How Ethical is Islamic Banking in the Light of the Objectives of Islamic Law?

Islamic banking is based on moral foundations that make it distinct from conventional banking. Some argue that because of its foundation in Islam, Islamic banking may represent a more morally appealing alternative. Yet, evidence shows that this is not the case. Indeed, the current practice of Islamic banking has not been able to achieve its goals which are based on Islam's moral values: to enhance justice, equitability, and social well‐being. This essay examines the extent to which Islamic banking is ethical and concludes that the practice of the industry does not seem to be de facto ethical from the Islamic perspective of ethical values. It only consists in trading the same instruments of conventional banks without genuinely enforcing Islam's ethical vision. The practice of Islamic banking misrepresents Islam and does not contribute to solving social problems. The interaction between maqasid al‐shari?a (objectives of Islamic law) and qiyās (deductive analogy) provides a supplementary tool for interpreting the failure of the prior in terms of the practical misuse of the latter by Islamic banks. This essay provides an interpretive approach to the current debate about why Islamic banking has failed and suggests ways to move cautiously in the future.     

The direction of movement of machine controls

Experiments are described in which the relation between the direction of movement of a control and display was varied in order to determine what relationships are likely to cause least confusion to the operator of a machine. Two different types of task were used: a task consisting of intermittent stimuli whose rate of presentation could be varied, and a continuous pursuit task.

It is found that accuracy of performance varies with the degree of remoteiiess of the directional relationship from those met in everyday life, with the complexity of the task, with the ability of the subject, and there is some indication that under certain Conditions it may vary with the breadth of his attention. Awareness of the response aspect of the situation in these simple sensori-motor tasks, it is suggested, although necessary in the early stages of learning, may be associated in the later stages with confusion and error.     

A measure of interrelationship for overlapping groups

A coefficient of interrelationship between overlapping groups that avoids indeterminacies inherent in the construction of fourfold tables for such purposes and, at the same time, is relatively insensitive to the absolute magnitude of marginal totals of fourfold tables, is developed. Under assumptions that are consistent with the objectives of organizational analysis, this coefficient is shown to be equivalent to a product-moment correlation coefficient. The advantages and limitations of this coefficient are pointed out. A numerical example giving computational procedures is presented.This measure was developed in connection with a study made by Dorothy C. Adkins (1). Her influence in the development was felt in many ways. The article was prepared while the author was employed at The University of North Carolina.