IFANCA’s long-standing commitment to advancing food science reflects how halal principles can evolve alongside new technologies and innovations. Its mission at IFT FIRST is to raise awareness of halal within the food industry and to show how it supports manufacturers, researchers, and food professionals meeting the needs of a diverse global marketplace. For IFANCA, food science and halal, go hand in hand, building innovation, quality, safety, and inclusivity into the foods people produce and eat.
IFANCA staff talking with attendees at IFT.
A meeting in Bangkok
IFANCA’s presence in the global marketplace extends well past American trade floors. IFANCA's team traveled to Grand Halal Bangkok 2026, held July 15 to 17 at BITEC in Bangkok. This event was built around the idea of a halal-certified way of life spanning food and beverages, fashion, tourism, and health and beauty, and aimed at the SME entrepreneurs and international buyers doing business in the halal economy.
Thailand is an unlikely halal powerhouse. Muslims make up less than six percent of the population in a predominantly Buddhist country, yet Thailand is the world's fifth-largest halal food producer and its eleventh-largest halal exporter, shipping more than $10 billion worth of halal food in 2024 alone. As of 2023, more than 160,000 products across 33,000 brands and 14,000 companies carried Thai halal certification. In early 2024, the Thai government established a National Halal Industry Committee and a Thai Halal Industry Centre, part of a five-year plan aimed at making Thailand the halal hub of ASEAN.
That certification runs through one gatekeeper: CICOT, the Central Islamic Council of Thailand, which operates the country's primary halal certification system and coordinates its standards with certifying bodies in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, and Indonesia. At the Bangkok expo, IFANCA's team met with key leadership within the CICOT organization, highlighting the importance of collaboration and continued advancement within the global halal industry.
Investing in the next generation.
Dr. Saeed Hayek and IFANCA staff at Bangkok halal.
IFANCA's commitment to developing the future of the halal industry is complemented by an investment closer to home, through the food scientists who will carry halal expertise forward. In May 2026, the Chicagoland Food Science Foundation (CFSF) awarded its $5,000 undergraduate award, formally named the IFANCA Scholarship, to Jana Jabi. IFANCA was recognized as the scholarship's sponsor on the CFSF website and in an eBlast reaching more than 12,000 food and beverage professionals.
Jana Jabi, current award recipient.
The award is now in its third year. Sarah Batka received it in 2024 and Yusra Ansari in 2025, making Jana Jabi the third student IFANCA has funded through the Foundation.
Yusra Ansari, 2025 award recipient.
Sarah Batka, 2024 award recipient.
The partnership reflects IFANCA's commitment to investing in the next generation of food scientists and advancing the future of the food industry. By supporting aspiring professionals in food safety, quality assurance, research, and innovation, the organization is reinforcing its mission of promoting education, professional development, and leadership across the halal and broader food science sectors. CFSF and IFANCA are committed to working together to support and advance food science.
A campus dining hall, a four-decade trade show booth, a meeting with Thailand's halal authority, and three years of scholarships. Four different rooms, the same organization building the infrastructure to be in all of them.
5. Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco Capacity: 105,000 | Built: 1413 AH / 1993 CE
Completed on 30 August 1993, the Hassan II Mosque has a capacity of 105,000 worshippers and a minaret rising 210 metres — among the tallest in the world and long described as the tallest. Roughly half the structure is built over the Atlantic Ocean, inspired by the Quranic verse stating that God’s throne is upon the water. Over 10,000 Moroccan artisans were involved in its construction, producing zellige tilework, carved cedarwood ceilings and marble floors of exceptional quality. It is the only major mosque in Morocco routinely open to non‑Muslim visitors.
6. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE Capacity: over 41,000 | Built: 1428 AH / 2007 CE
Constructed between 1996 and 2007, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque features 82 domes and accommodates over 41,000 worshippers across indoor and outdoor prayer areas. Building materials were sourced from more than a dozen countries including Morocco, Turkey, Greece, Pakistan, Italy and India, making it a physical anthology of Islamic craft traditions. The mosque contains the world’s largest hand‑knotted carpet, and its exterior white marble turns a luminous pink at sunset — making it one of the most photographed religious buildings on earth.
