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This study aims to investigate the relationship between Islamic governance and the social performance of Islamic banks, pioneering a new aspect in terms of the impact of the National Shariah Board (NSB) on the social performance of Islamic banks. The essential body in the Islamic banks in charge of Islamic governance is the Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB). Therefore, in this study, the authors explore how the characteristics of the Shariah board and Islamic governance mechanisms influence the social performance of Islamic banks.

Panel data methods are applied to the annual data of 43 banks from 14 countries over the period 2012–2018 to explore the impact of Islamic governance on Islamic banks’ social performance. The authors have used all available bank annual reports in the given period. Social performance is measured by Maqasid al-Shariah (in terms of the goals of the Islamic moral economy) index using a comprehensive evaluation framework. Islamic governance is represented by the improved Islamic Governance Score (IG-Score) index, which measures the quality of Islamic governance in Islamic banks. In the research, the authors also introduce the frequency of SSB meetings in IG-Score.

The findings suggest a strong link between Islamic governance and the social performance of Islamic banks, illustrating the importance of the Shariah board in achieving maqasid. On the other hand, the research discovered that NSBs are inefficient and the existence of NSB can jeopardize the social performance of Islamic banks. The results of this research imply valuable recommendations for Islamic banks that are keen to improve their social performance.

Besides investigating the impact of SSB governance on the social performance of Islamic banks by using an improved IG score index, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the impact of NSBs on the social performance of Islamic banks.

This paper aims to discuss the different practices and regulatory frameworks of Shariah supervision in Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) across Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states and to identify the gaps in current Shariah supervisory practices. Parallel with the rapid growth of Islamic finance worldwide, corporate governance has received a considerable amount of attention in Islamic finance. Shariah is a unique characteristic of Islamic finance. That is why the need for a good and efficient Shariah governance system for IFIs is considered to be a crucial requirement to ensure the development and the stability of the Islamic finance industry.

The paper is based on critical review of current laws and regulations for IFIs; this provides a reflective synthesis on the practical work of the Shariah supervisory system across the 25 different OIC member states.

The paper reveals several findings. First, the authors observe a weak and poor Shariah supervisory system in most OIC member states. Furthermore, the authors detect various gaps in the current Shariah supervisory practices. Most of these shortfalls are linked to the current regulatory frameworks: the roles and the responsibilities of the national Shariah authority, and the institutional Shariah board’s duties and attributes.

This paper’s originality and value lies in its critical review of current Shariah supervisory practices across 25 OIC member states. Also, the paper puts forward various suggestions to the regulatory authorities and to the Islamic Financial Services Board to enhance the Shariah governance system and to standardize the different practices of Shariah governance worldwide.

This study aims to examine diversity in the composition of Shariah supervisory boards (SSBs) of Islamic banks (IBs). It investigates diversity from two perspectives: existing composition of SSBs and the regulatory frameworks and standards of selected Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries. Diversity characteristics include education, nationality, gender and age.

A list of all full-fledged Islamic commercial banks (FFICBs) globally has been carefully prepared and confirmed. Conventional banks with Islamic windows, non-commercial banks, takaful companies and other Islamic financial institutions are excluded. The available profiles of 428 SSB members have been scrutinised and analysed. These board members occupy 522 SSB positions in 238 FFICBs operating in 52 countries around the globe. From the regulatory perspective, 12 national and international Shariah governance frameworks and standards have been examined.

Findings of this paper indicate various levels of diversity in SSBs of the reviewed IBs. The level of diversity in educational background and in the nationality of SSBs can be described as generally acceptable. However, a lack of diversity in gender and age among SSB members is evidently observed in IBs. While the lack of age diversity in SSBs may be relatively justified as a common trend in the composition of corporate boards, SSBs of IBs are seriously lagging behind in gender diversity. On the regulatory level, this study concluded that provisions on diversity as a requirement in SSBs are almost non-existent in the existing regulatory frameworks and standards.

