MIHAS began with an international campaign calling certified Halal manufacturers and service providers to participate and experience the first international Halal trade exhibition being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Now it is poised to become the number one Halal trade show in the world.
The Malaysia International Halal Showcase- MIHAS is a joint project with the Islamic Dakwah Foundation Malaysia (YADIM), a non-profit organization directly answerable to Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, as part of its contribution to promote the Malaysian halal hub.
The MIHAS promotional campaign were carried out in over ten cities, namely Beijing and Zhengzhou, china; Dubai, UAE; London, Uk; Cologne and Paris, France; Lahore, Pakistan; Bandung and Jakarta, Indonesia; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Brussels, Belgium; Bangkok, Thailand; and the Philippines. During this campaign, as a show of confidence in the promotion of Malaysia’s Halal industry to the world, Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi visited China on 16 September 2003, and witnessed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony between MIHAS 2004 and its sister exhibition, Zhengzhou Islamic Foodstuff Trade Fair.
Themed Window to the Global halal Network, MIHAS 2004 aims to create a marketplace for Halal products for participants involved in the Halal industry, which is an essential forum for those wanting to conduct Halal transactions within the Muslim world. This will enable them to showcase their services and products that have the same unifying label, that they are Halal, making them permissible for all Muslims globally. Alternatively, it resolves to ease the marketing and sourcing of these Halal products and services for direct manufacturers, buyers, agents, investors and international business communities, by enabling them to meet and view products at this venue.
An International Trade and Business matching facility offered at the Exhibition will serve as a continuous online Halal Marketplace facilitating those involved in the Halal industry to showcase their services and products globally throughout the year. This primary service will be offered fee of charge for those wanting to register. They can include photos and descriptions of their products, company profile, pricing, and anything else they might think appropriate to promote their product. The marketplace was always made free to the Muslims and this is no exception with the Trade and Business matching online facility offered by MIHAS. The minimal charge made to exhibitors who are participating in the event is to cover the basic running costs of their stands and the storage charges for leaving their goods at their booth during the Exhibition, which is included under the terms of an Islamic marketplace.
The MIHAS online Trade and Business Matching site will simplify the marketing and sourcing of Halal products and services for direct manufacturers, buyers, agents, and investors during the year between the annual MIHAS exhibitions. It will provide an invaluable database internationally for those wanting access to these products without having the drawbacks of local language and distances as a barrier to finding them.
Another goal of MIHAS is to collaborate with a participating network of Muslim scholars, Halal certification authorities, academicians, economists, government officials and business people to aid in the development of various sectors of the Halal industry, namely, food & beverage, everyday products, financial products, and capital market and investment products. While working together with these individuals, the monthly Halal Trade Journal will provide the up to date interviews, stories and facts about the Halal industry for the industry. The launch of this Halal Trade Journal at the MIHAS Exhibition on the 14th August 2004 will include promotional offers for subscriptions in this MIHAS Special Edition.
In addition, MIHAS provides answer to the problem in Islamic trade governance where Islamic products confront difficulty in penetrating the global market as a result of every country running its own show in promoting Halal products and services. MIHAS is offering reliable network of entrepreneurs who are devoted to supplying the Halal products to the Muslims in the world. Skeptics may consider MIHAS as a strictly Muslim based service. However, this claim is without credibility as MIHAS is concerned with Halal products and services from all manufactures and service providers. The criterion is just that the end product is Halal and, when possible, certified Halal.
Also being held during the MIHAS exhibition will be VIRTUE-IMAGINE, an International Islamic Fashion Show, held by KasehDia Sdn Bhd which is making its stylish debut at MIHAS. It will be bringing together for the first time top Malaysian and Indonesian designers to show their new and original international designs for fashions in line with Islamic virtue. This trend setting, show puts Islamic fashion on the catwalks for the world to see. No longer hidden behind the veil, the Muslim woman can be remarkably fashionable while maintaining her modesty. This is just the preliminary to what will become an international event including designers from many more countries.
MIHAS will continue throughout the year with its overseas promotion to draw in quality participants and visitors from around the world to take advantage of the benefits that MIHAS has to offer. Worldwide, few attempts have been made to invest in and promote the entire Halal market from consumables to investment and financial services. Fewer still are the annual trade fairs that embrace the concept of Halal in its entirety. MIHAS is the first of its kind, and the response has been enthusiastic, with the acknowledgement of the need for this type of marketplace unanimous. The possibilities are endless.
The coming together of Muslims in trade and economy dates back to the first community of Muslims. Developing a marketplace, which will empower Muslim consumers to demand Halal products and services is a fulfillment of Islamic social responsibility, and MIHAS is an ideal venue for the execution of this obligation. There are in the region of 1.5 billion Muslims in the world today, and Islam is recognized to be growing at about 3% annually, faster than the total world population growth of about 2.3% annually. For Halal businesses with a vision, this is a large population of consumers to market their goods. Undoubtedly, Halal is a lucrative industry to venture into and MIHAS is the gateway to it.
**This article was first published in The Halal Journal Pilot Issue (August 2004).