7. Faisal Mosque, Islamabad, Pakistan Capacity: up to 300,000 (grounds); main areas well over 70,000 | Built: 1406 AH / 1986 CE
Designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay and funded by Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal, Islamabad’s national mosque broke entirely with the domed tradition, instead taking the form of a vast desert tent flanked by four slender minarets. Its main prayer areas accommodate well over 70,000, with total grounds capacity up to 300,000 worshippers. Nestled against the Margalla Hills, it served as the world’s largest mosque from its completion until 1993, and remains one of the most architecturally original mosques of the twentieth century.
8. Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali Capacity: ~3,000 | Established: 7th century AH / 13th century CE; rebuilt 1325 AH / 1907 CE
The largest mudbrick structure on earth and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, the Great Mosque of Djenné in central Mali represents a building tradition — the Sudano‑Sahelian style — found nowhere else in the world. Its annual community replastering festival, in which the entire town gathers to maintain the mosque’s mud walls, has been practised for centuries and remains one of the most extraordinary expressions of collective religious stewardship anywhere. Capacity is modest, but its architectural and historical standing is unmatched in sub‑Saharan Africa.
9. Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque), Istanbul, Türkiye Capacity: ~10,000 | Built: 1025 AH / 1616 CE
Commissioned by Sultan Ahmed I and completed in 1616, the Blue Mosque takes its popular name from the 20,000 hand‑painted Iznik tiles lining its interior — a cobalt‑and‑white scheme that remains among the most admired interiors in Islamic architecture. One of only a handful of Ottoman mosques built with six minarets, it sits opposite the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It receives an estimated 3.7 million visitors annually, making it one of the most visited mosques in the world.
10. Badshahi Mosque, Lahore, Pakistan Capacity: up to 100,000 (courtyard) | Built: 1084 AH / 1673 CE
Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and completed in 1673, the Badshahi Mosque was, for over three centuries (1673–1986), the largest mosque in the world. Its grounds accommodate up to 100,000 worshippers within a vast red sandstone courtyard framed by four octagonal minarets. One of the finest surviving examples of Mughal architecture, it faces Lahore Fort across a shared garden — together forming one of the most coherent ensembles of Islamic monumental architecture outside the Arabian Peninsula.
Notable omission: Jama Masjid, Delhi, India Capacity: 85,000 | Built 1066 AH / 1656 CE
Commissioned by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and completed in 1656, Jama Masjid is the largest mosque in India and one of the subcontinent's finest examples of Mughal architecture, combining red sandstone and white marble in the tradition that also produced the Taj Mahal. Its courtyard can accommodate up to 85,000 worshippers, and it remains the principal Friday mosque of Old Delhi, drawing both worshippers and visitors in significant numbers.
Jama Masjid narrowly missed the top 10 on two grounds: its capacity falls below that of several entries on this list, and, with Faisal Mosque and Badshahi Mosque already representing South Asia's Mughal architectural tradition, the geographic diversity criterion worked against its inclusion. On historical significance and architectural distinction alone, it would rank comfortably within the ten.
Methodology
Each mosque was scored out of 100 across four equally weighted criteria. Worshipper capacity (25 points) uses verified figures from official sources and Wikipedia’s List of Largest Mosques, scaled proportionally against the largest recorded capacity globally. Historical and religious significance (25 points) assesses age, role in Islamic history, and status as a site of pilgrimage, scholarship, or doctrinal importance. Architectural distinction (25 points) reflects recognised engineering innovation, craftsmanship, or landmark status as cited by architectural bodies and scholarly literature.
Global reach and cultural influence (25 points) draws on documented visitor figures, international recognition, and the mosque's role as a national symbol, interfaith centre, or global pilgrimage destination.
Where two mosques scored equally, preference was given to the entry from an underrepresented region, to ensure the listing reflects the geographic breadth of the Muslim world. Historical and architectural assessments draw on UNESCO World Heritage designations, Encyclopaedia Britannica, and peer‑reviewed architectural literature.
Blockchain can record that a slaughter occurred at a specific time and place, but it cannot independently verify that the slaughterer invoked Bismillah, that the animal was healthy, or that the cut was made according to Islamic ritual requirements. These require human attestation or IoT sensors, which reintroduce the very trust vulnerabilities blockchain was meant to eliminate.
Whose ledger, whose standard?
The second problem is who writes the rules that the ledger enforces. Halal certification is not one global standard. Multiple authorities—JAKIM (Malaysia), MUI (Indonesia), ESMA (UAE), GCC Standardization Organization, HFA (UK), IFANCA (US), and dozens of national bodies—maintain distinct definitions of halal compliance.
