Creating a Muslim-Friendly Environment:

In mid-April, on the first Sunday after Eid al-Fitr, the Taipei City Government held an Eid celebration at Da’an Park to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Many Muslims arrived early in the day, dressed for the occasion, and there were long lines at the food stalls, while vendors of unique handi­crafts also attracted their share of visitors. Muslim attendees enjoyed picnics on the grass while chatting with family and friends. Meanwhile, in the marquee area, people were joyfully singing and dancing.

At the entrance to the activity area, the FamilyMart convenience store chain set up a vending truck to sell halal-certified bread, beverages, and snack foods, while a pot of tom yum oden with a Southeast-Asian hot-and-sour flavor (made with fish cakes, fish egg rolls, botan chikuwa, fish balls, and fresh mushrooms and radishes) was sold out within ten minutes.

Muslim guests enjoying themselves at the Eid al-Fitr celebration organized by the Taipei City Government. (courtesy of Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism)

A recreation area was provided on the grass at the Taipei City Eid celebration where attendees could sing and dance to their hearts’ content. (courtesy of Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism)

Celebrating Eid al-Fitr with Muslims

Eid al-Fitr is one of the most important holidays of the year for Muslims, comparable to the Lunar New Year for Chinese. 2024 is the ninth year in which the Taipei City Government has held an event to mark the holiday. Indeed, not only Taipei, but also many other jurisdictions in Taiwan including Keelung, Taichung, Tainan, Kao­hsiung, and Hualien have been celebrating Eid al-Fitr for years. In Central Taiwan, the Tri-­Mountain National Scenic Area Headquarters has worked with the Magical Mushrooms Tribe leisure farm to set up a special area selling halal gift and souvenir items, and this year held its first Eid al-Fitr carnival, inviting 41 halal-­certified food producers from Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, and Changhua to set up stalls and welcome Muslim attendees. These events demonstrate Taiwan’s freedom of religion and inclusiveness.

In the 2023 Global Muslim Travel Index, produced by the renowned Muslim travel promotion company CrescentRating in collaboration with Mastercard, Taiwan ranked third among tourist destinations outside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), while Taipei City was given an award for “Most Promising Muslim-­Friendly City Destination of the Year (non-OIC).”

Taiwan has a native-born Muslim population of about 50,000. Since the government began permitting foreign migrant workers to come to Taiwan in 1990, and given the steady increase in long-term immigrants (mainly spouses) and international students, the Muslim population of Taiwan has risen to about 300,000 at present. Moreover, according to statistics from the Tourism Administration, of the 6 million international travelers who visited Taiwan in 2023, some 20% were Muslims.

Ichwan Joesoef, director of the Tourism and Transportation Department at the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei, says that Taiwan is a pluralistic society that welcomes people from all over. Hence the government has strongly supported the creation of Muslim-­friendly environments and travel services, and many landmarks, healthcare facilities, and scenic attractions have set up prayer rooms and have equipped ­bathrooms with bidet sprayers. “This is not something that a lot of countries do, but Taiwan is very proactive.” He adds that compared with neighboring countries, it is much easier to find halal-certified food in Taiwan, as well as many products and services that while not formally certified, are nonetheless Muslim-friendly.

Muslims attending the opening ceremony for the Eid al-Fitr celebration in Da’an Park. (courtesy of Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism)

There were many vendors of specialty products at the Eid al-Fitr event. (photo by Mei Kuo)

The halal food vendors’ stands at the Eid celebration attracted long lines of customers. (photo by Mei Kuo)

A great variety of halal-certified exotic cuisine is available in Taipei City. (photo by Mei Kuo)

Halal certification since the 1990s

Beyond the prohibitions on consuming alcohol and pork, Islamic doctrine includes many other rules related to diet, attire, accommodations, and travel. For example, poultry and livestock that are to be eaten by Muslims must be slaughtered in accordance with Islamic religious law in order to qualify as halal. There are also strict rules on the use of kitchenware and tableware.

