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This study aims to investigate the implications for financial innovation and product development of differences between schools of jurisprudence (fiqh) pertaining across regional Muslim markets, and the consequences for global financial institutions.

The methodology is qualitative, drawing upon several sources. Firstly, differences in interpretation regarding the economic and moral responsibilities of financial institutions in Islamic and secular contexts. Secondly, contrasting tenets of schools of Islamic jurisprudence regarding the permissibility of products traded intra Muslim markets. Thirdly, characteristics of complex financial instruments traded in global secular markets prior to the credit crisis of 2007–2008.

Differences between Islamic and global secular interpretations regarding responsibilities of financial institutions militate against integrated markets across which products can be seamlessly traded. Global financial institutions should recognise that different Islamic schools of jurisprudence prioritise either legal form or substance of financial products, but not both simultaneously. This should be considered when designing new products for regional Muslim markets.

Global financial institutions which focus upon the legal (micro) form of new Islamic products should relate in investor prospectuses and marketing materials the extent to which these accommodate Islamic jurisprudence’s equal (macro) concern for public interest or maslahah. This may comprise the reallocation of risk from those unable to bear it to those willing to assume it for a price, reinforcing rather than compromising economic stability.

This study evaluates implications for product development and marketing for global financial institutions active in regional Muslim markets across which different Islamic schools of jurisprudence apply.

This paper aims to achieve two goals: first, to evaluate the existing interest-free monetary policy tools in the major Islamic financial hubs of Malaysia, Pakistan and Bahrain and; second, to suggest how monetary policy tools in Turkey can be used in other countries.

This study follows a qualitative research method based on literature review, comparison, evaluation and design.

The policy rate cannot be used due to Shariah concerns. The reserve requirement depends on qard, and the reserves should be kept separately in the central bank. In terms of ijarah sukuk, Shariah concerns should be taken into account and a new structure, as displayed in Figure 3, should be followed. Government investment certificates can be used as an interest-free monetary policy tool. A genuine mudarabah interbank investments can also be used. Wadiah acceptance with no habitual gift can be used as well, and Tawarruq and central bank notes are not preferable due to Shariah concerns as well. Having said that, a Turkey-based tawarruq platform can be structured for others to use instead of applying to London.

This paper’s unique suggestion is to develop an interbank taqaruz market and a taqaruz method with the central bank. It is also unique for Turkey in the subject.

This study aims to explore the prospects of istijrar financing in the Islamic banking of Bangladesh. Istijrar is a supply sale contract that facilitates recurrent transactions under a master agreement without needing a deal-to-deal agreement. Murabahah financing in Bangladesh is being criticized for Shari’ah violations, which can be minimized if istijrar financing is integrated and applied.

The study uses a qualitative approach, primarily using a semistructured interview method to collect the primary data. The study conducted 13 one-to-one interviews with leading Islamic banking experts in the country, including Shari’ah scholars, Islamic bankers and regulators. Besides, the study consults with classical and contemporary fiqhi sources to realize the status of istijrar sale in Islamic law. Thematic analysis is performed to explore the qualitative data.

The study finds that istijrar financing has great prospects in the Islamic banking of Bangladesh. Istijrar is applicable in consumer financing and can be offered as an alternative or supplement to murabahah. Also, postimport murabahah financing can be structured with istijrar, while it can also be used in export financing. Besides, a few challenges should be dealt with before offering istijrar, such as proper structure, lack of literacy, stakeholders’ awareness, Shari’ah and regulatory approval and alignment with the law of the land.

Murabahah financing is dominant on the asset side of Islamic banks’ balance sheets in Bangladesh. Murabahah practice in Bangladesh is frequently criticized for some possible Shari’ah violations. Also, more documents are needed for each murabahah operation, which eventually accelerates the costs. Applying istijrar would minimize these issues as it does not require a new contract for each deal. Multiple supplies can be done under a single agreement. Besides, istijrar reduces documentation hassle and transaction costs. Istijrar would be an easy practice and benefit the bank and its clients.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge and the Islamic banking industry. The existing studies have not adequately addressed the potential of istijrar in Islamic banking. In addition, this study will be an eye-opener for Islamic bankers to develop new products with istijrar.

