Corporate Islam

Compelling and original, this book offers a unique insight into the modern Islamic corporation, revealing how power, relationships, individual identities, gender roles, and practices - and often massive financial resources - are mobilized on behalf of Islam. Focusing on Muslims in Malaysia, Patricia Sloane-White argues that sharia principles in the region's Islamic economy produce a version of Islam that is increasingly conservative, financially and fiscally powerful, and committed to social control over Muslim and non-Muslim public and private lives. Packed with fascinating details, the book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Islamic politics and culture in modern life.

This compelling account offers a unique insight into the modern Islamic corporation.

Keep up with management issues in the rapidly changing Islamic business world! Islam and Business: Cross-Cultural and Cross-National Perspectives reviews important changes, cross-cultural differences, and management issues in the turbulent Islamic business environment. With the shift from government ownership of companies and commodities toward more open markets and the product/service diversification that this change brings, the need to understand how business is done in these countries is more vital than ever before. The research in this book will help you understand the impact of Westernization upon business practices in Islamic nations. With contributions from experts on four Islamic business environments (Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon), this book: provides a framework to guide corporations in policy and strategic planning examines the impact of Western reforms on selected Islamic business sectors discusses the training, leadership, and management development needs of companies doing business in or with Islamic nations Section 1: Business in Turkey presents: a framework for corporate policy making and for strategic planning activities an assessment of what can cause strategic alliances to succeed or to fail—illustrated by a case study of the relationship between Turkish Airlines and the Qualiflyer Group—this study considers the question in terms of goals, partner selection, alliance management, and areas of cooperation an examination of value-at-risk (VaR) models that can be used to compute market risk for financial institutions—with a study of crisis scenarios as applied to the four largest Turkish banks Section 2: Business in Jordan presents: a study of the impact Westernization has had on the efficiency of Jordanian commercial banks an examination of current practices and procedures for management training and development (MTD) needs in public and private organizations in Jordan—and suggestions for future improvements an exploratory study of how national and regional socio-cultural values affect organizational culture—considering such factors as Power Distance (PD), Uncertainty Avoidance (UA), the Individualism-Collectivism (IDV) dimension, and the Masculinity-Femininity (MAS) dimension, as well as power culture, role orientation, achievement culture, and the support-oriented organization Section 3: Business in Egypt and Lebanon presents: a comprehensive model of relationships between transactional and transformational leadership trust in terms of organizations, organizational justice, intention to leave, and organizational citizenship behavior—using data supplied by 179 middle and direct level managers in 17 private Egyptian organizations an analysis of the factors affecting the advancement of the Lebanese tourism industry, which has suffered tremendously in the wake of civil war and political unrest The information in Islam and Business will be helpful to anyone practicing management or studying how management works in the Islamic world. Make it a part of your professional/teaching collection today!

Islamic Business Finance is based on strong ethical regulations as suggested by Islamic Literature, such as the Quran and the Traditions of the Prophet of Islam, and could be considered as a subclass of the wider subject of ethical standards in business. This book highlights the basic principles of Islamic Business ethics and their implication in today’s global business environment. It highlights the most important features of Islamic banking and finance in relation to the core principles of Shariah law. It is the most comprehensive book to date, in terms of the number of Quranic verses and traditions of the Prophet relating to this subject, which are interspersed throughout the text. It explains how ethics are defined both in general terms and within the context of an Islamic perspective. In addition, it provides a logical interpretation of Islamic principles of business ethics, while keeping in view thethrough the use of contemporary business practices. Topics such as digital currencies, money laundering, etc. are discussed at length. This book also discusses the new and emerging ethical issues faced by business and industry globally. This book will be a valuable reference guide for students, teachers and researchers of Islamic banking and finance.

In the face of Islam's own internal struggles, it is not easy to see who we should support and how. This report provides detailed descriptions of subgroups, their stands on various issues, and what those stands may mean for the West. Since the outcomes can matter greatly to international community, that community might wish to influence them by providing support to appropriate actors. The author recommends a mixed approach of providing specific types of support to those who can influence the outcomes in desirable ways.

