A Comparative Study of Islamic Banking Practices

This paper examines the practices of Islamic banks from eleven Muslim countries. The selected areas include the usage of Sharia principles and the uses and sources of funds. Disparity exists especially in areas such as number of Sharia principles employed and its usage in banking activities. There are also differences in the sources and uses of funds among the sample banks. In the case of the sources of funds, the differences are due to the types of accounts available and Sharia principles adopted by banks in delivering those services. For the usage of funds, all banks tend to concentrate in mark-up financing activities. Variations also appear in the area of sectoral financing. These differences are largely influenced by the economic development of the country in which the Islamic bank operates.