Starting in the 1990s, Taiwanese food manufacturers aiming to export their products to Muslim markets began to ask local mosques for halal certification. Today, organizations in Taiwan that provide halal certification include the Chinese Muslim Association, the Taipei Grand Mosque, the Taiwan Halal Integrity Development Association (THIDA), the Islamic Association of Taiwan, Islamic Commercial Development Limited, and the Taiwan agents of international halal certification institutions. The number of food products in Taiwan with halal certification is growing.

Travel offers the best opportunity to try local cuisines, and beef noodles is a dish originating in Taiwan that is a can’t-miss local delicacy for tourists. The halal-­certified Chang’s Beef Noodles Shop, located near Taipei Main Station and the Ximending shopping area, has been in business for more than 60 years. Chang’s menu is very simple, and is centered mainly on beef, using halal beef imported from Australia and New Zealand. The choice of dishes includes noodles with braised or stewed beef, beef and tendon noodles, dry beef noodles, and dishes without beef such as sesame paste noodles, hot-and-sour noodles, and shacha noodles.

When we visit the shop, second-generation proprietor Chang Ya-chen, who is herself Muslim, is busy wrapping jiaozi dumplings. Finishing one every five ­seconds, she says that on a slow day she will wrap over 1,500 dumplings. In a pot in the kitchen a Chinese-style soup stock (made with beef bones along with a spice pouch containing fennel, cinnamon, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorns) is simmering over low heat. They also make a soup stock for red-braised beef, to which they add their own in-house low-intensity chili oil, balanced with a spoonful of sugar, to make a non-spicy stock that has a delicate mouthfeel. In recent years they have developed scallion pancake beef rolls with added egg and sweet bean sauce, making for a richly layered texture. Another popular dish is beef noodles made with brisket meat, which has a solid texture so it doesn’t fall apart when you eat it. All of these dishes sell well, and every evening and on weekends and holidays the shop is packed with customers, many of whom are Muslim tourists who are attracted by its reputation.

“For the soup to taste good, the bones must be simmered for a long time and the flavors of the spices must blend into the meat,” says Chang. Some travelers are so taken with Chang’s noodles that they suggest she should open branches of her restaurant overseas, but she says she is already facing a shortage of employees, and there is a limit to what one person can do.

Besides enjoying Taiwanese halal food in restaurants, one can also eat halal food hot at many of Taiwan’s countless convenience stores. Last year FamilyMart developed a range of Muslim-friendly food items, expanding the Muslim-friendly products sections in their stores to provide cooked foods. These include hot foods such as sweet potatoes, tea eggs, and Tom Yummy, a tom yum oden made using a halal-­certified Southeast-­Asian hot-and-sour soup imported from Malaysia. In less than six months from the launch date, more than 155 stores across Taiwan joined the program.

Su Shumei, manager of the FamilyMart on Level B1 of the Taipei 101 building, says that these foods are very convenient for Muslims, and on tasting them some declare: “This is authentic downhome taste.”

Meanwhile, the Evergreen Sky Catering Corporation (EGSC) has set up a special production line for halal food and beverages, which received both halal kitchen certification and halal food certification in 2014. This year FamilyMart introduced three halal frozen foods made by EGSC: Kozhi Kari Vadai Tahiri (chicken patty with turmeric rice), Lobia Dal Kushka (Indian curry fish with spiced rice), and Khorma Chicken Ghee Rice (chicken with Thai fragrant rice), as well as airline-style Vienna cream buns. These show that convenience-store food can also be of high quality.

The halal-certified Chang’s Beef Noodles Shop has been in business for over 60 years, and is now run by second-generation proprietor Chang Ya-chen.

Muslims visiting Taiwan shouldn’t miss Taiwanese-style beef noodle soup.

Scallion pancake beef rolls are a popular item at Chang’s Beef Noodles Shop.

Taiwan’s “perfect halal” certification

“Taiwan’s halal certification system is well respected in the international community,” says Salahuding Ma (Ma Chao-yen), vice president of THIDA and of the Chinese Muslim Association. In Indonesia, for example, the Indo­nesian government has formed an official halal certification agency, the Halal Product Assurance Organizing Body (BPJPH), which requires that halal certification of products to be imported into Indonesia must be performed by an organization accredited by the Indonesian government. THIDA is one of the few foreign institutions to hold such accreditation. Ma says: “The reason halal certification from Taiwan has a leading position inter­nationally is that we have a robust review system.”

