Religious compliance in Islamic financial institutions

The central goal of this research is to explore the approach of the Islamic banking industry in defining and implementing religious compliance at regulatory, institutional, and individual level within the Islamic Banking and Finance (IBF) industry. It also examines the discrepancies, ambiguities and paradoxes that are exhibited in the individual and institutional behaviour in relation to the infusion and enactment of religious exigencies into compliance processes in IBF. Through the combined lenses of institutional work and a sensemaking perspective, this research portrays the practice of infusion of Islamic law in Islamic banks as being ambiguous and drifting down to the institutional and actor levels. In instances of both well-codified and non-codified regulatory frameworks for Shariah compliance, institutional rules ambiguity, rules interpretation and enactment ambiguities were found to be prevalent. The individual IBF professionals performed retrospective and prospective actions to adjust the role and rules boundaries both in the case of a Muslim and a non-Muslim country. The sensitizing concept of religious compliance is the primary theoretical contribution of this research and provides a tool to understand the nature of what constitutes Shariah compliance and the dynamics of its implementation. It helps to explain the empirical consequences of the lack of a clear definition of Shariah compliance in the regulatory frameworks and standards available for the industry. It also addresses the calls to have a clear reference on what constitute Shariah compliance in IBF as proposed in previous studies (Hayat, Butter, & Kock, 2013; Maurer, 2003, 2012; Pitluck, 2012). The methodological and theoretical perspective of this research are unique in the use of multi-level analysis and approaches that blend micro and macro perspectives of the research field, to illuminate and provide a more complete picture of religious compliance infusion and enactment in IBF

ULAMA AND THE NATION-STATE: Comprehending the Future of Political Islam in Indonesia

This book reviews the central issues related to the perceptions of Indonesian ulama to the idea of nation-states and their derivative concepts. The strengthening of the role and discourse of ulama in political debates has encouraged our researchers to carry out serious studies to analyze the future of the nation and the politics of Islam in Indonesia. The survey of the ulama’s perceptions of the nation-state is the first step to see the level of acceptance of ulama towards the concept and its dimensions and character. Indeed, some ulama reject the idea of a nation-state, but this refusal needs to be analyzed carefully. Not all of these rejections are based on the idea of rejecting the nation-state. In the survey, the researcher found that “reservation” of ulama against the nation-state is based not only on ideological aspects but also on the strict understanding of tradition and dimensions of locality wrapped in ethnicit

Survey to assess the problems of corporate governance facing Islamic Financial Institutions (IFI’s) at this moment in time

This dissertation highlights and analyses the results of a Survey to assess the problems of corporate governance facing Islamic Financial Institutions (IFI’s) at this moment in time. The significance of the dissertation is in describing governance in Islamic financial institutions and how there are numerus matters under the investigation process, and to view the entire area of corporate governance from a religious context. A solution to deal with these problems from a religious angle, whereby the obligation of adhering to good corporate governance practices is perceived from the perspective of religious obligations. One of the objectives of this paper is to examine, and create greater awareness of, some of the critical issues related to corporate governance in Islamic financial institutions. A second, perhaps, a more significant objective is to emphasize how improvements in corporate governance in such institutions can come about by viewing them as a religious obligation, and thereby preserving their acceptance but safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders. Islamic Shariah provides guidelines that can help the Islamic finance industry alleviate problems resulting from the dualism of improving financial efficiency and observing the rules of Shariah. A greater commitment to the objectives of Shariah may allow the industry to escape the argument that Islamic finance is dissimilar in form but effectively the same in substance to conventional finance

Sharia incorporated : a comparative overview of the legal systems of twelve muslim countries in past and present

