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Islamic banks (IBs) place significant importance on their religious identity, prompting the utilization of impression management (IM) strategies to emphasize such identity. This paper aims to discuss the motivations behind using IM in the creation of religious identity by IBs, and to explore the use of religious symbols and language as a form of religious rhetoric. It is argued that to counteract the threats to their religious identity, IBs use IM techniques, predominantly through the inclusion of religious symbols and rhetoric.

An empirical exploratory study, using content analysis, was conducted on the annual reports of the largest IBs for the year 2022. The analyses involved a total of 39 banks based on a filtered list from The Banker’s Top Islamic Financial Institutions of 2022. A manual content analysis was undertaken to extract religious symbols, images and contents.

The findings reveal the use of IM techniques that emphasize the religious identity of these banks. Notably, IBs consistently reaffirm their commitment to Sharia compliance and disclose their contributions to Zakah. In addition, the analysis reveals the incorporation of Quranic verses, religious iconographic images and other religious rhetoric statements in the annual reports of many IBs.

The analysis concludes that the assertion by IBs that their guiding principles are rooted in Islamic values are supported by the religious terminology and imagery embedded in their annual reports. Alongside mere religious symbolism, the terms and images are integral part of the corporate identity of the Islamic that not only sends persuasive signals to stakeholders but also help build an impression on the activities of the IBs.

IM has been a key objective and strategy of companies. This study aimed at exploring whether and how IBs used religious symbolism as an integral part of IM and corporate identity.

The study examines the effects of religious identity, practices and beliefs on Muslim Americans' perceptions of discrimination and the extent to which religion might shape the perception of discrimination differently within Muslim race/ethnic groups.

Study data were obtained from the 2011 Pew Survey (N = 1,033), a nationally representative sample of Muslim adults 18 years old and older living in the United States. The sample weights with the exclusion of non-response cases were used for bivariate analyses. For multivariate analyses, multiple imputation procedures were employed to impute missing values on all variables.

Muslim Americans with high levels of religious practices are more likely and Muslim Americans with strong belief in religious tenets are less likely to report experiencing different forms of discrimination. Black, Asian and other/mixed race Muslims with high levels of religious practices report higher rates of discrimination than their white coreligionists. Within group comparison shows that the pure extrinsic group reports higher rates of perceived discrimination than the pro-religious, pure intrinsic and non-religious groups.

The study emphasizes varying effects of religious factors on different Muslim American groups in perceived discrimination and suggests researchers challenge a common perception of viewing religion as a “master status” for the Muslim identity.

The psychological foundations of consumers’ reasons for product choices are analyzed in the field of marketing. The purpose of this research is to identify the implicit reasons for white meat consumption in the UK and Turkey.

In the scope of the means-end chain theory, in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals, and the reasons for consumers’ product preferences were revealed by moving from concrete to abstract.

It has been determined that the white meat consumption of Muslims in the UK is primarily shaped by their religious approach. In Turkey, on the contrary, both consumption patterns and reasons for preference are changing. It has been found that white meat consumption is associated with values such as security needs, satisfaction with life, self-fulfillment and happiness.

This research has contributed to the marketing literature by examining consumers’ implicit consumption reasons for white meat in the context of religion and culture.

Marketing strategies should focus on building trust in halal certification, particularly in the UK. Brands should associate their promotion strategies with feelings of security and happiness, which are associated in the minds of consumers.

This study is a new study in terms of revealing the connotations of consumers about consuming chicken and fish and showing the implicit needs that the brands can emotionally associate with.

This study aims to understand factors that explain the use of revenge and forgiveness by Hindu and Muslim group members in reaction to the rival group’s negative reciprocal behaviour based on norms of negative reciprocity.

Participants from Hindu (n = 175) and Muslim (n = 134) groups in India were presented with two norm-violating situations. Situation 1 involved an intergroup episode and Situation 2 involved an inter-community episode. Their own group members had engaged in the violation of the norms of the other group to which the rival group members had responded negatively. Participants anticipated the likelihood of their group members using revenge or forgiveness in response to the other group’s negative reaction. These reactions were predicted by religious, political and cultural identities, fraternalistic relative deprivation (FRD), relative power, anger and hate, and perception of the appropriateness of their reaction.

