79**) (t=23.32**)
Insistence on Halal food
halal food search effort
β = 0.20
(t=2.03*)
efforts and sponsorships of community events that support and/or
contribute to community pride, help and care.
Although this study was conducted in a non-Muslim majority con-
text, the findings also have implications for Muslim majority countries
with significant minority religious populations and a blend of secular and
Islamic legal codes, such as Malaysia and Indonesia. In these countries,
consumers’ concerns about authenticity of halal products are on the rise
(Zakaria, 2008). Accordingly, even though Malaysia is a Muslim majority
country, trust and confidence in halal labelling is a key attribute in
Malaysian Muslim’s product choices (Abdul, Ismail, Hashim, & Johari,
2009). Therefore, this study and the model developed could have rele-
vance for understanding these consumers’ halal search efforts.
The construct of search effort is also useful for understanding con-
sumption behaviour for other religion-oriented foods. The model devel-
oped and tested in this study can be applied to explain food search
efforts of adherents of other religions with specific dietary require-
ments in environments where they are religious minorities, for example,
Jews and Hindus in the U.S. and Europe. Figure 1 can be adapted to
obtain a generalized model for studying religion-oriented food search
efforts of these populations. Such a model would indicate a strong pos-
itive relationship between insistence on consuming religion-sanctioned
food and willingness to exert extra effort towards seeking religiously
sanctioned food. In turn, level of insistence on consuming religion-
sanctioned food would be related to degree of religiosity, attitude
towards religion-sanctioned food and religious self-identity. Further,
attitude towards religiously sanctioned food would be positively related
to perceived knowledge of religion-related dietary requirements and
sense of religious community.
At a more general level the model can be adapted to explain other
religiously sanctioned or motivated product choices or behaviours. In this
case, a strong positive relationship is expected between insistence on
engaging in religiously motivated behaviour and willingness to exert extra
effort towards that behaviour. In turn, level of insistence on the behaviour
is expected to be related to degree of religiosity, attitude towards the
behaviour and religious self-identity. Further, attitude towards the behav-
iour is expected to positively relate to perceived knowledge of the specific
religion-related practice and the consumer’s sense of religious community.
MUMUNI ET AL.
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7 | LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR
FUTURE RESEARCH
The theoretical and managerial implications of this study have to be
applied with an understanding that, like all studies, this study has some
limitations. First, the model is tested with data from one non-Muslim
majority country, so care should be taken in extrapolating the results to
other non-Muslim majority countries. Nevertheless, this creates an
opportunity for future research involving the collection of data from
other non-Muslim majority countries with diverse religious majorities,
such as the U.K., France (Christian majority), India (Hindu majority),
China, Japan, and so forth to explore generalizability of the model and
empirical results across multiple contexts. It will particularly be desirable
to collect data from countries with diverse majority religions (such as
Hindu in India) to examine if the model can be extended not only to
other non-Muslim majority contexts, but also to other majority religious
contexts in which Muslims are a minority. Such studies, in which a com-
mon construct is applied to explain food choices of an array of religious
minority communities, can be valuable in building a meta-theory of
religious-oriented consumption that transcends religions.
Second, there is the possibility that the results could be influenced by
the use of a convenience sample. In particular, because a large portion of
the data were collected in mosques, the sample could be biased towards
mostly religious respondents who tend to insist on halal and are willing to
exert effort searching for halal food in their daily diet. The high mean
score for religiosity (4.62 in Table 3) lends some support for this possibil-
ity. However, we also have evidence showing that close to 50% of the
respondents can be considered ‘moderate’ in their views about halal. In
the questionnaire we asked respondents to indicate which of three state-
ments best describes their opinion about what constitutes halal meat.
While a little over half (52.8%) believe that it includes only zabihah (meat
that is slaughtered only according to Islamic rites), 25.2% believe halal
also includes Kosher (from the Jews) and 22.0% believe it also includes
meat from other people of the book (i.e., Christians). Nevertheless we are
confident that the model would still be valid if the sample also comprised
more moderate Muslims and encourage future researchers to test the
model on a more inclusive sample than we have managed to obtain.
Third, this study focused on a subset of factors from the multitude of
potential drivers of halal food search efforts. Other factors could also have
been considered, such as trust, moral obligation, involvement or values.
Clearly, the present results are limited to the set of factors included, and
future research could explore the relevance of other factors in driving con-
sumers’ halal food search efforts in these markets. Finally, although the
best possible care was taken in deriving the constructs and adapting meas-
ures from the literature, discriminant validity could not be established
between Islamic self-identity and religiosity on one hand, and between
insistence on halal and halal search efforts on the other. In the case of self-
identity and religiosity, these are joint drivers of insistence on halal, and
raise the possibility that multicollinearity may have resulted in biased esti-
mates of their path coefficients. Nevertheless, this does not fundamentally
affect the overall conclusion that the two factors, along with attitudes
towards halal, positively impact insistence on halal. In the case of halal
insistence and halal search effort, the lack of discriminant validity suggests
| 595
three possibilities—the two are not distinct constructs, their measures did
not adequately tap into their construct domains, or they are distinct con-
structs, but their relationship is so strong that it is difficult to discriminate
between them using the Fornell and Larcker (1981) criteria. This article is
of the view that they are distinct constructs, and, therefore, chose to main-
tain the distinction in the model testing. Future research could consider
revisiting the conceptualizations and measures of the constructs.
ORC ID
Alhassan G. Mumuni http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9700-6286
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How to cite this article: Mumuni AG, Veeck A, Luqmani M, Qur-
aeshi ZA, Kamarulzaman Y. Religious identity, community and
religious minorities’ search efforts for religiously sanctioned food:
The case of halal food in non-Muslim majority markets. Int J Con-
sum Stud. 2018;42:586–598. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12423