Uitgebreid onderzoek wijst uit dat de roep om extreme sharia toch niet heeft geleid tot een algemene wending richting conservatisme in het geheel van rechtssystemen in moslimlanden. Sterker nog, uit een objectieve studie uitgevoerd door de Universiteit Leiden, blijkt juist dat in een aantal moslimlanden er een liberalisering heeft plaatsgevonden, vooral in het familierecht. Bovendien wijzen de onderzoekers in deze studie erop dat acceptatie van mensenrechten door moslimlanden aanmerkelijk is toegenomen, terwijl de uitvoering van wrede lijfstraffen zoals steniging en amputatie juist is afgenomen. Dit zijn slechts enkele van de ontwikkelingen die aangetoond worden in deze unieke publicatie over de verhouding tussen sharia en nationaal recht in twaalf moslimlanden. Sharia incorporated vergelijkt de theorie en de praktijk van de Sharia in de moslimwereld en draagt daarmee bij aan inzicht om een verstandig beleid te voeren "Sharia incorporated is essential reading for anyone who seeks a better informed, more nuanced picture of law in Muslim majority countries than we normally get. Without being starry-eyed, the country studies show the complexity of reconciling law with custom, and religious with secular laws. Sometimes violent Puritanism clashes with older forms of religious discourse, market economies affect older ways of life, and modern states struggle to make traditional and modern institutions cohere. If nothing else, this book offers a necessary antidote to glib thinking and ignorant prejudice." Ian Buruma Bekijk " http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZbm_oluDWA ">hier een toelichting op het boek door Jan Michiel Otto. The aim of Sharia Incorporated is to provide unbiased and contextual information about a topic that has of late been hijacked by politics in the Muslim world as well as in the West. Sharia Incorporated, written by laudable international scholars, is an ambitious study of the incorporation of Islamic law traditions into national legal systems. The book also explores the sensitive topic of 'Western' human rights and other rule of law standards in a Muslim world. It provides an in-depth analysis of the role of sharia in the historical and legal formation of twelve representative Muslim states, with a unique comparison of key issues raised by the 'Islamic awakening' of recent decades. In the preface Jan Michiel Otto goes to the heart of the prevailing environment in which Western discourses tend to oversimplify the substance and effect of Islam and sharia. "Sharia incorporated is essential reading for anyone who seeks a better informed, more nuanced picture of law in Muslim majority countries than we normally get. Without being starry-eyed, the country studies show the complexity of reconciling law with custom, and religious with secular laws. Sometimes violent Puritanism clashes with older forms of religious discourse, market economies affect older ways of life, and modern states struggle to make traditional and modern institutions cohere. If nothing else, this book offers a necessary antidote to glib thinking and ignorant prejudice." Ian Buruma Watch a clarification on the book by Jan Michiel Otto" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu1yF_nhvVc "> her

RESPECTING THE ETHICAL TENSION BETWEEN SURVEILLANCE AND PRIVACY IN PROMOTING PUBLIC HEALTH AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT

The recognition of the need to undertake surveillance and to protect privacy is well established. However, the continually changing circumstances and fast-paced development of healthcare today requires a continuing need to respect this ethical tension between surveillance and privacy. Hence, this dissertation is to respect the ethical tension between surveillance and privacy in promoting public health and disease management. This dissertation investigates the ethics of conducting public health surveillance, including the challenges associated with obtaining consent and protecting data from unauthorized access. The dissertation will focus on the ethical consequences of big data, including issues associated with obtaining informed consent, data ownership, and privacy. As the dissertation concludes, it will provide an ethical justification of observing privacy in public health surveillance. The analysis is pursued in the dissertation in the following manner. After a brief introduction in Chapter 1, the analysis begins in Chapter 2 by explaining the importance of consent with regard to protecting privacy, including confidentiality in clinical ethics. Chapter 3 moves the discussion to the realm of public health ethics, discussing two examples of population health matters to illustrate the dissertation’s focus. Chapter 4 focuses on the complex issue of disease management for which the ethical tension between surveillance and privacy is pivotal. Chapter 5 then discusses the critical need for respecting this ethical tension in research protocols from a global perspective. Chapter 6 moves the discussion to the fast-developing debate of data analysis in healthcare for which respecting the ethical tension between surveillance and privacy will be pivotal for the continuing success in this new arena. Finally, Chapter 7 provides a brief conclusion to the dissertation

Adequacy of the legal safeguards of the patients’ confidentiality right under the Saudi Arabian laws

The concept of patient confidentiality is nearly as old as the practice of health professions and has evolved over the years, from one jurisdiction to the other. The duty of patient confidentiality can be a fundamental human right, an ethical duty or a legal duty. Under the Saudi Arabian jurisdiction, the concept of patient confidentiality has evolved around its Shari’ah-based (Islamic) legal culture, its history and the concept of universality of human rights. Patient confidentiality is gaining global attention as a result of rising cases of confidentiality breach incidents. This study examines the adequacy of the safeguards against such breaches under the Saudi Arabian legal system. The aim is to advocate for a model that protect patients and will be compatible with the tenets of the Shari’ah. The study reviews literature on patient confidentiality and the need for healthcare practitioners to ensure that they protect patients’ private information. The study also explores the circumstances under which a patient’s private information may be disclosed. The research identifies that Saudi Arabia does not have a holistic framework for the protection of patient confidentiality as several of the laws are deficient. There is also a lack of a dedicated legislation aimed at safeguarding patient confidentiality. The research reviews laws, extant literature on patient confidentiality and a variety of other sources. The recommendations of the study are hinged on two theories namely: human rights in Islam and human rights in patient care. The research adopts the practice in Europe and the triple tests upheld by the European Court of Human Rights for insights into how a framework for patient confidentiality in Saudi Arabia can be modelled. The study supports a liberal interpretation of Shari’ah sources to ensure that law remains dynamic and provides solution to the challenges of an evolving society

