The Minister of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Prof. Nasaruddin Umar, reminded attendees that building Indonesia's halal ecosystem must not stop at products and regulations alone. In his view, halal must be understood as a value that brings goodness, blessing, and positive energy to life, in both its physical and spiritual dimensions.
These ideas were shared during his keynote address at the 2026 Java Regional Economic Forum, held at the Convention Hall, 1st Floor of UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta on Thursday (4/6/2026). The event was attended by UIN Sunan Kalijaga Rector Prof. Noorhaidi Hasan alongside vice rectors, university leadership, academic community members, business practitioners, and Islamic economic activists from various regions.
Before the forum's participants, Prof. Nasaruddin Umar opened his address by affirming that Islam provides space for every nation and ethnic group to articulate the values of the Qur'an according to their own cultural context.
“Every ethnic group has its own cultural right to articulate the Holy Qur'an. For the Qur'an is not only for the Arabs — it is a rahmatan lil alamin, a mercy for all of creation,” he said.
From this framework, he went on to connect the development of the Islamic economy with the building of a broader halal ecosystem. In his view, halal represents a cultural subsystem that carries spiritual, social, and economic dimensions simultaneously.
He explained that the ideal concept of halal cannot simply rest on the halal status of a product, but must encompass three complementary elements: halalan (permissible), thayyiban (good), and mubarakan (blessed).
“Not everything that is halal is thayyib. Not everything that is halal and thayyib is mubarak. Therefore, all three must be present together,” he said.
The Minister affirmed that the word halal derives from a root meaning to untangle or liberate from something that is knotted and binding. "Halal does not restrict. The spirit of halal actually opens a wider space for human beings to live a good life," he said.
He observed that public understanding has tended to place halal within the narrow scope of Islamic jurisprudence and physical matters alone. Yet the intellectual tradition of Islam views halal as a far broader concept.
Citing the perspective of Sufi scholar Ibn Ajibah, Prof. Nasaruddin Umar explained that human beings consume two types of nourishment simultaneously. The first is physical nourishment: rice, fruits, and other bodily needs. The second is spiritual nourishment: knowledge, remembrance of God, and values that satisfy the heart and mind.
For this reason, he argued, the principle of halalan thayyiban mubarakan applies not only to food consumed by the body, but also to all forms of intellectual and spiritual consumption.
He gave the example of the importance of cultivating spiritual awareness in every activity, including reading, learning, and the pursuit of knowledge.
“The halal ecosystem we have been speaking about is not yet complete, because its connotations remain physical. Yet this concept also applies to non-physical aspects that shape the quality of a human being,” he said.
For the Minister, when the principles of halal, goodness, and blessing are simultaneously present in a person's life, the energy that emerges becomes a positive force, drawing one closer to God while also spreading benefit to those around them.
“When all three are realized within ourselves, the energy we use will become a positive energy for building closeness with God and spreading goodness to one another,” he said.
On the same occasion, the Minister also touched on the challenges facing the development of the Islamic economy and halal industry in Indonesia. He noted that public awareness of halal products and Islamic economic behavior still needs to be strengthened.
By way of comparison, he observed that public awareness of Islamic economic practices in Malaysia is considered higher than in Indonesia, one indicator being the consciousness around halal product assurance in everyday life.
He therefore encouraged Islamic higher education institutions to take a more active role in building a complete halal culture, not only from an economic standpoint, but also from moral, intellectual, and spiritual perspectives.
“Let us create a drastic change. Let us become pioneers in realizing halalan thayyiban mubarakan,” he urged.
Looking further ahead, Prof. Nasaruddin Umar expressed his hope that the strengthening of the halal ecosystem could become one of the foundations for the emergence of a distinctly Indonesian Islamic civilization, one capable of inspiring the world.
“May Indonesia be able to create a new civilization that is deeply Islamic in the Indonesian way, and become an example for other nations. We must become producers of civilization. The time has come for the world to learn from Indonesia,” he said.
The Java Regional Economic Forum hosted by UIN Sunan Kalijaga serves as a strategic space to bring together academics, business practitioners, and stakeholders in strengthening the national halal ecosystem, and in positioning Indonesia as ready to become the epicenter of the global halal world. (humassk)