Research & Insights

Ideas Shaping the Islamic Economy

Perspectives from the GIMAC research community on Islamic marketing, halal finance, Muslim consumer behaviour, and sustainable business.

The Halal Economy in 2026: Size, Trends & Growth Corridors

The global halal market has surpassed $3.2 trillion. We examine the sectors driving growth, the markets that matter most, and what the numbers mean for academics and practitioners alike.

15 March 2026

3 min read

GIMAC Editorial Team

Read article

30 articles

Entrepreneurship 4 min

PhiDoc Launches in Marrakech to Close Africa's Doctoral Research Gap

A platform born from one missed grant deadline goes live on 16 September 2026, aiming to fix the funding blind spots, isolation and dropout crisis facing doctoral researchers across Morocco and Africa.

GIMAC Editorial Team

16 September 2026

Technology 5 min

Gaming, Streaming and the Muslim Entertainment Market Nobody Planned For

Saudi Arabia is buying its way into global gaming, Indonesia is one of the largest mobile gaming markets on earth, and almost no publisher has thought seriously about Muslim players. We examine loot boxes, content design and a market operating largely by accident.

GIMAC Editorial Team

27 August 2026

Sustainability 5 min

Khalifa, Mizan, Israf: Islamic Environmental Ethics Beyond the ESG Checklist

Islamic environmental thought is older and more demanding than the sustainability frameworks it is usually compared to. We examine what stewardship, balance and the prohibition of waste actually require of a business, and where they conflict with ESG orthodoxy.

GIMAC Editorial Team

20 August 2026

Marketing 5 min

Modest Activewear and the Muslim Athlete Economy

A decade after the sports hijab arrived on major brand shelves, modest activewear is a real category with real technical demands, and the brands treating it as a colourway extension keep losing to specialists who understand the sport.

GIMAC Editorial Team

13 August 2026

Entrepreneurship 5 min

Islamic EdTech: Building a Learning Economy for a Young Ummah

The global Muslim population is strikingly young, and the platforms teaching it Quran, Arabic and Islamic studies have quietly become a substantial industry. We map the models, the unit economics, and the quality problem nobody has solved.

GIMAC Editorial Team

6 August 2026

Technology 5 min

Halal Logistics: Where Certification Quietly Breaks Down

A product can be certified halal at the factory and lose its integrity in a shipping container. Halal logistics is the least glamorous part of the Islamic economy and arguably the weakest link. We examine segregation, cold chain and the standards gap.

GIMAC Editorial Team

30 July 2026

Finance 5 min

Buying a Home Without Interest: How Islamic Property Finance Actually Works

Murabaha, ijara and diminishing musharaka are the three structures behind almost every Islamic mortgage alternative, and they differ in ways that matter to the buyer. We explain the mechanics, the costs, and the criticisms.

GIMAC Editorial Team

23 July 2026

Marketing 5 min

The Diaspora Consumer: Marketing to Muslim Minorities in Western Markets

Muslim consumers in Europe and North America are younger, more urban and more brand-engaged than the national average, and are routinely treated as a seasonal afterthought. We examine what the segmentation research actually shows.

GIMAC Editorial Team

16 July 2026

Research 5 min

Plant-Based, Cultivated and Precision-Fermented: The Halal Questions Food Tech Cannot Avoid

Alternative proteins promise to sidestep slaughter entirely, which sounds like a halal shortcut and is nothing of the kind. We examine the jurisprudential debates around cultivated meat, precision fermentation and plant-based analogues.

GIMAC Editorial Team

9 July 2026

Finance 5 min

Zakat, Waqf and the Quiet Digitisation of Islamic Social Finance

Islamic social finance moves hundreds of billions of dollars a year through obligations that predate modern philanthropy by fourteen centuries. Digital platforms are now rebuilding the plumbing, and exposing governance problems the sector had long tolerated.

GIMAC Editorial Team

1 July 2026

Research 5 min

Halal Pharmaceuticals: The Sector Everyone Cites and Almost Nobody Studies

Halal pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals are among the fastest-growing segments of the Islamic economy, and among the least understood. We examine gelatin, excipients, the doctrine of necessity, and why certification here is harder than in food.