A P P EN D I X : CO N STR U C TS , M EA S U R ES A N D SOU RC E S

Construct and measures Measure source

Attitude towards halal food**

Q16d Humanely processed Authors
Q16e Hygienically processed Authors
Q16f How healthy it is Authors
Q16g Taste Authors

Halal food knowledge

Q17b I have enough knowledge to differentiate between halal and non-halal food Salehudin (2010); Ambali et al. (2014)
Q17c I have access to good information about halal and non-halal food Authors
Q17d It is easy for me to differentiate between halal and non-halal food Salehudin (2010); Ambali et al. (2014)

Insistence on halal Food

Q18a I will never eat meat or chicken that is not halal Authors
Q18c I will not buy a food product if my peers or family have doubts about whether it is halal Authors
Q18e If halal meat is not available, I will choose seafood or vegetarian instead Authors

Halal food search effort

Q18f I check product labels to see if all ingredients are halal before purchasing Authors
Q18g I check to see if meat or chicken is halal before eating it Authors
Q18h I check if a restaurant serves halal food before I eat there Authors
Q18i I am willing to drive extra miles to buy halal food Authors
Q18j I am willing to pay more for food that has been certified as halal Authors

Islamic self-identity
Q19a It is important for me to maintain an Islamic identity in this country Cleveland and Chang (2009)
Q19b I am proud to identify with Islamic culture Cleveland and Chang (2009)
Q19c It is important for me to remain close to the Islamic way of life in this country Cleveland and Chang (2009)
Q19d I believe that it is important for Muslim children to learn the values of Cleveland and Chang (2009)
the Islamic way of life
(Continues)
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Appendix (Continued)

Construct and measures Measure source

Degree of religiosity
Q20a My relationship with God is important to me Cleveland and Chang (2009)
Q20b My Islamic faith is very important to me Cleveland and Chang (2009)
Q20c My Islamic faith provides meaning and purpose to my life Cleveland and Chang (2009)
Q20d My Islamic faith is a source of comfort to me Cleveland and Chang (2009)
Q20e My Islamic faith is a source of inspiration to me Cleveland and Chang (2009)
Q20f My Islamic faith impacts many of my decisions Cleveland and Chang (2009)
Q20h I consider myself active in my Islamic faith Cleveland and Chang (2009)

Sense of community
Q21a I feel like part of family when I am with other Muslims Lambert and Hopkins (1995)
Q21b I am proud to let other Muslims know that I am a Muslim Lambert and Hopkins (1995)
Q21c I feel emotionally attached to other Muslims in my community Lambert and Hopkins (1995)
Q21d I feel that problems faced by Muslims in my community are also my problems Lambert and Hopkins (1995)
Q21e I value belonging to a Muslim community that really cares about its members Lambert and Hopkins (1995)
Q21f I value belonging to a Muslim community that is willing to helps its members Lambert and Hopkins (1995)
Q21g I value belonging to a Muslim community that takes pride in its members’ accomplishments Lambert and Hopkins (1995)
Q21h I support initiatives by my Islamic community that benefit the wider community Authors

Notes.
**For attitude towards halal, respondents compared halal to non-halal food on the listed dimensions using a 5-point scale: 1 5 Non-halal is much better;
5 5 Halal is much better.
For all other constructs responses are on a 5-point agree/disagree scale: 1 5 Strongly disagree; 5 5 Strongly agree.
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