On the regulation of the intersection between religion and the provision of financial services: Conversations with market actors within the global Islamic financial services sector

The growth of Islamic finance in not only traditionally Islamic markets but also into more mainstream financial systems has raised several concerns about the development and robustness of its regulatory framework. Whilst there is a small but growing academic base of knowledge on Islamic financial regulation, our study differs from the extant literature by capturing market participant perspectives on these stylised debates on regulation in Islamic finance. In this regard, we bridge the gap within the academic literature through an exploration of how the specific types, processes and dimensions of Shariah financial regulation are developed and understood. The novelty of our findings lies in the divergence of market participants’ views and that of the theoretical literature enabling us to extend the conceptual framework on Islamic financial regulation thus enhancing our understanding of the core focuses in the development of sustainable regulation in Islamic finance in both developing and developed economies.