GIMAC Editorial Team

24 June 2026

Marketing 5 min

Muslim Influencer Marketing: The $24 Billion Creator Economy Reshaping Halal Brands

Muslim creators command audiences that mainstream agencies underestimated for a decade. We map the platforms, the rate cards, and the practices that distinguish authentic Muslim influencer marketing from tokenism.

GIMAC Editorial Team

15 June 2026

Entrepreneurship 4 min

Halal Venture Capital: Inside the Muslim Startup Ecosystem

A new generation of Shariah-compliant venture funds is backing Muslim founders building for two billion consumers. We map the funds, the hubs, and the structural innovations making halal venture capital work.

GIMAC Editorial Team

12 June 2026

Technology 4 min

Islamic FinTech in 2026: How Digital Banking Is Serving Two Billion Muslims

Islamic FinTech has moved beyond crypto into mainstream digital banking, halal investing apps, and embedded finance. We map the $400 billion-plus ecosystem, the leading players, and what makes Shariah-compliant digital finance distinct.

GIMAC Editorial Team

10 June 2026

Marketing 4 min

Halal Beauty in 2026: The Clean-Beauty Convergence Reshaping Cosmetics

Halal cosmetics is now a $100 billion-plus market, and it's converging with the clean-beauty movement in ways that appeal far beyond Muslim consumers. We examine the ingredients, the certification, and the brands winning shelf space.

GIMAC Editorial Team

5 June 2026

Technology 4 min

Blockchain in Halal Supply Chains: From Certificate to Verifiable Truth

Halal certification has long depended on trust in human auditors. Blockchain traceability is changing that, letting Muslim consumers verify a product's halal chain from farm to shelf. We examine the technology, the standards, and the gaps.

GIMAC Editorial Team

2 June 2026

Finance 4 min

Takaful Explained: Inside the $130 Billion Islamic Insurance Market

Conventional insurance contains elements Islamic law prohibits. Takaful re-engineers risk-sharing on cooperative principles, and it is now a $130 billion global market growing faster than the conventional sector. We unpack how it works and where it's heading.

GIMAC Editorial Team

29 May 2026

Finance 4 min

Green Sukuk and Islamic ESG: Where Faith Meets Climate Finance

Green sukuk issuance has crossed $50 billion globally and is reshaping how Muslim-majority economies fund the energy transition. We trace the structural fit between Shariah finance and ESG, and where it strains.

GIMAC Editorial Team

22 May 2026

Research 4 min

Halal Certification in 2026: Inside the Global Standards Maze

There is no single global halal standard; there are more than 300 certifying bodies applying overlapping, sometimes conflicting rules. We map how halal certification actually works, where it fragments, and why harmonisation matters.

GIMAC Editorial Team

15 May 2026

Marketing 3 min

Modest Fashion in 2026: How a $313 Billion Industry Came of Age

Modest fashion has moved from niche to mainstream, with global spend now exceeding $313 billion. We trace how Muslim consumer demand reshaped luxury, streetwear and the runway, and what's next.

GIMAC Editorial Team

8 May 2026

Marketing 4 min

Ramadan Marketing in 2026: What Works, What Backfires, and Why

Ramadan is now the single most concentrated commercial moment in the Muslim consumer calendar, generating over $80 billion in incremental spend. We unpack the campaigns that built loyalty, and the ones that destroyed it.

GIMAC Editorial Team

22 April 2026

Research 4 min

The Muslim Gen Z Consumer: Faith, Identity & Digital Commerce

Born into a connected world, Muslim Gen Z consumers are rewriting the rules of brand loyalty, and they expect far more than a halal certificate to earn their trust.

GIMAC Editorial Team

15 April 2026

Marketing 2 min

What Islamic Marketing Really Means, and Why It Gets Misunderstood

Islamic marketing is not a checklist of prohibitions. It is a comprehensive values framework that reshapes how brands build trust, communicate authenticity, and serve communities.

GIMAC Editorial Team

28 February 2026

Technology 2 min

AI, Algorithms & Adab: Navigating Ethical AI in Islamic Business

As artificial intelligence reshapes commerce, Muslim scholars and business leaders face urgent questions about algorithmic fairness, data stewardship, and the boundaries of permissible automation.

GIMAC Editorial Team

14 February 2026

Research 3 min

Sixteen Editions of GIMAC: What the Research Archive Tells Us

A retrospective analysis of sixteen years of conference proceedings reveals the intellectual arc of Islamic marketing scholarship: what it has resolved, what it has opened, and where the field is heading.