The major limitation of this study is the lack of available information on the SSB members.

This paper provides insights for IBs and policymakers concerned with the corporate governance of IBs and all Islamic financial institutions. First, it offers an excellent bird’s-eye view of the status of diversity in SSBs of IBs. Second, it motivates policymakers and standard-setting bodies to ensure, through the relevant regulatory frameworks, adequate levels of diversity in the composition of SSBs. Diversity in SSBs of IBs and Islamic financial institutions should be given special emphasis, not only in boards and top management positions but also in the workplace. This is of profound significance to the reputation of Islamic finance industry which has been recently under mounting pressure to translate the rhetoric about the Islamic finance industry being ethical, fair, just, equitable and inclusive into genuine implementations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to examine the diversity of SSB members from the regulatory as well as from the implementation perspective.

The aim of this paper is to review the different steps of development of Shariah governance system and to discuss the different practices of Shariah governance in Islamic financial institutions internationally.

The paper has a particular focus on the other contributions of relevant literature and existing laws and regulations for Islamic financial institutions which provides a reflective synthesis on practical work of Shariah governance system across different jurisdictions.

The main attention of this paper is Islamic financial institutions and a key issue arising is that the typical structure, functions, duties and responsibilities are different from country to country.

The paper put forward various suggestions to the regulatory authorities and to the Islamic Financial Services Board to enhance the Shariah governance system and to standardize the different practices of Shariah governance worldwide.

The originality and the value of the paper lie in its critical review of current Shariah governance practices worldwide. As well, some key issues pertaining to Shariah governance in Islamic financial institutions are addressed to encourage further investigation by academics and practitioners in the field.

This study aims to identify the problems in shariah compliance and the weak oversight of implementing Islamic crowdfunding (ICF). Shariah compliance regulation is an essential subsystem in Islamic social finance ecosystems.

This type of research is legal research. The research approaches are the statute, comparative and conceptual approaches. The study in this research examines Indonesia, the UK and Malaysia.

ICF is one of the fastest-growing sectors of Islamic financial technology (fintech). The Islamic fintech sector is showing maturity signals with a market size of $79bn in 2021, projected at $179bn in 2026. Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia lead the Index by Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Index scores. However, low shariah compliance is still an issue in implementing ICF. This problem is caused by regulatory support that is still lacking and oversight of shariah compliance is not optimal. On the one hand, shariah compliance is the ICF core principle for Shariah Governance.

This study examines the regulation and oversight of ICF in Indonesia, Malaysia and the UK. Indonesia and Malaysia, a country with the highest GIFT index score in the world, and the UK, a country with an Islamic finance sector experiencing rapid growth.

The research results on shariah compliance regulation in ICF are helpful as a comprehensive approach for developing sustainable Islamic social finance ecosystems.

Shariah compliance is the core principle of ICF governance. Its implementation can increase public trust.

Crowdfunding platform and issuers in ICF must implement shariah compliance. Therefore, it is essential to consider the presence of shariah compliance requirements and a Shariah Supervisory Board (DPS).

This study aims to analyze IFIs’ stakeholders’ perception on Shariah harmonization for financial reporting standards inIndonesia as a part of the development effort of linking the emerging global Islamic banking to Indonesian financial and industrial markets.

A sample of 160 respondents, who were stakeholders of Islamic banks, was taken from Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia and its surrounding major districts to examine the stakeholders’ perception on Shariah harmonization effort toward the implementation of a uniformed financial reporting standard for Islamic financial institutions. Data for this study were collected using a structured questionnaire.

Through this study, the authors found several measures to be taken to ensure Shariah harmonization efforts in Indonesia such as deep understanding on the fatawā brought into practices and strict monitoring on the Islamic banks in applying the financial reporting standards that imply practicing the fatawā, both de jure and de facto. However, the respondents differ in their opinion on the possibility of Shariah harmonization, both de jure and de facto. The role of various actors involved in the financial reporting standardization may impede Shariah harmonization to take place.

