Religion and business
Business houses and socio-political organisations are putting the "Islamic sticker" with the name of their organisations. There is no reason that I can have reservation about their choice. I am looking for the rationale. I wonder what kind of thinking is there behind the idea. Is it to add Islamic value and practice into the operation of these organisations? Or, this is just “religious consumerism” and promotional activity to attract more customers and reach the target customers of services in those fields ?
What I am concerned with is: how the philosophy of the "sticker" is comparable with actual performance of the organisation. Is there any parameter by which we can make an acceptable value judgment from Islamic and commercial perspectives. We can very well understand the political and sociological ideology of the "Islamic sticker", but it is really difficult to measure the impact when it comes to a business organisation. I do not know how much Islamic is Islamic banking. At least the issue is not clear to me.
For example, the banks practising Islamic banking do not call "interest", they allow share of profit to the depositors as dividend. But what about the "dividend' they receive from their business borrowers? How the "dividend" is calculated in the business house of the borrowers?
I have difficulties to accept the success of the Islamic value in those organisations simply by naming and putting a few investors from Arab countries on the Board of Management and show up in their traditional dress code. I need to know the practical implications of the same.
Those who are well informed about the operational details of Islamic banking in Bangladesh or elsewhere may kindly give the operational details when it comes to the question of borrowers and depositors. I shall be highly obliged to get an authentic response.
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