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The proliferation of the internet as the means for knowledge and information exchange gives rise to new issues of sustaining trust within web‐mediated information environments. However, researchers have not studied trust on websites that evoke emotionally charged topics that are culturally and ethically oriented as much as they have studied e‐tailing trust. Hence, this paper aims to explore the notion of trust within the web‐based information for Islamic content environment and how consumers' trust evaluations on topics that are sensitive to their cultural norms would give different a connotation of trust and its guidelines.

The paper discusses the notion of trust, its dimensions, conceptualisation and operationalisation in the online environment. The paper presents the results of a descriptive study conducted via an online survey distributed to online Muslim users through the mailing list of the Federation of Universities in the Islamic World (see www.fuiw.org) database.

The analysis highlights issues surrounding trust among 605 respondents from different continents. The outcome of the findings indicates the importance of third‐party seals and overall site presentation in mediating the interaction of trustworthy communication.

Due to the huge population of Muslims from different ethnic groups, the research is unable to capture a general order of the perceptions of trust. In addition, what are presented here are “possible issues” of trust that exist amongst Islamic communities and not something definitive.

Designers of information artefacts should consider the cultural aspect in which the information domain resides, because the culture within which a person operates will shape his or her perception of trust. Hence, creating the right appearance on the web by imposing online legitimacy, appropriate communication styles and appearance are integral issues for designers to consider in developing information systems for a sensitive information context.

The research should be of value to those who have an interest in exploring, enquiring and communicating knowledge or information pertaining to a Muslim user group within the wider human‐computer interaction scope.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the role that halal certification organisations (HCOs) play in the UK in assuring quality in halal cosmetics.

The study evaluates whether halal certification assures the quality of halal cosmetic products. This research evaluated the quality assurance systems of major UK HCOs, using a hypothetical product as a test vehicle. The investigation considered whether these organisations differ in their definition of “halal” and “halal cosmetics” and also considered how effectively their certification signals quality assurance.

The study indicated that there is a failure to adopt holistic halal terminology which implies that within the UK halal cosmetics industry, manufacturers may not be working within agreed standards for halal product integrity.

This study focussed on UK certification for halal cosmetics by three HCOs and disregarded other forms of halal businesses. The literature review is based solely on literature available in the English language. The study lacks generalisability, as only one hypothetical product was tested; therefore, it was not possible to reach an understanding of all the costs involved in UK HCO certification.

This study undertook a comprehensive literature review on halal certification to produce a comparison of halal sanctioning laws, certification processes and the level of supply chain verification by UK HCOs.

This study adds value to the knowledge on UK halal certification.