I agree, actual figures would help a lot. The cynic in me suspects their absence is because they don't support the hypothesis.

The claim that halal restaurants have an "almost religious following" among non-Muslims raises my eyebrows almost as much as the claims that e.g. there are "no-go areas" in Muslim parts of Birmingham.

I've lived in various parts of the UK all my life, I've been involved in Muslim communities and I've been to a lot of restaurants, both halal and otherwise. Basically the only reason a restaurant will advertise its halal status is to indicate this fact to Muslims. It might be the case that e.g. Lebanese or Indian cuisine is popular among non-Muslim Brits, but that's because of the taste of the food. If anything, there are ethical concerns about halal meat in my peer groups due to the controversies over stunning, and undercover videos showing cruelty in some halal slaughterhouses.

Honestly, the first paragraph reads to me like a string of inflated claims that's been shivved in there to exaggerate the significance of the article's content.

My experience is limited, but in America I've seen a few Muslim run restaurants use the word halal in their name, and have heard the term being used similarly to "Chinese food." The author may come from where that happens, and is referring to things like Pakistani cuisine.

To add some data, in San Francisco, you can find “The Halal Guys” (https://thehalalguys.com) and “Halal Wings Plus” (http://halalwingsplus.com).

> It might be the case that e.g. Lebanese or Indian cuisine is popular among non-Muslim Brits

Umm.. Majority of indians are hindus not muslims.

I think the point was that it's "ethnic food from somewhere in southern Asia that's further west than Myanmar or so" not that it conforms to any particular religious requirement.

It's not even that! It's only that so-called "Indian" restaurants in the UK are halal more often than average. From my understanding most dishes you get in those restaurants in the UK are different to what you would actually get served anywhere in south-east Asia.

Oh! Your comment reminded me of something my dad told me (my country of origin is Bangladesh): https://www.quora.com/Why-are-almost-all-Indian-restaurants-... .

I wouldn’t say that that’s the only reason either. Even if a non-Muslim Indian does set up an Indian restaurant, they have a high chance of attracting recurring customers that happen to be Muslims that observe a keeping a halal diet.