GIMAC Editorial Team

5 February 2026

Entrepreneurship 2 min

Women-Led Ventures in the Halal Space: From Modest Fashion to FinTech

Muslim women entrepreneurs are reshaping industries from modest fashion to financial technology, building businesses that are simultaneously values-driven, globally scalable, and culturally rooted.

GIMAC Editorial Team

22 January 2026

Marketing 3 min

Halal Tourism in 2026: How the Travel Industry Is Finally Adapting

Muslim travellers represent a $220 billion market. Hotels, airlines, and destinations are reshaping their offerings, and the most successful are going beyond prayer mats and halal menus.

GIMAC Editorial Team

8 January 2026

Finance 3 min

DeFi, Crypto & the Riba Question: What Blockchain Means for Islamic Finance

Decentralised finance promises to democratise access to financial services, but does it resolve or recreate the problems Islamic finance has always sought to address?

GIMAC Editorial Team

18 December 2025

Research 3 min

Beyond Compliance: The Psychology of Halal Consumer Choice

Why do Muslims choose halal products? The answer is more complex than religious obligation, and understanding it is essential for brands that want durable loyalty rather than mere certification.

GIMAC Editorial Team

4 December 2025

Sustainability 3 min

Sustainability and Islamic Values: A Convergence the World Needs

The principles of Maqasid al-Shariah and modern ESG frameworks share more than a surface resemblance. Exploring how Islamic ethical traditions can enrich, and challenge, contemporary sustainability discourse.

GIMAC Editorial Team

20 November 2025

GIMAC 17 · Alanya, Turkey · October 2026

Present your research at GIMAC 17

Submit your paper on Islamic marketing, halal economy, sustainable business, or Muslim consumer behaviour. Abstract deadline: 30 June 2026.

Submit a Paper

Ideas Shaping the Islamic Economy

The Halal Economy in 2026: Size, Trends & Growth Corridors

More Articles

PhiDoc Launches in Marrakech to Close Africa's Doctoral Research Gap

Gaming, Streaming and the Muslim Entertainment Market Nobody Planned For

Khalifa, Mizan, Israf: Islamic Environmental Ethics Beyond the ESG Checklist

Modest Activewear and the Muslim Athlete Economy

Islamic EdTech: Building a Learning Economy for a Young Ummah

Halal Logistics: Where Certification Quietly Breaks Down

Buying a Home Without Interest: How Islamic Property Finance Actually Works

The Diaspora Consumer: Marketing to Muslim Minorities in Western Markets

Plant-Based, Cultivated and Precision-Fermented: The Halal Questions Food Tech Cannot Avoid

Zakat, Waqf and the Quiet Digitisation of Islamic Social Finance

Halal Pharmaceuticals: The Sector Everyone Cites and Almost Nobody Studies

Muslim Influencer Marketing: The $24 Billion Creator Economy Reshaping Halal Brands

Halal Venture Capital: Inside the Muslim Startup Ecosystem

Islamic FinTech in 2026: How Digital Banking Is Serving Two Billion Muslims

Halal Beauty in 2026: The Clean-Beauty Convergence Reshaping Cosmetics

Blockchain in Halal Supply Chains: From Certificate to Verifiable Truth

Takaful Explained: Inside the $130 Billion Islamic Insurance Market

Green Sukuk and Islamic ESG: Where Faith Meets Climate Finance

Halal Certification in 2026: Inside the Global Standards Maze

Modest Fashion in 2026: How a $313 Billion Industry Came of Age

Ramadan Marketing in 2026: What Works, What Backfires, and Why

The Muslim Gen Z Consumer: Faith, Identity & Digital Commerce

What Islamic Marketing Really Means, and Why It Gets Misunderstood

AI, Algorithms & Adab: Navigating Ethical AI in Islamic Business

Sixteen Editions of GIMAC: What the Research Archive Tells Us

Women-Led Ventures in the Halal Space: From Modest Fashion to FinTech

Halal Tourism in 2026: How the Travel Industry Is Finally Adapting

DeFi, Crypto & the Riba Question: What Blockchain Means for Islamic Finance

Beyond Compliance: The Psychology of Halal Consumer Choice

Sustainability and Islamic Values: A Convergence the World Needs

Present your research at GIMAC 17