Halal Tourism Development and Local Business Conflicts: Assessing the Potential of Sharia Arbitration in the Suramadu Bridge Area, Bangkalan

Abstract

This article investigates how the planned development of a halal tourism corridor at the foot of the Suramadu Bridge restructures social and economic space and creates potential disputes between small vendors and larger local business actors in Bangkalan, Madura. The study aims to map emerging conflict patterns, explain how spatial transformation (physical, social, and symbolic) generates perceived injustice, and evaluate the suitability of sharia arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. Adopting a qualitative case study design, data were obtained through in-depth interviews with vendors, community figures, and business representatives, complemented by observation and analysis of planning documents. The findings reveal that formal zoning and commercial clustering privilege capital-strong actors, compress long-standing communal spaces, and produce latent tensions among local vendors who feel marginalized from decision-making. The findings indicate that local actors are more familiar with negotiation, community mediation, and deliberation than with formal sharia arbitration. Therefore, sharia arbitration is positioned in this study as a potential mechanism rather than an existing dispute resolution practice in the study area. Its relevance depends on the nature of the dispute, the existence of a valid arbitration agreement, the institutional capacity of the parties, and their willingness to choose arbitration as the forum for dispute resolution, The study offers a novel lens by linking halal tourism development, spatial restructuring, and the practical design of sharia arbitration in a Madurese context.