This study aims to identify calendar anomalies that can affect stock returns and asymmetric volatility. Thus, the objective of this study is twofold: on the one hand, it examines the impact of calendar anomalies on the returns of both conventional and Islamic indices in Indonesia, and on the other hand, it analyzes the impact of these anomalies on return volatility and whether this impact differs between the two indices.

The authors apply the GJR-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity model to daily data of the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) and the Jakarta Islamic Index for the period ranging from October 6, 2000 to March 4, 2022.

The authors provide evidence that the turn-of-the-month (TOM) effect is present in both conventional and Islamic indices, whereas the January effect is present only for the conventional index and the Monday effect is present only for the Islamic index. The month of Ramadan exhibits a positive effect for the Islamic index and a negative effect for the conventional index. Conversely, the crisis effect seems to be the same for the two indices. Overall, the results suggest that the impact of market anomalies on returns and volatility differs significantly between conventional and Islamic indices.

This study provides useful information for understanding the characteristics of the Indonesian stock market and can help investors to make their choice between Islamic and conventional equities. Given the presence of some calendar anomalies in the Indonesia stock market, investors could obtain abnormal returns by optimizing an investment strategy based on seasonal return patterns. Regarding the day-of-the-week effect, it is found that Friday’s mean returns are the highest among the weekdays for both indices which implies that investors in the Indonesian stock market should trade more on Fridays. Similarly, the TOM effect is significantly positive for both indices, suggesting that for investors are called to concentrate their transactions from the last day of the month to the fourth day of the following month. The January effect is positive and statistically significant only for the conventional index (JCI) which implies that it is more beneficial for investors to invest only in conventional assets. In contrast, it seems that it is more advantageous for investors to invest only in Islamic assets during Ramadan. In addition, the findings reveal that the two indices exhibit lower returns and higher volatility, which implies that it is recommended for investors to find other assets that can serve as a safe refuge during turbulent periods. Overall, the existence of these calendar anomalies implies that policymakers are called to implement the required measures to increase market efficiency.

The existing literature on calendar anomalies is abundant, but it is mostly focused on conventional stocks and has not been sufficiently extended to address the presence of these anomalies in Shariah-compliant stocks. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study to date has examined the presence of calendar anomalies and asymmetric volatility in both Islamic and conventional stock indices in Indonesia.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the marketing mix, customer perceptions, and religion on the buying decision of Islamic banking products in an emerging market namely the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This study adopts a quantitative approach to analyze the data of 435 respondents collected through an online survey during January–February 2022. Data analysis of direct and moderating relationships are done through Smart PLS (partial least squares) using structural equation modelling (SEM) technique.

The results indicate that marketing mix (product, price, place and promotion) and customer perceptions have a positive direct relation with the buying decision of Islamic banking products in the UAE. However, moderation analysis shows that religion is a non-significant moderator for the above relationships.

This study combines potential variables from the perspectives of marketing, human mindset, and individual beliefs. The findings of this study provide a wider understanding of consumer behavior toward Islamic banking products. Marketers of the Islamic banking industry can utilize these findings for effective market segmentation and well-crafted marketing strategies. This will ultimately contribute to the sustainable growth and development of the Islamic banking industry in the UAE and other regions.

The purpose of this study is to formulate a governance and regulatory framework for Islamic crypto assets (ICAs). A balanced regulatory framework is required to protect consumers and to encourage digital Islamic finance innovation.

This study focuses on Indonesia and compares it to other countries, specifically Malaysia and the UK, using statutory, comparative and conceptual research approaches.