The study is only looking at one case study, which is Indonesia. Therefore, future studies should consider more countries and significant number of respondents. Different research instruments to measure the perception can also be an interesting research exploration. In addition, adopting deep Islamic political economy of accounting theory may support better analysis on the issue of financial reporting standardization for Islamic financial institutions.

This paper has practical significance for financial reporting standard setters for Islamic banks and policy-makers to understand the key behavioral and demographical dimensions of their stakeholders and using these dimensions to effectively position important aspects in financial reporting standards setting.

This paper aims to discuss the urgent need to develop a sound and robust universal framework that would prove helpful in creating uniform acceptability of Islamic financial instruments. Among many problems, a particular problem in developing a uniform global framework for Islamic financial instruments is the existence of different madhahib within Islamic Fiqh. The leading and the most prominent Sunni madhahib that have survived till today are four, the Hanbali, Shafi, Maliki and Hanafi, while the most prominent Shia madhab is the Jafari madhab.

The research approach was descriptive and exploratory in nature. Secondary resources were used except for a semi-structured interview with a Shariah scholar with the justification that his knowledge and experience regarding the subject matter may prove helpful. The methodology included a systematic review of already issued Sukuk by various madhahib. Compared to a simple narrative review of a few case studies regarding Sukuk, this methodology has a benefit to provide the reader the power to assess the review and even replicate it. The results of this systematic review are summarized in the form of tables.

Ingredients were determined that would help make a truly global Sukuk security, a model acceptable to all madhahib of Islamic Fiqh. These ingredients include rentals, relationship between special purpose vehicle (SPV) and originator, transference to SPV, Sukuk structure, guarantee, liquidity, listing and tradability, convertibility, subordination and post-Ijarah price. Moreover, specific steps were also analyzed that must be taken to issue such type of Sukuk al-Ijarah.

This study is focused only on a type of Islamic financial instrument, i.e. Sukuk whose underlying was Ijarah-based contracts. This is due to lesser global acceptability for other Islamic financial instruments including other forms of Sukuk. Based on the nature of study, purposive/judgmental sampling was done. The sample population was 40 Sukuk (nine each from Hanafi, Shafi and Maliki madhahib, five each from Hanbali and Jafari madhahib and three from non-Muslim zones). Some Sukuk were dropped due to non-availability of enough data and to keep some semblance between the impact of the madhab on financial world and the data.

For practitioners and regulators, on the basis of the given recommendations, it would be possible to create a standardized product, acceptable for all madhahib of Islamic Fiqh. This standardization will lead to a unified platform that can attract a larger investor pool as well as better integration. For practical purposes, the proposed model of Sukuk al-Ijarah can be replicated for other Islamic financial instruments for global acceptability.

For an Islamic society, the expansion of Islamic economic system depends principally on unity. So integration is critical and also essential for the success of any Islamic financial instrument. When the society will move away from Riba and its associated evil, the society will move in a positive direction, while still making profits. The proposed model may also be utilized for socially responsible initiatives like protection of natural resources, advancement of renewable energy, economic development and rehabilitation to name a few.

Previous studies were silent on the development of comprehensive frameworks acceptable to all madhahib of Islamic Fiqh. This research study is the first study of its kind and is the first step toward integration, as it would try to suggest a global framework for Sukuk al-Ijarah that can be acceptable by the followers of any madhab of Islamic Fiqh.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and compare the extent of voluntary disclosure in the annual reports of Shariah- and non–Shariah-compliant companies in Indonesia. Further, the study examines the relationship between voluntary disclosure and company characteristics (i.e. size of company, profitability, type of auditor, type of industry and ownership structure).

Voluntary disclosure was measured using a disclosure index with 30 items and content analysis of the 2009 annual report. Statistical analysis included descriptive, Mann–Whitney U and regression.

