Religious tolerance through the lens of halal dining experience in Malaysia

Religious tolerance is essential to develop a harmonious coexistence betweenmembers of a civilised multi-religious society. This notion is previously observedthrough a legal perspective, recognition, and respect, as well as the absence ofdiscrimination and religious conflict. However, this paper looks at a differentviewpoint, through utilising the dynamics of halal dining as an analytical tool toexamine dimensions of religious tolerance. The study unpacks the religioustolerance experience in halal dining among Muslims and non-Muslims in Westand East Malaysia. We compare the data of religious tolerance in halal diningfrom both East and West Malaysian experiences. Data was collected throughquantitative surveys and interviews with Muslim and non-Muslim respondents.The findings show that Malaysians practise a high level of tolerance in diningwith a few exceptions. These findings exhibit a new dimension of dining as apractical analytical tool, which might have hitherto been neglected in measuringreligious tolerance within a multi-religious context.