Most existing texts covering topics in Islamic finance discuss the potential of Islamic banking; very few talk about other forms of financing and the investment activities of Islamic firms from the standpoint of owners and managers. This book fills this gap by looking at the traditional as well as non-traditional financing and investment activities of shariah-compliant companies. The chapters in this edited text offer a full range of topics on corporate finance for Islamic firms, including global comparisons of shariah screening, dividend policy and capital structure of Islamic firms, details of global Islamic equity markets, trends and performance of sukuk markets, and a brief account of derivative securities that can be used in Islamic finance. This is a useful reference for anyone who wishes to learn more about the performance of shariah-compliant companies vis-à-vis conventional firms. The book includes both technical and non-technical information that would be suitable for classroom teaching as well as a reference for postgraduate research students.

Islam offers alternative business practices and perspectives, many of which are universal in nature and quite similiar to conventional ones. However, there are some which are different and unique: for example, the principle of partnership and sharing of both profit and loss in Islamic lending. Islam requires a proper balance between commercialism and humanitarianism, and between profit and social responsibility. This balanced approach offers a ready solution to serious current problems of profiteering, consumer exploitation, irresponsible corporate governance, and environmental degradation, Islamic business practices maximize all the positive aspects of business: examples include honest business conduct, reasonable profit, fair competition, and high standard of service culture. Islamic business practices ensure a proper balance between monetary and spirtual profit. It also strengthens economic justice and enhances business harmony.

The present work attempts to answer the question: what characterizes a Muslim? the author answers by saying that the Qur'an lays down a set of principles to provide guidance for the conduct of a Muslim businessman. this guidance consists not merely of "laws," but also of ethical norms. thus, a Muslim is urged not only to give others their due; rather to give even more than what one legally owes them so as to fulfill the requirements of benevolence and magnamity. Likewise, he is expected not only to shun all that is prohibited, but also to abstain from actions about which his conscience does not feel fully at rest. The author emphatically argues that the Islamic worldview, with is emphasis on hereafter, fosters an outlook which significantly differs from that prevalent in the present times. Moreover, it is God's will as revealed to the prophets rather than the frail reason of human beings to which one ought to primarily turn for guidance. In sum, the business ethics of Islam have a distinct entity both in terms of its underlying spirit and its content.

We are pleased to offer this fifth title in our APTS Press Monograph Series. This is the publication of the author’s doctoral dissertation done through the Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA. The purpose of this series is to give our readers broader access to good scholarship that would otherwise be unavailable outside of the academic community. This is part of our ongoing commitment to discipleship through publishing. Christian mission organizations have enthusiastically embraced “business” as a means of entry for Christian workers who might not otherwise be able to get into these nations, especially MMNs. However, the embracing of business raises some immediate concerns. In light of existing tensions between business and Islam, won’t missions-connected businesses be under the same cloud of conflict? More importantly, isn’t the Gospel put under this cloud, thereby negatively impacting the spread of the kingdom of God? Also, if the business-and-mission companies’ expatriate owners and employees are western (especially American) won’t the conflicts inevitably intensify? And if so, are there ways such entities can be operated in order to minimize the conflict with Islamic sensitivities? This book will address these and other related questions.

In Europe and North America Muslims are often represented in conflict with modernity—but what could be more modern than motivational programs that represent Islamic practice as conducive to business success and personal growth? Daromir Rudnyckyj's innovative and surprising book challenges widespread assumptions about contemporary Islam by showing how moderate Muslims in Southeast Asia are reinterpreting Islam not to reject modernity but to create a "spiritual economy" consisting of practices conducive to globalization. Drawing on more than two years of research in Indonesia, most of which took place at state-owned Krakatau Steel, Rudnyckyj shows how self-styled "spiritual reformers" seek to enhance the Islamic piety of workers across Southeast Asia and beyond. Deploying vivid description and a keen ethnographic sensibility, Rudnyckyj depicts a program called Emotional and Spiritual Quotient (ESQ) training that reconfigures Islamic practice and history to make the religion compatible with principles for corporate success found in Euro-American management texts, self-help manuals, and life-coaching sessions. The prophet Muhammad is represented as a model for a corporate CEO and the five pillars of Islam as directives for self-discipline, personal responsibility, and achieving "win-win" solutions. Spiritual Economies reveals how capitalism and religion are converging in Indonesia and other parts of the developing and developed world. Rudnyckyj offers an alternative to the commonly held view that religious practice serves as a refuge from or means of resistance against modernization and neoliberalism. Moreover, his innovative approach charts new avenues for future research on globalization, religion, and the predicaments of modern life.