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Islamic financing is based on the ideology of Islam, proposing a different economic system than capitalism. The essence of Islamic financing lies in trading of goods, provision of services and/or investment under profit and loss sharing. This study aims to examine legal forms and economic substance of the contracts used by the Islamic financial industry.

To conclude on the objectives of the study, five most widely used contracts (modes/products), including Murabaha, Ijarah, Diminishing Musharaka, Sukuk and Mudaraba (deposits), were selected to test against the theory of the Islamic financial system.

It is found in the process that legally (legal form) contracts/products are in line with theory; however, economic substance is not very different from conventional counter parts.

Through application of alternative calculation measures/methods and proper training of human resources, Islamic financial institutions can shift economic substance of contracts in line with the theory of Islamic finance.

Islamic finance is an emerging area, and reasonably good amount of literature is available; however, perhaps, this is the only piece of work focusing on calculation methods, contributing in economic substance of contracts, being used in modern Islamic finance in addition to legal form as per essence of Islamic financial system.

The much debated topic of economic regulation and deregulation in the perspectives of market transformation that is now gripping the global politico‐economic climate, is studied with the Islamic focus in it. In the attempt, comparative ideas in this area are taken up, particularly those propounded by Baumol with regards to regulation of firms to generate a semblance of competitive pricing. The Islamic firm is studied in reference to a knowledge‐based model of unification as complementarity among possibilities. Such a model is shown to be the crux of Shari'ah in the Islamic political economy as in the broadest sense of the socio‐scientific order, where process‐oriented as opposed to optimal models of equilibrium, apply. In reference to such a knowledge‐centered epistemological model of Divine Unity (Tawhid), it is argued that all kinds of regulation become redundant in the case of the Islamic firm. Such is a firm that complies with Shari'ah rules in the Islamic political economy. Here the socio‐economic transformation is guided towards realizing ethicized markets. The short‐run and long‐run cases are studied with regards to the problem of regulation. What is the nature of regulation for a modern Islamic firm in the face of a global market transformation process that is on? The answer to this question is to be sought first from the viewpoint of Islamic Law (Shari'ah) concerning economic regulation and the nature of goods, transactions, instruments and exchange in the market process. Secondly, the question of validity of some of the present days regulatory practices must be investigated. In this paper the above two points will be the focus of study.

This study aims to examine the validity of the installment payment contract when using the first Islamic credit card (ICC) in Jordan and will explore the hidden techniques that are used to operate such a financial product. The purpose of the study will be achieved by examining the structure and the issues surrounding the first ICC that was introduced to the Jordanian market as a hybrid contract of Qard Hassan (benevolent loan), Murabaha, Wakalah (agency) and Bay‘ Al Ajjal (credit sale). In addition, a further objective is to examine whether this credit card is a Sharia-compliant financial product.

A qualitative research method approach was adopted to understand the issues, nature and structure of the first Jordanian ICC. This was due to the explanatory nature of the product, the different financial solutions it offered and the fact that the ICC in Jordan is, to date, relatively unexplored. This paper used the technique of content/thematic analysis that involves multiple sequenced steps to analyze these matters.

The main finding of this research is that the first ICC in the Jordanian financial market has caused a degree of uncertainty. This is because, once a customer decides to choose the installment payment contract option, the bank does not have real possession of the assets in question. The issue of constructive possession has been denied by several classic and contemporary Islamic scholars, including the General Iftaa Department of Jordan. Therefore, it can be seen that the installment payment contract option does not comply with Islamic principles and particular Fatwas that have been decreed.

This is the first study that shows how the first ICC, being a new Islamic financial product in Jordan, operates in relation to the installment payment contract. In addition, focusing on the concept of changing the nature of the contract from a Qard Hassan (benevolent loan) to a hybrid contract is significant, to encourage Islamic scholars to take a clear, legal stand under Sharia law.

The focus of this paper is to develop an econometric model that measures the changes in GDP for the OIC states.

This paper focuses on the development of an econometric model which measures the changes of gross domestic product (GDP) for the members of Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) countries. In particular, we analyze the growth of GDP in the OIC countries and their implications for expanded marketing opportunities for goods and services. We also discuss some challenges the marketers may face in future if the formation of OIC countries block become an economic identity and set up some sort of confederation.

The problem of multi‐collinearity needs to be solved if the model is not going to change.

The recommended solution is to acquire more data on the countries that were absent from the original sample. This may be hard to obtain due to some countries not having a process for collecting accurate statistics.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the criteria used among Islamic Indices, specifically between the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Shari'ah Index (KLSESI) and the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index (DJIM) in screening a permissible company for investment purposes. The two controversial criteria examined are: level of debt and level of liquidity of company.

The paper investigates the 642 companies listed on the Bursa Malaysia in 2006 as approved Shariah's compliant companies by the Shari'ah Advisory Council of the KLSE.

Overall, the results reveal that the KLSESI does not use both the criteria set by the DJIM as its measures during the screening process. As for the level of debt criterion, the results show that 44.07 percent of the companies listed under the KLSESI are highly geared. These companies depend heavily on debt to finance their capital. However, the results for the level of liquidity criterion are not as extreme as the level of debt where it shows only 17 percent of the companies listed under the KLSESI are highly liquid. The results also indicate that if both criteria are compared concurrently, only 198 out of 565 companies listed under the KLSESI conform to the criteria set up by the DJIM.