Ma tells us that halal certification in Taiwan is based on the concept of “perfect halal.” Certification involves much more than just ensuring that product ingredients don’t include pork or alcohol, but in fact includes how raw materials or additives are created. For example, is the gelatin used for glycerin capsules animal-based or plant-based? If it is animal-based, where does it come from? Cattle, sheep, pigs, or fish? If it comes from cattle or sheep, were these slaughtered in accordance with Islamic rules? The complex set of procedures involved in making such determinations is called “halal product assurance.”

Beyond raw materials and ingredients, halal certification requires that items be protected from cross-­contamination throughout the logistics chain, from farm to table. “This is the concept of perfect halal,” says Ma. The rigor with which halal certification is implemented in Taiwan is one of the reasons it is so well trusted internationally.

Ma adds that Taiwan, strategically located between Southeast and Northeast Asia, can perhaps in the future play an important role as a node in halal logistics systems.

Salahuding Ma, vice president of the Taiwan Halal Integrity Development Association, says that Taiwan’s rigorous halal certification system has won the trust of the international community. (photo by Mei Kuo)

FamilyMart now sells three kinds of frozen halal meals made by the Evergreen Sky Catering Corporation. (courtesy of Taiwan FamilyMart Company, Ltd.)

The special halal food section at FamilyMart stores helps create a Muslim-friendly environment.

The halal-certified oden sold at FamilyMart convenience stores provides a readily available meal option for Muslims. (photo by Mei Kuo)

Sales to Islamic countries

One of the main proponents of exporting Made-in-­Taiwan halal products into overseas markets is the Taiwan Halal Center (THC), a body established under the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) to promote halal industries. Frances Lin, deputy director of the THC’s Strategic Marketing Department, notes that to date roughly 1,000 companies have received halal certification for their products. Of these businesses, some 80% are firms making food products or raw materials for food or beverage products, while the other 20% produce goods such as cosmetics, health foods, and additives. The THC assists enterprises in finding halal business opportunities by arranging marketing activities each year targeting Muslim markets in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, by helping them to exhibit overseas at specialist trade fairs and through distribution channels, and by inviting Muslim buyers to Taiwan to make purchases.

In recent years the THC has organized groups of companies to exhibit at the Gulfood food and hospitality show in Dubai, and has promoted Taiwan halal products in Malaysia. Taiwanese companies with halal certification offer a wide variety of foods and beverages, including coffee, instant noodles, mochi, soda crackers, sauces, and soft drinks.

For example, “Uncle Onion,” a famous manufacturer of green onion pancakes, has exhibited meat pies made with plant-based meat. Meanwhile, multiple flavors of mochi are marketed under the “Royal Family” brand, part of a company which has worked with Haagen-­Dazs to produce toffee mochi ice cream and sells pearl-milk-tea-flavored mochi at Costco and Walmart in the United States.

“Seeing is believing!” says Abe Chou, director of the Kuala Lumpur office of Taiwan’s Tourism Administration, who has led many groups from Malaysia on familiarization trips to Taiwan to experience its Muslim-­friendly environment. He recently compiled information on halal-certified restaurants and Muslim-friendly environments in Taiwan and posted their locations on Google Maps to facilitate travel by Muslim visitors.

“Taipei is a second home for me.” So said an Indonesian who has worked in Taiwan for nine years, during a prize quiz at the 2024 Taipei Eid al-Fitr celebration.

Taiwan has received positive feedback internationally for its public safety, freedom of religious belief, and Muslim-­friendly tourism resources. In the future the people of Taiwan will continue to show their warm hospitality and build welcoming environments so that Muslim friends can enjoy the country’s diversity, tolerance, and convenience.

The Taiwan Halal Center of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council arranges for companies to exhibit their halal-certified products overseas. (courtesy of THC)