Is there a market for Istihalah food product in Indonesia? Knowledge, attitude and practices toward Istihalah among student in an Indonesian university

This study aims to investigate the awareness of Muslim students regarding Istihalah in their daily life. The study was carried out to investigate attitude and awareness towards Istihalah among Muslim students in Universiti Pertanian Bogor (UPB), Indonesia.

In total, 456 students were randomly selected from the university. A self-administered questionnaire was handed out to consenting students focusing on attitude and awareness towards Istihalah and eagerness to learn more about Istihalah.

Results showed that Muslim students lacked information about Istihalah. From the total number of students 86.18 per cent agreed that information and knowledge of Istihalah is scarce. 40.1 per cent believed that Ulamas (Muslim scholars) are a very important source of knowledge regarding Istihalah, and 87.50 per cent are willing to learn more about Istihalah.

The respondents in this study were Muslim students in UPB, Indonesia. The results of this study are only applicable to the specific community. Thus, extrapolation of the results to represent society at large is not possible. The study merely attempts to investigate the prevalence of the concept among students of the university.

This study is formed as a novel study to explore the attitude and awareness towards Istihalah among Muslim students in UPB, Indonesia. Students being representatives of the educated society are important links in creating awareness of the concept of Istihalah at large. This pilot study is the second of its kind, and prior study of Istihalah with regards to community awareness is limited to just one other performed by the same team.