ARI Working Paper Series

A central issue in this paper is the Malaysian state’s efforts to develop and dominate a global market in halal (literally, ‘lawful or ‘permitted) commodities through networking entrepreneurs. In so doing, the paper examines how these entrepreneurs in London respond to and are affected by this effort. Another important question is how the state promotes halal commodities in the interface between nationalism, patriotism and diaspora aspirations. Among the political elite, and, thus, the state, in Malaysia, there exists a fascination with discovering or even inventing a ‘Malay diaspora’. The particularity of this ‘diaspora-envy’ is a sign of modern Malay aspirations towards cosmopolitanism and ‘global reach’. This paper is based on ethnographic material from fieldwork among Malay Muslim migrants and organizations in Kuala Lumpur and London, that is, participant observation and interviewing, as well as powerful Malaysian sentiments on diaspora found in political discourses.