Looking for religious logos in Singapore^*

* This article forms part of a research project (Fischer 2015), which explores how global halal (in Arabic, halal literally means “permissible” or “lawful”) production, trade, and regulation are taking place. In that project, I examine halal state certification and standards in Malaysia and Singapore on the one hand, and businesses on the other. This article, however, focuses specifically on Singapore.

Abstract

Within the last couple of decades, new types of religious logos have emerged. Notably, halal (in Arabic, halal literally means “permissible” or “lawful”) logos are increasingly appearing on products, certificates, websites as well as in restaurants, shops, and advertisements globally. However, little empirical attention has been paid to these religious logos as elements of visual systems, or to their effects. This article fills that gap. I argue that religious logos are not well understood theoretically, conceptually, or empirically and that they signify a new phase in logo development characterized by forms of religious regulation, certification, and standardization on a global scale. Building on empirical research on halal logos in Singapore, this paper shows that modern religious logos can fruitfully be explored at the interface between archive studies and ethnography.

Keywords:

• Logos
• halal
• Singapore
• visual systems
• archive studies
• ethnography

Notes

* This article forms part of a research project (Fischer 2015), which explores how global halal (in Arabic, halal literally means “permissible” or “lawful”) production, trade, and regulation are taking place. In that project, I examine halal state certification and standards in Malaysia and Singapore on the one hand, and businesses on the other. This article, however, focuses specifically on Singapore.

1. The data can be accessed at: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/c2010acr/key_demographic_trends.pdf.

2. AMLA can be accessed at: http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/.

3. http://www.muis.gov.sg/cms/services/hal.aspx?id=1714.