These differences are not trivial. They include:
Animal stunning: Some jurisdictions permit reversible stunning before slaughter; others prohibit any form of pre-slaughter incapacitation.
Mechanical slaughter: Automated slaughter lines are accepted in some countries but rejected in others, requiring manual slaughter by a Muslim.
Additive thresholds: Allowable alcohol content in flavorings or processing aids varies by authority.
Slaughterer validation: Requirements for verifying the religious identity and training of the person performing the slaughter vary by region.
The United States alone relies on competing certifiers, including IFANCA and the Halal Food Standards Alliance of America, rather than the centralized system Malaysia runs through JAKIM. Even Australia, a major halal meat exporter, has multiple certifying bodies creating inconsistency across its halal certification system, with only a subset recognized in every export market.
Who actually wants full traceability?
Dr. Farrukh Habib has seen this problem from the inside. As Shariah scholar and fintech expert with over 14 years of experience, he is the founder of Azka Advisors (UK) and co-founder of Alif Technologies (Dubai), he advised a blockchain-based halal meat traceability project in 2016 and 2017. "The idea was to provide a transparent and trustworthy system with full traceability from farm to table," he says. The system tracked each animal's vitals over its lifetime, including temperature, heartbeat, vaccination history, geolocation, and step count, paired with IoT-recorded video of the halal slaughter itself, all the way through to the supermarket shelf.
The system existed and worked. Neither cost or the regulatory barrier, in his account, was what stood in the way.
"The real resistance is elsewhere, on both ends of the chain," Habib says. Suppliers, in his view, have the clearest incentive to hold back. "Suppliers see it as unwanted exposure," he says. "Full traceability means surrendering visibility and leverage to the consumer. Many prefer the current system: meet the bare minimum for the halal stamp, satisfy the regulator, and let that satisfy the consumer too."
Consumers are not a unified demand base either. "Consumers are split," Habib says. "Some actively want this data and see it as necessary. Others see it as overreach; they trust the current halal stamp and see that as sufficient for their religious obligation." He attributes the split less to geography than to awareness: "This split tracks regional differences, but the bigger driver is awareness: not just of the fiqh of halal among common Muslim consumers, but of how the halal certification system actually works in practice, and where its gaps are."
Emerging solutions and pilot programs
Despite these challenges, several initiatives are making progress:
JAKIM (Malaysia) announced in 2025 collaborations on AI and digital governance for halal certification, building toward more comprehensive blockchain integration.
IBM Food Trust has documented deployments relevant to halal markets: Thomas Foods International and Drakes Supermarkets piloted it for farm-to-shelf beef traceability in South Australia in 2019, and Majid Al Futtaim runs it across Carrefour stores in the Gulf.
Halal Trail, a UK-based platform, partners with abattoirs and processors to publish chain-of-custody records that consumers can scan in-store. Its own published figures put the network at around 10 farms, 5 distributors, and 100 client businesses.
Consortium blockchain frameworks with permissioned voting-based consensus mechanisms are being tested in Indonesia to ensure data integrity while maintaining operational efficiency.
These pilots demonstrate technical feasibility but also highlight the need for phased implementation, subsidized onboarding for SMEs, and regulatory harmonization to avoid excluding smaller producers.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed on August 7, was curated to strengthen collective deterrence against aggression and to regard an attack against any of the members as an attack on all. It mirrors the pledge signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed last year.
In the new multipolar world with emerging regional middle powers, the concept of absolute security - a zero-sum game - appears to be sunsetting. Which is perhaps why the wording of the pact is particularly significant, promoting the notion of collective security, an idea gaining momentum and support across sensitive regions.
The concept of security in the Middle East has gradually shifted from a pursuit of absolute security - where individual states seek to maximise their own military capabilities - to a greater emphasis on collective and cooperative security, says Leonardo Jacopo Maria Mazzucco, a Gulf defense analyst.
“This does not mean that regional states have abandoned traditional deterrence or self-help; rather, there is growing recognition that many of the region's security challenges, from maritime threats and missile proliferation to terrorism and transnational instability, cannot be effectively managed by individual states alone,” adds Mazzucco.
“The Mecca agreement fits into this broader evolution. It reflects an emerging preference for flexible, overlapping security partnerships rather than waiting for a single, region-wide security architecture to emerge.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also endorsed the notion of collective security over absolute security, adding that the defence pact is technically similar to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty.
"Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye, when you look at their foreign policy positions, are not countries that have expansionist policies. They are countries concerned with their own borders, their own problems and their development, and, if possible, they want to contribute positively to their environment through good relations and good neighbourliness," Fidan told Anadolu Agency.
Regional middle powers
Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are distinct states yet share similarities as middle powers - Muslim-majority populations, regional influence and a desire for playing a greater role on the world stage.
Their strengths complement each other, too – Türkiye has a million-man NATO army and serious defence-industrial capabilities; Pakistan, a nuclear armed state, has a battle-hardened force; and Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, is an energy and financial heavyweight.
But what does agreement - which states that an ‘attack on one is an attack on all' - actually commit the three countries to in practical terms?
“At the higher end of military cooperation, the joint statement confirms that an armed attack against one signatory will be considered an attack against all three, broadly echoing the logic of NATO's Article 5. This clause, however, warrants some caution. It does not necessarily mean that the other two signatories would automatically enter a war against the aggressor. Rather, it creates a framework for different forms of assistance, potentially including active military support, with the precise nature of any response likely to depend on political decisions and domestic legal requirements,” adds Mazzucco.
“At the lower and middle ends of the spectrum, the agreement appears to provide a framework for deeper defence cooperation, including greater defence-industrial engagement, joint exercises, military-to-military contacts and intelligence sharing. The real test will be whether these commitments develop into regular, institutionalised forms of cooperation rather than remaining largely declaratory.”
Privilege of proximity
Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan form a fairly large triangle across the Middle East and South Asia, occupying strategically important locations.
Turkey straddles Europe and Asia, Saudi Arabia sits at the crossroads of the Gulf and the Red Sea region and Pakistan at the junction of South Asia, Central Asia and the Arabian Sea.
Collectively, they form a security architecture that spans from the eastern Mediterranean to the Arabian Sea.
“Geography is arguably one of the agreement's greatest strategic assets. The three members form a broad arc stretching from Türkiye and the Black Sea and Mediterranean region, through the Gulf, to South Asia and the Indian Ocean,” adds Mazzucco.
“The recent Hormuz crisis once again demonstrated how central maritime chokepoints are to regional and global security. The three members are positioned around, or have strategic access to, three critical chokepoints: the Bosphorus, the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb. This gives the partnership potential strategic relevance not only on land, but also across the maritime space connecting the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Gulf, and Indian Ocean.”
Accession or attrition
The accession of additional countries could significantly increase the agreement's strategic weight, but it could also complicate consensus. More members would bring additional, even complementary strengths such as military capabilities, geographic reach and political legitimacy, converting the pact into a broader security framework.
“The pact focuses on the principle of regional security which offers room for expansion, keeping the alliance open to the participation of countries that share a similar tenet and distinct strengths that could add value to the agreement. The current signatories possess complementary strengths which position them as viable contributors to enduring peace across the Middle East,” says Betül Doğan Akkaş, an assistant professor at Ankara University.
However, each new member has its own strategic priorities, territorial obligations and challenges as well as threat perceptions. More so, it is very possible for each member to view a particular crisis with varying levels of urgency. Hence, critical concerns are not on how many countries seek to share the security corridor but whether they share compatible strategic interests.
Dr Rabia Akhtar, Dean Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Lahore, opines that the measure of the alliance will be whether its members can protect one another, discourage further attacks and manage escalation together for its credibility will emerge from those decisions.
“The hardest test of the Makkah Defence Alliance will be a crisis that matters unequally to its members. Its credibility will depend on whether unequal exposure can still produce a shared willingness to bear costs,” Akhtar wrote on a Substack post.
Looking beyond its Muslim population of just 800,000 - making up roughly 5% of its total population – and a mere 86 registered companies producing nearly 800 halal-certified products, Cambodia is gearing to become the next frontier for global halal exports.
The government has moved quickly to translate that vision into policy. In July, the Ministry of Commerce slashed halal certification processing times from 90 to 60 days, extended certificate validity from one to two years, and ramped up incentives for local businesses to adopt the national halal logo.
For Dewi Suratty, founder of halal consultancy Dawn Horizon and adviser to Halal Park Cambodia, the country's timing could hardly be better.
"Cambodia is entering the halal economy at a particularly opportune time. The global halal market is no longer confined to serving Muslim-majority countries - it has evolved into an ecosystem encompassing trade, manufacturing, tourism, logistics, healthcare, digital services, and sustainable development.”
