São Paulo – Mohamad Orra Mourad, Vice President of International Relations and Secretary-General, and Board member Riad Younes represented the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) at the London Halal Forum 2025 in London on the 20th and 21st. The event brought together halal experts in panels, debates, and masterclasses on products and services permitted for Muslims.
For Younes, the event showcased the global expansion of the halal concept across various business sectors, far beyond food and beverages. He told ANBA that the “depth and level” of the presentations, as well as the “quality” of the speakers, were positively impressive.
One topic that caught his attention, he said, was how to use the media to promote and raise awareness of halal in society. In addition, he noted that the forum offered masterclasses that explored the halal concept in depth, from its fundamental principles to entering the market. These were intensive four-hour courses aimed at businesspeople.
According to Younes, the experience he and Mourad had, along with the debates and panels in London, could contribute to future events organized by the ABCC, which holds the Global Halal Brazil Business Forum every two years in partnership with FAMBRAS Halal Certifier, an institution that was also one of the sponsors of the London event, as well as Brazilian food processor MBRF.
Mourad highlighted that this was the first edition of the Halal Forum in London, an event that is expected to become annual. Among the topics that surprised him most were halal fintechs, women’s entrepreneurship, Islamic world influencers who help spread the halal concept, and halal tourism. In this last case, the example of Bosnia and Herzegovina was presented, a European country with a significant Muslim population that promotes halal tourism as a way to attract visitors.
A recurring topic in the Islamic world, the standardization of the halal concept, was also discussed at the forum, Mourad said. Although halal sets consumption rules for Muslims, interpretations of the concept vary between countries, affecting halal production for companies that want to export to them. “One of the issues that remains among the most important is the need to unify halal standards so that they apply to all countries and markets in the same way. This simplifies life for manufacturers who need the halal seal, want halal certification, and need to export to all [Islamic] countries,” Mourad said.
Read more:
GHB Forum drew audience from 30 countries
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
