The programme was driven by the need to address a clear gap in public understanding. While many are familiar with halal certification, often associated with bodies such as Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia, the broader concept of Muslim-friendly tourism remains less understood. MFAR, introduced by the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia, goes beyond compliance. It focuses on comfort, accessibility, and overall experience for Muslim travellers, something that feels relevant, yet often overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2026\/05\/MFAR-Article-1-1024x576.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PAGOH, 2 May 2026 \u2013 As the global tourism industry continues to evolve, the demand for more inclusive and culturally sensitive travel experiences continues to grow. Being Muslims ourselves, we understand the importance of travelling comfortably while staying true to our values and way of life. Recognising this, students of Kulliyyah of Sustainable Tourism and Contemporary Languages (KSTCL), IIUM Pagoh, organised MFAR for the Masses, a programme aimed at introducing and simplifying the concept of Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality Assurance and Recognition (MFAR) to the wider community. The programme was driven by the need to address a clear gap in public understanding. While many are familiar with halal certification, often associated with bodies such as Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia, the broader concept of Muslim-friendly tourism remains less understood. MFAR, introduced by the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia, goes beyond compliance. It focuses on comfort, accessibility, and overall experience for Muslim travellers, something that feels relevant, yet often overlooked. The programme featured Ms Nurshahidah binti Mohd Abas, an executive from the Industry Development Division of Islamic Tourism Centre. She provided valuable industry insight into the practical implementation of MFAR. Her sharing helped IIUM Pagoh\u2019s students understand how MFAR is applied in real hospitality settings, turning what could have remained a theoretical concept into something grounded in real-world practice. People initially associated Muslim-friendly tourism only with halal food. However, the discussion revealed a much broader scope, including prayer facilities, Qibla direction, appropriate amenities, and Muslim-sensitive service practices.In essence, MFAR is more than a framework, it is a mindset of inclusivity and assurance. MFAR for the Masses achieved more than just knowledge sharing. It encouraged conversation, challenged assumptions, and helped participants see Muslim-friendly tourism in a broader light. The positive engagement throughout the programme reaffirmed that awareness is the first step towards meaningful change in the future. Awareness begins with understanding, and change begins with awareness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":7309,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7311,"href":"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7307\/revisions\/7311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The programme featured Ms Nurshahidah binti Mohd Abas, an executive from the Industry Development Division of Islamic Tourism Centre. She provided valuable industry insight into the practical implementation of MFAR. Her sharing helped IIUM Pagoh\u2019s students understand how MFAR is applied in real hospitality settings, turning what could have remained a theoretical concept into something grounded in real-world practice. People initially associated Muslim-friendly tourism only with halal food. However, the discussion revealed a much broader scope, including prayer facilities, Qibla direction, appropriate amenities, and Muslim-sensitive service practices.
In essence, MFAR is more than a framework, it is a mindset of inclusivity and assurance. MFAR for the Masses achieved more than just knowledge sharing. It encouraged conversation, challenged assumptions, and helped participants see Muslim-friendly tourism in a broader light. The positive engagement throughout the programme reaffirmed that awareness is the first step towards meaningful change in the future. Awareness begins with understanding, and change begins with awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kulliyyah.iium.edu.my\/kstcl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2026\/05\/MFAR-Article-2-1-1024x576.jpeg\")