The ICAs are permissible (halal) commodities/assets to be traded if they fulfil the standards as goods or commodities that can be traded with a sale and purchase contract (sil’ah) and have an underlying asset (backed by tangible assets such as gold). Islamic social finance activities such as zakat and Islamic microfinance activities such as halal industry are backed by ICAs. The regulatory framework needed to support ICAs includes the Islamic Financial Services Act, shariah supervisory boards, shariah governance standards and ICA exchanges.

This study only examined crypto assets (tokens as securities) and not cryptocurrencies. It used regulations in several countries with potential in Islamic finance development, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the UK.

The ICA regulatory framework is helpful as an element of a comprehensive strategy to develop a lasting Islamic social finance ecosystem.

The development of crypto assets must be supported by a regulatory framework to protect consumers and encourage innovation in Islamic digital finance.

ICA has growth prospects; however, weak regulatory support and minimal oversight indicate weak legal protection for consumers and investors. Regulating ICA, optimising supervision, implementing shariah governance standards and having ICA exchanges can strengthen the Islamic economic ecosystem.

This paper evaluates the performance of actively managed conventional and Islamic equity funds in a developing economy with a focus to assess the performance-growth puzzle posited by Gruber (1993) (a.k.a Gruber’s puzzle). Under the context of an emerging market of Pakistan, this study explores if actively managed equity fund (AMEF) managers have been able to add value by outperforming the market in terms of stock-selection and market-timing abilities; and the comparative performance analysis of Islamic versus conventional AMEFs is also carried out.

We employ Sharpe and Treynor ratios, Capital asset pricing model, Fama–French three factors model (1993), Carhart four-factor model (1997) and Hendrickson (1981) market timing models on 45 equity funds comprising of 23 conventional and 22 Islamic equity funds operating in Pakistan for a period of 10 years. The overall sample period (2008–2018) is divided into two 5 years sub-periods (i.e. 2009–2013 and 2014–2018) and three 3 years sub-periods (2009–2011, 2012–2014 and 2015–2017) to be viewed in conjunction with the country's macro-economic condition.

We report that the actively managed equity funds (AMEFs) were unable to beat the market index with their stock selection or market timing capabilities. However, AMEFs depicted improved performance in the post-global financial crisis period where both conventional and Islamic AMEFs generated substantial rewards for the given amount of risk. Also, conventional AMEFs outperformed Islamic AMEFs potentially due to their holdings in highly leveraged value and large-cap stocks, while Islamic AMEFS invest more cautiously in small-cap and value firms. Analysis of market timing skills revealed that the funds have not been able to select the undervalued stocks and adopted a defensive strategy in the post-global financial crisis recovery period.

Our findings shed some interesting insights and raise some pertinent questions for research, policy, and practice – specifically for developing countries’ context. The no ‘return-growth’ configuration defies its fit with the ‘Gruber puzzle’ and somewhat presents a case of what we call the ‘Inverse Grubber puzzle’. This novel notion of the ‘Inverse Grubber puzzle’ should inform policy and practice to reflect on their practices, institutional arrangement, regulatory framework and policy design in developing economies characterized by lacklustre performance and growth of AMEFs. For example, the regulatory design may consider focusing on stimulating financial inclusion and deepening by motivating low-cost Index tracker funds (ITFs) – with lower fund management costs, while allocating the avoided cost to flow towards effective marketing campaigns driving greater awareness, financial deepening, and investor base diversification. For future research, financial development researchers may explore the implications and appropriateness of AMEFs versus ITFs in other developing economies.

The work reported in this paper is original and constitutes a valuable asset for ethno-religious-sensitive investors. The research has not been published in any capacity and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

This paper aims to propose a model for democratization of Islamic home financing to tackle the issue of sustainability of homeownership affordability.

A conceptual framework and fractional equity model (FEM) are developed to incorporate big data analytics, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology in an ecosystem for affordability and sustainability of homeownership via the proposed financing model. In addition, the FEM adopts the simulation approach to show its validity in terms of liquidity when compared with traditional home financing. In this regard, this paper is focused on developing and demonstrating the feasibility of a new financing model, rather than testing specific hypotheses or relationships. This is to propose the democratization model for Islamic Home Financing that will not benefit the prospective home buyers without compromising the profitability of the financial institutions.

