Islamic Banking and Finance: Shariah Governance in Theory and Practice

Abstract

This paper investigates the case of Shariah governance and compliance at Islamic banks worldwide. It explores fundamental features of Islamic banking policy instruments from Shariah perspectives in order to appraise the business affairs of Islamic banks. This paper finds that Shariah governance has severely failed to ensure religious, ethical and social sanctities of Islamic banks. The personal, consumer finance and deposit-taking operations at Islamic banks are based on interest and time value of money, and a crystal clear case of Shariah violations. The majority of Muslim business and societal groups have shown increasing concerns over the serious Shariah governance and compliance issues at Islamic banks. There are increasing pressures on Islamic banks to prove themselves not only financially viable but also Shariah-compliant and valued-based entities.