New halal manufacturing powerhouse
A major catalyst is Halal Park Cambodia, a 267-hectare manufacturing and logistics hub launched in late 2024 in Kandal Province. Designed as an integrated ecosystem, it brings together dry food factories, smart kitchens, rice mills, and logistics facilities within one industrial zone.
Situated near the new Techo International Airport and the future Funan Techo Canal, the park offers investors tax incentives, trademark protection, and unrestricted capital movement.
Investors have taken notice. In early 2025, China’s NAFIER Industry Co started producing halal meatballs in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. Shortly after, Halal Park Cambodia signed an MOU with Maybank Cambodia for industry financing, followed by a partnership with FMTI, a Chinese equipment supplier.
“The next phase will focus on attracting anchor investors and halal manufacturers, alongside expanding certification, laboratory testing, and talent development capabilities,” explains Suratty.
According to Paros Tit, a Cambodian policy researcher and personal assistant at the Office of the Council of Ministers, Cambodia's halal sector has evolved dramatically over the past decade.
"For many years, halal certification was mainly a community-based religious function," he says. "Today, the government sees halal as part of the country's broader trade and economic development strategy."
That transition has been supported by a series of institutional reforms, including the establishment of the Cambodia Halal Steering Committee in 2016, the creation of the Department of Halal in 2020, and the launch of the Halal Development Strategic Plan 2025–2029.
Tit outlines three major advantages that have drawn investor interest to Cambodia.
"First, trade access plays a huge role," he says, citing ASEAN trade agreements and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which enable manufacturers to reach Asian markets under favorable tariff conditions.
“Second, Cambodia produces a massive surplus of crops like raw cashews, cassava, paddy rice, and fresh tropical fruits," allowing processors to establish facilities close to agricultural sources while reducing logistics costs.
The third, he says, is the country's liberal investment regimes.
"Our legal framework for investment is very open," Tit adds, noting that foreign investors can own businesses outright in most sectors and freely repatriate profits.
While Southeast Asia represents a natural destination for Cambodian halal goods, policymakers are setting their sights further afield.
"The Gulf Cooperation Council countries and wider Middle East import over 80% of their food needs,” says Tit.
“For these nations, securing stable, long-term food supply chains is a critical national priority.”
Recent global supply chain disruptions have reinforced the urgency of diversification, prompting Middle Eastern importers to actively seek new agricultural partners across Southeast Asia - a move Tit believes Cambodia is prime to capitalize on.
Finding solid ground amid challenges
Despite the optimism, Cambodia's halal aspirations are still in their infancy.
Among the most pressing obstacles are a shortage of qualified professionals, limited laboratory testing capacity, and the need for wider recognition of its halal certification.
Suratty notes that while these hurdles are common for emerging halal markets, overcoming them requires significant financial commitment and alignment with internationally accepted standards.
Tit echoes that assessment, noting that transport costs remain relatively high and domestic supply chains for specialized packaging and food ingredients are still developing.
“But for companies looking for long-term growth and first-mover advantages in agricultural processing, Cambodia presents a strong value proposition,” he says.
Neither Suratty nor Tit believes Cambodia should attempt to rival regional halal giants Malaysia or Indonesia directly.
"Cambodia does not need to replicate their development model," says Suratty. "Instead, it can complement the regional halal ecosystem by leveraging its own comparative advantages."
As a young manufacturing economy, she says, Cambodia could build modern halal infrastructure from the ground up, integrating digital traceability, food safety, sustainability, and ESG principles into its industrial development from the outset.
Tit agrees that Cambodia's future lies in becoming an upstream supplier and manufacturing hub rather than competing in finished consumer brands.
"While Malaysia and Indonesia lead the world in halal regulatory standards, global branding, and finished consumer goods, Cambodia can supply the raw and primary processed agricultural input that feeds directly into their global manufacturing supply chains."
To ensure seamless integration, the Department of Halal is aligning its inspection and auditing criteria with JAKIM, BPJPH, and the GCC Standardization Organization, pursuing mutual recognition agreements.
Sustainability could provide another point of differentiation.
"By connecting halal integrity with organic farming, non-GMO crops, and supply chain traceability, we can offer products that appeal to quality-conscious consumers worldwide,” Tit notes.
For now, Cambodia remains a small player in the global halal economy. But its ambitions extend far beyond expanding halal certification.
If the current pace of reform continues, Cambodia may well emerge as one of Southeast Asia's fastest-rising players in the global halal economy.
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