The result revealed that there is a statistically significant difference in the quantity and quality of voluntary disclosure value of Shariah- and non–Shariah-compliant companies. For regression results, the company size significantly influences the quantity of voluntary disclosure while the quality of voluntary disclosure is affected by company size and type of industry.

Although this study only analyses voluntary disclosure in the annual report for a single year (2009), it is hoped to provide a description of the voluntary disclosure in Shariah- and non–Shariah-compliant companies.

The findings might be used by regulators to set regulations that encourage the quantity and quality of disclosure practice of Shariah-compliant companies to expand the scope of disclosure related to religious activities.

This study measures voluntary disclosure using the disclosure index based on Indonesian regulations and the quantity and quality measurement of Shariah-compliant companies, which may differ from previous Indonesian studies.

This study aims to investigate the effect of shariah status on initial public offering (IPO) underpricing, long-term performance and relationship between short-term and long-term IPO performance, and attempt to gain an insight into the nature of shariah IPO underpricing: a signal or an overreaction.

This study uses IPOs during 1990–2018 from Indonesia. This study uses clustered regressions to address clustering phenomenon in IPO. To investigate long-term performance, this study uses cumulative returns, cumulative abnormal returns and Fama–French three factor regressions. This study also runs cross-sectional regressions on the relationship between short and long-term performances.

This study finds that shariah status reduces lowers non-trading returns (return from offer to open prices), suggesting that shariah status may reduce information asymmetry and compensation. This study finds that both shariah and non-shariah IPOs underperform the benchmarks, with shariah IPOs underperform more. Further analysis shows a negative relationship between initial return and long-term performance for both shariah and non-shariah IPOs, whereas the negative relationship is stronger for shariah IPOs. The results indicate that shariah compliance help reduce information asymmetry; however, shariah compliance does not necessarily signal quality. Instead, shariah compliance seems to induce investor sentiment, resulting in underperformance and reversal patterns in the long run.

The results have various implications. Issuers may use shariah screening to lower underpricing. Investors may manage their investment horizons to mitigate IPO underperformance. Future research is needed to understand the nature of short and long-term performance of shariah IPO across countries. The use of ex-ante shariah definition becomes our limitation. This study also does not use buy and hold return to investigate long-term performance.

The results have various implications. Issuers may use shariah screening to lower underpricing. The results show that sharia certification may play an important role in the IPO process. However, sharia status induces individual investors, leading to more overreaction in the long term. Thus, companies need to balance between sharia certification and overreaction in the long term. Investors may manage their investment horizons to mitigate IPO underperformance.

This paper extends studies on the effect of shariah status on IPO performance using Indonesia data. Using non-trading returns, this study provides sharper analysis on the underpricing study. This study shows that shariah status leads to an overreaction, instead of a signal for quality.

The purpose of this research was to examine the effectiveness of filter rules and investigate the weak form of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) on sample shares of shariah-compliant vs. conventional banks listed on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) stock market.

Nine trading filter strategies with different statistical analyses were used as defined in the literature (Fifield et al., 2005; Almujamed et al., 2018). Daily closing equity prices of a sample of twenty shariah-compliant banks and twenty conventional banks were recorded over the 18-year period ending 31 December 2017.

Shares of shariah-compliant banks in the GCC were not weak-form efficient since trading based on past information was predictable, profitable and outperformed the corresponding naïve buy-and-hold trading strategy. Shares of conventional GCC banks underperformed

This paper’s findings should be useful for central banks and capital market authorities in GCC countries for evaluation when considering new regulations or process changes. Limitations include small sample numbers and need for more recent evaluations of accounting disclosure levels. A wider range of data, statistical analyses and other trading strategies is needed. Potential investors (Muslim and non-Muslim), shariah supervisory boards, and preparers of financial statements can benefit from this study.

The results suggest that selection of trading strategy affects the success of the rule and that mid-sized filters are the best.

This is an innovative study comparing performance of shariah-compliant and conventional banks under different filter rules.