Consuming Islam: Branding ‘Wholesome’ as Lifestyle FetishKarim

Abstract

The rise of a modern consumerist middle-class in affluent Muslim societies is increasingly marked by ‘halalization’ and an ‘ontology of consumption’—the way the world and Islam are viewed and treated for consumption. A bird’s-eye view is provided of the psychic roots of Muslim religiously-flavored consumerism constructed and managed to benefit powerful societal elites. The key to selling ‘Islamic Lifestyle’ as an ob- ject of consumption is packaging this consumer choice into imaginal modes as a psycho-somatic adornment for eliciting fetish-fulfilling appetitive, ritualistic and prophylactic needs. The shifting of wealth East with the rise of Asian consum- ers is impacting the emergent economies of major Muslim nations. These factors pose pertinent questions concerning future modes of Muslim modernity.