A SURVEY ON THE “SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY” OF ISLAMIC FINANCE
Loughborough University, UK
Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. Your response will be for
statistical use only and will remain strictly confidential. I thank you for your time
and co-operation.
QUESTIONNAIRE
A. Personal Profile
1. Age
18-25 years
2. Gender
Male
25-35 years
35-45 years
50-55 years
Above 65 years
Female
3. Educational Qualifications
GCSE/’O’ Level
‘A’ Level/Equivalent
Diploma
Graduate
Masters
PhD/Post Doctoral
Other Professional Qualification (Please specify) ……………….
4. Profession (Please specify) A researcher in IT Accountancy & Islamic
Accountancy
5. Do you work for a Bank or a Non-Bank Financial Institution?
Yes
No
6. If yes to the above, can you please state if the institution provides Islamic
financial services?
Yes, the institution is an Islamic financial institution
No, the institution is not an Islamic financial institution
Yes, the institution is partly Islamic, providing Islamic financial products
B. Questions on Islamic Finance
1. Islamic finance is equal to ………………..
Only the prohibition of riba
Trade without interest
A socially acceptable, just financial system
A human oriented, environmentally friendly financial system
All the above
2. “Islamic finance is a third way between capitalism and socialism.”
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
1
Strongly Disagree
3. If agreeable to question 2, it is because Islamic finance ……………….
prohibits riba and encourages trade
is based on equity finance
is against speculation but is production oriented
represents a more efficient financial system
is an integrated system of financial affairs which includes the civil society, the
state and the private sector
(Please rank your answers between 1 and 5; 1 is most important and 5 is least important)
4. “The Islamic financial set-up imposes upon the Islamic financial institutions an
extra parameter – namely a socio-economic purpose – in addition to the
responsibilities assigned to them by the conventional financial laws.”
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
5. Increasingly, investment funds in the West propagate a social, environmental and
ethical agenda. Their investment objectives often seek to build sustainable
communities. Islamic financial institutions should adopt the objectives of these
funds in their quest for sustainable development.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
6. The investment funds mentioned above are often called “socially responsible
funds”. What key words would you use to describe the term “socially
responsible”?
Co-operation, Assistance, No-Injustice, Fair with every thing
7. Socially responsible funds in the West do not hesitate to spell out their “ethical”
policies in their mission statements. It is argued that Islamic banks could usefully
emulate this approach.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
8. How should financial gain be ranked in comparison to the social objectives of
financial institutions?
Less important
Equally important
More important
Not important
Not concerned
9. “Acting in a socially responsible manner can create value for financial
institutions.”
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
2
Strongly Disagree
C. Questions on Islamic Financial Institutions
1. Would you say Islamic financial institutions are contributing in a significant way
towards socio-economic welfare?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
2. Should “social organizations” rather than “financial institutions” be responsible
for undertaking morally motivated economic and financial activities?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
3. Would you say your organization is “socially responsible”?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
4. Does your financial institution publicize its criteria of selection for its
investments?
Yes
No
5. What are these criteria?
Not investing in riba
Not investing in impermissible activities like gambling, alcohol, pork,
pornography, etc.
Not investing in forward currency transactions
Not investing in environmentally pollutive economic activities
Not investing in the arms industry
Investing in companies that contribute positively to society
Investing in environmentally friendly activities
Investing in profit and loss sharing arrangements
Others (Please specify) ………………………………………………
6. What percentage of your organisation’s annual profits would you say is spent on
community enhancing activities, if there is any?
0 – 2%
2 – 5%
5 – 7%
7 – 10%
7. Is your organisation involved in the financing of any of the following activities?
What percentage of your profits is attributed to these activities, where it is
applicable?
3
Types of Involvement
Yes No
Donations to community causes
Donations to charities
Provision of benevolent loans (qard al-hassanah)
Sponsorship of community events
Working with local schools, colleges, universities
Working with NGOs for sustainable development
Scholarship to students
Supporting employee involvement with community
causes
Lobbying for a particular social, ethical or
environmental cause
Investing or encouraging investment in deprived
areas
Investment in Research & Development
Investing according to ethical guidelines
Commitment to sustainable development
Zakah collection and distribution
Establishing fair recruitment practices, including
engaging people traditionally excluded from the
labour market e.g. disabled, homeless, ethnically
discriminated
Staff welfare (loans, health schemes, etc.)
Taking initiatives to protect the environment (e.g.
recycling) or enhance environmental management
Promoting ethical values among staff (e.g. againstbribery, corruption, conflict; pro- honesty, trust,
brotherhood, justice)
Abstaining from false advertising
Sharing best practice on social, ethical and
environmental responsibility with other organisations
4



% of Profit
Allocated
3
1
3




3

2






8
2.5






1