Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the emergence of trendy halal restaurants in Rotterdam that do not serve alcohol. Based on interviews and participant observation, this paper provides a material analysis of how religious plurality is being negotiated in the West-Kruiskade, a street famous for its diversity.

Paper long abstract:

This paper focuses on a number of new and fashionable halal restaurants located along the West-Kruiskade in Rotterdam. Although these Muslim-owned restaurants differ in terms of cuisine and interior decorations, they have in common that they only serve halal-certified meat and do not serve alcohol. The customers are highly diverse in terms of ethnicity and religious affiliation, but this new form of 'hip halal dining' is especially popular among young Muslims who have experienced strong upward social mobility. However, these restaurants have also become a subject of political contestation, with the local authorities and the housing corporation arguing that the growing number of alcohol-free halal restaurants 'negatively affects the diversity in the neighbourhood'. In analyzing these restaurants as 'aesthetic formations' (Meyer 2009), this paper raises questions about how diversity is conceptualized by different social actors, what it means to be inclusive, and on whose terms and conditions religious plurality is being facilitated in particular settings.