The findings indicate that the proposed end-to-end solution within the financing ecosystem can lead to more efficient matching market between the buyers and sellers of houses, reduced transaction costs, greater transparency and enhanced efficiency which in the end could lead to lower costs of owning homes and sustained financial resilience among house owners. The findings indicate that the FEM model is able to increase homeownership with more elements of liquidity, marketability and sustainability for homebuyers.

This research highlights the potential of big data and blockchain technology in democratizing Islamic home financing and evidence that the transfer of ownership is possible through tokenization. However, this will require a mature financing environment to adapt the technology for practical application.

The model proposes a solution to propagate shared prosperity among stakeholders such as the house buyers/owners, sellers, investors as well the government agencies. The proposed FEM model provides alternative home financing that is more marketable, flexible and sustainable for households/buyers and financiers.

It is hoped that with the proposed financing ecosystem to promote affordability and sustainability of homeownership via big data analytics, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology can lead to greater financial resilience for homeowners which can then be translated to enhanced well-being, increased productivity and can further promote economic growth.

This research is a concept paper based on academic research and industry collaboration with a technology provider.

Islamic banking has undergone significant adaption since its inception. This study aims to investigate why and how Islamic banks adapt their services, using participatory financing as evidence.

A qualitative study is designed, using working capital financing and commodity operations financing in Pakistan as analytical units. The data for each analytical unit is analyzed using a qualitative content analysis, while the findings are synthesized using a cross-case synthesis method.

Findings suggest that participatory financing has undergone extensive adaptation in the Islamic banking industry of Pakistan, in the wake of resolving constraints to participatory financing and increasing its viability. Consequently, participatory finance has emerged as an attractive and viable option in Pakistan. These findings suggest that unlike in the past, where Islamic banks used to buffer themselves from the environment and ignore the market demands, they have learned to respond effectively to the market demands and the challenges posed by the environment.

Findings suggest that the adaptation strategy is more effective than the migration strategy, because it enables the financial service systems to reduce the underlying risks by avoiding emergent threats and eradicating the inherent weaknesses.

The extant literature provides a generalized view on the adaptation process that Islamic banks undergo to comply with their environment. However, it is limited in terms of conceptualizing the adaptations and innovations in their products and the underlying structural variations. The present study fills this gap.

This study aims to determine the effect of Islamic branding, experiential marketing and word of mouth on college decisions and to find marketing strategies through strengthening Islamic branding based on experiential marketing to increase the number of students at Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education.

This study used a quantitative method, with data collection carried out using a survey method by giving questionnaires to respondents. The respondents' criteria are active students, at least in semester three, who have studied at Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education in Indonesia, using a sampling technique with accidental sampling. Data analysis used Partial Least Square - Structural Equation Modeling to determine the estimated results or model predictions.

The results showed a significant direct effect of experiential marketing, Islamic branding and word of mouth on college decisions. There is an indirect effect between experiential marketing and Islamic branding on college decisions through word of mouth, but the word-of-mouth variable could not mediate the relationship between experiential marketing and Islamic branding on college decisions perfectly.

The limitation of the results of the study is that it uses respondents who are and have participated in learning activities on the Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education, where the Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education has added value compared to other private campuses. The added value on the Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education is the overall learning activity based on Kemuhammadiyahan Islam in Indonesia. Islam Kemuhammadiyahan is the identity of the Islamic branding strategy on the Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education, which is only owned by the Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education.

This study recommends marketing strategies through strengthening Islamic branding based on experiential marketing to increase the number of students at Muhammadiyah-Aisyiyah Higher Education.

The novelty of this research is the addition of experiential marketing and Islamic branding variable measurements on word of mouth and college decisions, especially prospective students to study at Islamic Higher Education in Indonesia.