Revolutions and 'Rough Cuts': Bodily Technologies for Regulating Sexuality in Contemporary Iran

Studies on the regulation of sexuality in the Islamic Republic of Iran are often focused on the regulatory tool of criminalization in relation to sex and sexuality. More recently, popular academic debates have centered on the revolutionary sexual practices among a subculture of upper-middle class Tehrani youth. Yet the scope of practices, methods, and technologies used to regulate and express sexuality in contemporary Iran are manifold and diverse, conflictive and collaborative, and seldom reflective of the state's ideological imperative of an "Islamic sexual morality." This dissertation examines the regulation of sexuality in Iran from 1965 to 2012, a period beginning with the launching of modernization reforms under the Pahlavi dynasty and ending well into the third decade of the Islamic Republic. As seen through state, religious, juridical, popular cultural, and public health discourses on sexuality, this project examines the construction and application of bodily technologies --meaning the physical and conceptual modes of regulation enacted to discipline and/or control "immodest" and "deviant" expressions of men and women. This project concentrates on five unique sites: a popular women's journal, a red-light district, temporary marriage, iconic public statues, and a HIV-AIDS advocacy organization in Tehran. In each site, I identify, compare, and contextualize the methods of regulation, posing the following questions: how are bodily technologies constructed discursively and socially in Iran? And, in particular, what values and perspectives are incorporated in them, serving to dictate what kinds of realities, lifestyles, and desires are both permissible and accessible? By tracing the construction and strategic application of both old and new modes of regulation, I discuss how each mode engages with the forces of modernity, consumerism, prostitution, and religious discourse. Also, I examine how sites and modes of regulation mutate into each other, breaking form to join with other disciplinary methods to condition a similar kind of isolation, concealment, and stigmatization. I argue that even despite the change in regimes, from the secular, pro-West Pahlavi monarchy to the clerical-led Islamic Republic, there are shifts and continuities in the modes of regulation. This is especially evident during periods of economic, social, and political crises. Moreover, I contend that in most of these sites, the body is one of the ways through which sexuality is regulated; in others, sexuality is disciplined through the spatial cleansing of brothel sites and, after 1979, in the official promotion of temporary marriages to assist in controlling the rise of prostitution. I establish that through the processes of sexualization and desexualization, modification and erasure, and denial and acceptance, sexuality is regulated not only through the disciplining of women and their bodies, but also through the dispersing and internalizing of positive ideals about health, family, marriage, modesty, and pleasure for the Iranian citizen and the general body politic. The impetus for my project stems from what I believe to be a necessity in reviewing and challenging the dominant, scholarly discourse on gender and sexuality within the discipline of Iranian studies, which tends to (re)present Iranian women as political and/or religious subjects, in lieu of women attempting to navigate and construct meaning for themselves in such a complex sociological terrain. In academic, state-sponsored, and Twelver Shi'a religious discourses, the tendency is to focus on medicalizing, gendering, and anatomizing Iranian women through the paradigms of modernization and nationalism. My work is an intervention in these debates, as I incorporate sociological fieldwork conducted in Iran over a five-year time period, when I interviewed a cross-section of Iranian women about issues of health, body image, maternity, and sexuality--among many others. This research offers valuable ethnographic material not only for studies on sexuality, but also for sociological studies on the complex construction of identity, personhood, and power in the contemporary Middle East

The State as Mujahid: Jihadist Norms in International Narrative of Saudi Arabia

This study explored Saudi narrative for the expression of jihadist norms and tested the extent to which Critical Constructivism can account for the presence (or absence) of those norms. Rather than identifying jihadist norms, this study found that contra-norms are expressed in Saudi narrative. These are expressed in a complex way, preserving the legitimacy of Saudi Arabia in multiple theatres. Further, it found Critical Constructivism is sufficient to explain the presence of these norms given the various power dynamics