Islamic Monetary Economics: Insights from the Literature

This chapter reviews critical early literature of Islamic monetary economics. The prohibition of Riba has imposed challenges on Islamic economists to come up with the viable alternatives to achieve Islamic monetary policy goals. Our extensive review of theoretical and empirical literature indicates that equity based profit- and loss-sharing instruments have been proposed for conducting open market operations in an interest-free economy. Theoretically, the central bank can achieve desired goals by controlling money supply and profit-sharing ratios. The findings from empirical literature suggest that money demand tend to be more stable in an interest-free economy. Whether monetary transmission works through Islamic banking channel is controversial, but the literature is growing. These findings are not surprising as majority Muslim countries lack sustainable and equitable economic growth. Moreover, these countries suffer from higher inflation and unemployment with little or no monetary freedom due to fixed exchange rate regime, shallow financial markets and strict capital control

Higher ethical objective (Maqasid al-Shari'ah) augmented framework for Islamic banks : assessing the ethical performance and exploring its determinants.

This study utilises higher objectives postulated in Islamic moral economy or the maqasid al-Shari’ah theoretical framework’s novel approach in evaluating the ethical, social, environmental and financial performance of Islamic banks. Maqasid al-Shari’ah is interpreted as achieving social good as a consequence in addition to well-being and, hence, it goes beyond traditional (voluntary) social responsibility. This study also explores the major determinants that affect maqasid performance as expressed through disclosure analysis. By expanding the traditional maqasid al-Shari’ah,, we develop a comprehensive evaluation framework in the form of a maqasid index, which is subjected to a rigorous disclosure analysis. Furthermore, in identifying the main determinants of the maqasid disclosure performance, panel data analysis is used by including several key variables alongside political and socio-economic environment, ownership structures, and corporate and Shari’ah governance-related factors. The sample includes 33 full-fledged Islamic banks from 12 countries for the period of 2008–2016. The findings show that although during the nine-year period the disclosure of maqasid performance of the sampled Islamic banks has improved, this is still short of ‘best practices’. Through panel data analysis, this study finds that the Muslim population indicator, CEO duality, Shari’ah governance, and leverage variables positively impact the disclosure of maqasid performance. However, the effect of GDP, financial development and human development index of the country, its political and civil rights, institutional ownership, and a higher share of independent directors have an overall negative impact on the maqasid performance. The findings reported in this study identify complex and multi-faceted relations between external market realities, corporate and Shari’ah governance mechanisms, and maqasid performance

Islamic interbank money market: contracts, instruments and their pricing

This chapter discusses the Islamic interbank money market, its instruments and operations. The discussion demonstrates that the existence of a viable Islamic interbank money market is crucial for the successful implementation of an Islamic financial system. The chapter examines the various interbank money market instruments, their underlying Islamic contracts and their pricing mechanisms, with appropriate examples. The availability of various Islamic interbank money market instruments allows Islamic banks to cover their exposure (in case of deficit) and make placement on short­term basis (in case of surplus). Moving forward, a greater variety of instruments with fixed return mechanisms and tradability features, which at the same time invite fewer Shariah issues, must be offered in the market to ensure a more vibrant Islamic interbank money market

Legal Constraints to the Development of Waqf

Though historically waqf played an important role in providing variety of social services in Muslim societies, its position has diminished significantly during contemporary times. The paper assesses the latent status of waqf by examining the legal constraints that waqf faces relative to other non-profit organizations. While Shariah principles and national laws affect the nature of waqf in contemporary nation states, the latter ultimately determines the legal requirements of establishment and operations of waqf institutions in different jurisdictions. Taking Bangladesh and The Gambia as case studies, the non-profit laws in general and waqf in particular are examined to identify the legal constraints that inhibit the establishment of waqf in these countries. The paper argues that either the absence or inefficiency of waqf laws can induce contemporary Islamic non-profit organizations to opt for organizational formats other than waqf. To mitigate the legal constraints, the paper argues the enactment of efficient waqf laws that reflect contemporary flexible Shariah rulings on the one hand and removing legal asymmetries between the waqf laws and other non-profit organizational laws on the other hand