عنوان

Sharia compliant investment funds in Saudi Arabia :

Number

TLets600759

Title Proper

Sharia compliant investment funds in Saudi Arabia :

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Hariri, Mohammad M.

Title Proper by Another Author

a critical perspective

Subsequent Statement of Responsibility

Roslender, Robin

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

University of Dundee

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2013

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Thesis (D.Sc.)

Text preceding or following the note

2013

Text of Note

The main objective of this thesis is to understand the extent to which Sharia compliant investment funds focus on social justice in Saudi Arabia. Islamic investment funds are defined as "a joint pool wherein the investors contribute their surplus money for the purpose of its investment to earn permitted profits in strict conformity with the precepts of Islamic Shariah" (Siddiqi and Hrubi, 2008, p.16). Islamic law teaches that social justice should exist between people in the community. This thesis examines social justice using a theoretical framework based on critical theory, which is an umbrella term for different social theories concerned with social and human dimensions. Postcolonial theory provides a lens for the interpretation of the research questions which investigate the influence of capitalism and globalisation on social aspects of life, and in this thesis on Saudi Arabian Sharia compliant investment funds. First interviews are conducted with Sharia compliant investment fund stakeholders in Saudi Arabia to (i) understand current practice in these funds in Saudi Arabia; (ii) evaluate perceptions of social justice in the light of globalisation, capitalism and Islam in the Saudi context; and, finally, (iii) evaluate the current practices of social justice in Sharia compliant funds in Saudi Arabia. The second method used is a content analysis of Sharia compliant investment equity funds' Terms and Conditions. The main concern of the analysis is the social justice perspective of SCIFs to critically examine: (i) Western and global influences on SCIFs and; (ii) whether SCIFs T&Cs disclosures and screening criteria contain and reflect Islamic concepts of social justice. The findings from the two empirical pieces of work suggest that fund managers, the Sharia Supervisory Board members, investors, regulatory bodies and investee companies, which are the main stakeholders, have been affected by capitalism and globalisation that has caused the Sharia aspect of social justice in Islamic investment funds. Further, there are other impediments to social justice such as the absence of positive screening, Hisba and Shura from Sharia Compliant Investment Funds in Saudi Arabia. The main finding of this thesis is that Western ideas have permeated into the developing world, as evidenced by Saudi Arabia such that SCIFs have adopted and mimic the capitalist ideology despite Islamic teachings. Thus Islamic investment funds need to rethink their practices and embed Islamic teachings into all their activities.

Hariri, Mohammad M.

Roslender, Robin

University of Dundee

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y