The concept of Islamic or Shariah-compliant finance is based on core tenets of Islam concerning property rights, social and economic justice, wealth distribution, and governance. One of the key features of the system is prohibition of riba (interest) and gharar (ambiguous contracts or deals) (Kabir and Mahlkrecht 2011, 74; El-Gamal 2009, 58–60). There is consensus among scholars that the prohib...

Article history: Received 21 August 2013 Accepted 15 November 2013 Available online 19 December 2013 Capital adequacy plays an important role in determining banking activities. A bank must hold a minimum level of capital to ensure sufficient funds to buffer against unexpected losses or adverse shocks. This study analyzes and compares Islamic and conventional banks in 14 Organization of Islamic ...

Islamic Banking is growing at a rapid speed and has showed unprecedented growth and expansion in last two decades in spite of mismatching of existing financial framework and business practices. By the end of 2008 volume of Islamic banking has reached to US $ 951 Billion with operation in more than 50 countries. Middle East is the centre of Islamic banking with contribution of approximately 80% ...

The exponential growth of e-commerce borne from globalisation has fuelled the use of e-payment systems that are clearly a prerequisite business practice given that Internet consumers must pay for products and services. It is acknowledged that credit card payment is the foremost method for on-line purchases. However in Islamic countries, such as Libya, religious and ethical barriers prohibit the...

This paper measures and compares the cost, revenue and profit efficiency of 43 Islamic and 37 conventional banks over the period 1990-2005 in 21 countries using Data Envelopment Analysis. It assesses the average and overtime efficiency of those banks based on their size, age, and region using static and dynamic panels. The findings suggest that there are no significant differences between the o...

This paper examines the issue of gender equality within Islam in order to develop an ethical framework for businesses operating in Muslim majority countries. We pay attention to the role of women and seemingly inconsistent expectations of Islamic and western societies with regard to appropriate gender roles. In particular, we contrast a mainstream western liberal individualist view of freedom a...

The Islamic Republic of Iran has a long history of medicine. The principles derived from core Islamic teachings provide a comprehensive moral, ethical, and legal framework for the practice of medicine. The issue of brain death has significant impact on the procurement of organs from cadavers. It is a major subject of debate and interest to bioscientists, legal experts, religious scholars, and t...

The growth of research biobanks has created many new ethical challenges worldwide. This article outlines and discusses key issues in the governance of Saudi Biobank, a newly established national biobank in Saudi Arabia launched in 2014. The Saudi Biobank project includes human biological samples from participants aged 10-70 years and aims to conduct an extensive study on the influence of genes,...

Al Haram Al Shrif in Makkah is the holiest spot on the earth to Muslims. Every year about 14 million people are visiting the place from around the world, this number is increasing over the coming years. No author so far has been able to offer a fundamental study on its patterns, although there are many studies on Islamic patterns on other Islamic sites like Al Hambra and Al-Andolothia Mosque in...

Is Islam compatible with modern economic development? The poor development record of predominantly Muslim countries during the past century has led to claims that only a return to medieval Islamic institutions will produce economic growth in a manner that is compatible with Islamic culture. Using data from the thirteenth century Islamic Levant, this paper examines how one medieval Islamic insti...