The main reasons why the differences exist among Islamic Indices are due to micro‐factor as faced by Malaysian companies such as the limited amount of capital resources. The Shari'ah supervisory board of the respective indices represents the sole body that determines the rules or criteria to be used by each index. This explains why the indices differ from one country to another and efforts should be done by regulators in the respective countries to harmonize the differing criteria used.

The paper represents the first study that compares the criteria used by two different indices regarding Islamic capital investment in a developing country.

This chapter investigates the presence of a difference in the systemic risk level between Islamic and conventional banks in Bangladesh. The authors compare systemic resilience of three types of banks: fully fledged Islamic banks, purely conventional banks (CB), and CB with Islamic windows. The authors use the market-based systemic risk measures of marginal expected shortfall and systemic risk to identify which type is more vulnerable to a systemic event. The authors also use ΔCoVaR to identify which type contributes more to a systemic event. Using a sample of observations on 27 publicly traded banks operating over the 2005–2014 period, the authors find that CB is the least resilient sector to a systemic event, and is the one that has the highest contribution to systemic risk during crisis times.

The main purpose of this study is to propose an Islamic model of human behavioral analysis that can explain the determinants such as Islamic moral values, internal factors (e.g. self-efficacy or reasons for and against), external factors (e.g. perceived social support or others from external sources) and empathy (EMP) (humane attitude) to predict niyyah (worshipful intention) toward actual behavior (a’mal) in question.

With this end in mind, this research uses the theory of Islamic entrepreneurship and behavioral reasoning theory as their theoretical foundations. To validate the model, the study uses empirical data on investors’ intention toward sukuk (Islamic bonds or Shari’ah-compliant bonds) purchase in the context of Bangladesh, where very recently the sukuk were introduced by the Central Bank.

Findings of the study indicate that Islamic values and internal factors have the highest effects on external factors and EMP, respectively. Internal factors and Islamic values have moderate and almost similar impacts on EMP. Besides, external factors and EMP have somewhat equally moderate effects on niyyah. Islamic moral values and internal factors have the least influence on internal factors and niyyah, respectively. The external factor is also found to be insignificant to influence EMP. The findings also indicate that EMP, internal control factors and external control factors have mediating effects on niyyah toward sukuk purchase.

These results imply that the present research model successfully predicts and explains the determinants of Islamic worshipful intention toward the actual purchase of sukuk.

Sukuk has been an important Islamic financial instrument that has been growing much rapidly in recent times. So, this paper will help to comprehend that pattern empirically.

Islamic finance has emerged as a dominant financial tool nowadays. This paper contributes to advance that initiative one step further in terms of social and economic development.

This is a conceptual paper written in the area of Islamic Finance. This model has been validated by collating primary data collected from the selected respondents residing in Bangladesh.

This paper aims to add to the debate regarding the appropriate methodology to purify tainted components from shari’ah-compliant equities.

Based on the Qur’anical prohibition against riba and an analysis of the purification methodology recommended by Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) shari’ah Standard 21, this paper highlights the shortcomings in Standard 21 and references the corporate finance literature to argue for the need to also purify the interest tax shield from debt.

Purification is a pivotal element of the Islamic investment process, yet Standard 21 permits a loose interpretation which causes portfolios to be under-purified. Standard 21 also makes no mention of the interest tax shield from debt even though the benefits are at odds with the principles of social justice in Islam. That there is no mention of the interest tax shield from debt in the (limited) literature on the purification of Islamic equities is puzzling.

This paper has implications for the Islamic funds industry and for devout Muslim investors.

The specific contribution of this paper is the identification of the interest expense tax shield (well-established in the corporate finance literature) as a significant non-compliant riba-related component that needs to be considered in the purification process.

The wave of revolutions referred to as the Arab Spring has significantly impacted organizations and contributed to market turbulence. Focusing on spiritual leadership and employee religious values as key determinants of organizational survival in Muslim-majority markets, this paper aims to provide a conceptual framework that can offset consequences of turbulence by leveraging employees’ spiritual foundations to provide a sense of optimism and collective thinking that is vital in times of uncertainty.

The paper reviews the state of turbulence post the Arab Spring and its impact on organizations. It discusses the literature on uncertainty and spiritual leadership, and draws from Islamic human resource literature to identify specific religious values engrained in the local culture.

A multi-staged conceptual model is presented that draws from Islamic principles of Sabr (perseverance), Tawakkul (reliance on God), Ihsan (excelling in work), Reda (acceptance of outcomes) and Al-Amal Al-Jemae’e (teamwork). The multi-staged model can help firms react effectively to turbulence while building their connection to their employee base in Muslim-majority markets.

The paper also advances theoretical work on organizational responses to turbulence, focusing on markets that have received significantly less scholarly attention. Drawing from local spiritual values in a part of the world where religious teachings influence both social and economic aspects of life is an untapped opportunity. It highlights an innovative and important application of religious values in a post-conflict context, and explores a conceptual model that is embedded in the local context rather than borrowing from Western-based models.

A view of Islam as a comprehensive way of life for its adherents is presented. The spiritual and ethical reconstruction of individuals, societies and the world order are given in a socio‐economic framework. The principles of Islam and brotherhood, with reference to the Quran, are explained in some detail.