Social identities predicted intergroup revenge and forgiveness differently for the two groups in the two situations. The stronger religious identity of Muslims, not of Hindus, reduced the likelihood of their using revenge but increased it for forgiveness in both situations. Political identity associated positively with forgiveness in Situation 2 for both groups. Cultural identity predicted the likelihood of Muslims opting for forgiveness in both situations. FRD was not a significant predictor of revenge or forgiveness for Muslims. In the case of Hindus, it reduced the likelihood of their engaging in forgiveness in Situation 2. Relative power associated positively with the likelihood of Muslims, not Hindus, using revenge in both situations. Anger increased the possibility of Hindus reacting in revenge, as well as, forgiveness in the two situations. Anger did not predict revenge for Muslims but it related negatively with forgiveness in the two situations. Stronger hate was associated with revenge for Muslims. The choice of using revenge or forgiveness by own group members was positively predicted by the norms of negative reciprocity for both Hindus and Muslims.

The study used a convenience sample of young people which reduces the generalizability of the findings.

The findings of this study have implications for designing interventions for resolving intergroup conflicts in various social settings.

The paper adds to the norm violation theory of intergroup relations by focusing on counter-reactions and the understanding of the dynamics of intergroup conflicts.

This study aims to investigate the impact of dissimilarity perceptions, specifically related to religious identity and socioeconomic class, on identity disclosure behavior within the workplace. It also explores the relationship between disclosure behavior and perceptions of workplace ostracism. The study further examines the moderating roles of psychological safety climate and diversity-focused human resource (HR) practices in these dynamics.

Using quantitative methods, this confirmatory study analyzes the relationships between dissimilarity perceptions, identity disclosure behavior, workplace ostracism perceptions, psychological safety climate and diversity-focused HR policies. Hypotheses are tested to understand the effects of these variables in the workplace context.

The findings reveal that subjective dissimilarity perceptions are negatively associated with identity disclosure behavior. In addition, disclosure behavior is positively linked to perceptions of workplace ostracism. Surprisingly, the study finds that the psychological safety climate moderates the relationship between dissimilarity perceptions and identity disclosure behavior, showing a positive relationship when psychological safety climate perceptions are high. Furthermore, perceptions of diversity-focused HR policies moderate the relationship between disclosure behavior and perceptions of workplace ostracism, indicating a weakened relationship when diversity-focused HR practices are perceived as stronger.

This study contributes to the understanding of workplace diversity, inclusion and management by emphasizing the role of subjective dissimilarity perceptions, identity disclosure behavior and workplace ostracism. It explores the moderating influence of psychological safety climate and diversity-focused HR practices, offering valuable insights for both theory and practical strategies in the context of diversity management.

Based on qualitative data from a large study exploring Muslim experiences in the workplace, this chapter explains how Muslim dress standards inform identity and are influenced by US cultural ideals about self-presentation and perceived anti-Muslim hostility. Theoretical sampling was used to find 25 men and 59 women, 32 of whom are veiled. These individuals worked at major corporations as numerical minorities or held professions where they encountered non-Muslims regularly. Informed by theories of orientalism and social identity, findings examine hegemonic representations of organizational power and describe how men could employ masculine practices to navigate anti-Muslim discourse and foster a sense of belonging at work. Within immigrant-centered workplaces, women face cultural backlash for appropriating Western styles deemed immodest. While working outside their community, women who wore hijabs emphasized their femininity through softer colors, makeup, or “unpinning” their veil to offset the visceral reaction to their hijab. Thus, adapting to workplace dress expectations is structured by intersections of gender, religion, and workplace location. This chapter illustrates how Muslim dress strategies indirectly reflect how Western standards of dress, behavior, and self-expression determine qualifications and approachability within workplace structures, marginalizing Muslims and reproducing racial and gender hierarchies.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between the motivation and satisfaction of visitors, both tourists and residents, of a sacred urban complex located in Santa Catarina, Brazil.

This descriptive research uses quantitative and survey methods to collect the data. The sample of this study consists of 400 visitors, comprising tourists and residents who were in Vale das Graças, Santa Catarina, Brazil, between August and September 2019. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis were used to analyse the data.

