A study on Islamic banking education and strategy for the new millennium - Malaysian experience

Muslims make up 53% of the population of Malaysia, but Islamic banks capture only 1.5% of the country’s banking industry. What is the cause of this imbalance? Islamic banks are not being marketing appropriately. Although almost 100% of the Muslim population is aware of the existence of Islamic banks, only 27.3% of those polled understand the difference between Islamic and conventional banking. A study in Singapore showed that only 20.7% of Muslims understood riba, and only 31% could define Shari‘a. Only 3% were able to explain common Islamic financial products such as ijara, mudaraba, and musharakah. It is essential that Islamic banks begin working to educate the public about their services and the benefits they offer.