The results of this study showed people who visit the site for reasons of religious belief, cultural pleasure and mental relaxation feel satisfied and emotionally touched by the religious atmosphere. It was also perceived that all dimensions of satisfaction significantly influenced the motivation to visit the Vale da Graça; that is, tourists and residents tend to feel more motivated to visit the Sacred Complex when they are satisfied with the contact with faith provoked by the visit.

This research provides theoretical and managerial contributions. Initially, this study contributes to research related to urban religious tourism and the perception of residents and tourists (visitors) in relation to a sacred complex. In general, this research on the subject investigated only the tourist's perspective. In addition, this study also brings management contributions for the destination administrators by understanding the behaviour of visitors to religious tourist sites located in the urban area of municipalities and giving their opinions on the satisfaction and motivation of aspects related to religious contact to visit such sites, thus helping in the management process of the attraction and surroundings.

Surveys in Europe show that immigration is more of a challenge than an opportunity for a significant number of people. However, little attention is given to attitudes toward immigration in the Middle East. This paper examines the effects of personal values and religiosity on the anti-immigration attitudes of citizens in the Middle East and North African countries.

Utilizing data from the World Values Survey, we analyze how personal values and religiosity affect anti-immigration attitudes in nine Middle Eastern countries. The data covers individual-level data of 9 MENA countries from the WVS Round 7 (2017–2022). Factor analysis is applied as a data reduction method. Afterward, an OLS regression analysis is conducted on the pooled data.

Anti-immigration attitudes increase with age, education, and religiosity. Personal values such as national pride, support for nationals, and belongingness to one’s country significantly affect anti-immigration attitudes. Furthermore, the importance of religion as a measure of religiosity was found to be positively associated with anti-immigration attitudes.

This paper contributes to underexplored literature by investigating how individual-level determinants, such as demographic indicators, personal values, and religious factors, shape anti-immigration attitudes in the MENA context, distinct from European dynamics.

Given the scarcity of studies regarding religious food as a destination attraction and limited research on tourist halal food experience, this study aims to explore and compare halal food experience perceived by Muslim and non-Muslim tourists in a non-Islamic destination.

This study was carried out in a halal food street in Yuanjia Village, China. It used a qualitative approach and interviewed 16 Muslim tourists and 20 non-Muslim tourists.

Six themes and 18 attributes of halal food experience were identified. The findings revealed that Muslim tourists saw the reassuring options and religious value of halal food as important experiences. By contrast, the experiences of abundant choices, value for money, sensory pleasure and unique charm were frequently mentioned by non-Muslim tourists. The nature of halal food, the context of China (i.e. Chinese halal food culture) and the feature of research site (i.e. food operation of Yuanjia Village) work together to create such experiences.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to explore and compare halal food experiences of Muslim and non-Muslim tourists in a non-Islamic country (China). This study suggests that halal food could be an appealing destination attraction, even in non-Islamic destinations. Thus, this study contributes to a better understanding of the halal food experiences and assists destination marketers in promoting halal food.

Organizational research on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is at times siloed; the experience of one minoritized or underrepresented group is treated as completely separate and different from the experience of another group and thus research separately. For example, there are terms that are studied only in the context of one group, and a different term is used to study a very similar (or identical) concept among a different group. Indeed, there are many unique experiences that specific minority groups encounter at work. Because of this end, minority groups should not be fully categorized together, and their individual should not be erased. However, there are shared experiences that many or all minorities experience at work, whether they are a gender minority, racial minority, or a member of any other minoritized group. Recognizing these shared experiences can help scholars develop a deeper understanding of what it's like to be minoritized or underrepresented at work, and therefore help to better serve these communities. To this end, our chapter highlights three such shared but unique minority experiences: three experiences that are common across all minority groups but operationalize slightly differently in different populations. The first experience we discuss is discrimination, as all minorities typically experience some form of negative differential treatment at work. The second experience we discuss is identity management, as many minorities need to actively think about how they present their minority identity to others (regardless of if their identity is “concealable” or not). Finally, we discuss strength through adversity, as many minorities argue that their minority identity is a source of strength and an area that benefits them at work. We conclude the chapter with a call toward intraminority solidarity, suggesting that recognizing shared experiences and working together can help build better workplaces for all minority employees.