Abstract

Islamic finance industry evolution and development has been a central concern to scholars, researchers, and managers alike. However, the last few years, academia and practitioners have indicated on a serious note that the success and growth of Islamic finance is getting affected because of lack of integration and collaborative approach between different institutions and key factors. Fragmentation of information plague the thought process thus sap research productivity, research creativity and research effectiveness, it further create deadlock in research innovation and makes it hard to be responsive, according to the industry and customer needs. In that case, it is essential to find an answer; How a valuable and impactful platform can be designed which can add knowledge to individuals, bankers, and society? Realizing the challenge of fragmented information and disconnected issues in Islamic finance sector, this research attempt to propose a digital solution (Riba Information Queries- ‘Riba IQ’ portal) which can assist Islamic Bankers, Islamic Finance Education providers, Shariah Scholars, Students and Researchers in gathering information and conducting more useful and productive research.

1. Introduction

Conducting research is rewarding and beneficial personally and socially as sincere effort is required from researcher side to uncover an issue and determine useful solution after carefully evaluating information sources and acknowledging limitations. It need to be done in a precise and systematic manner to look for the re-interpretation of existing data and filling a gap or void in the existing literature. It is up to researcher to choose a direction: whether research will be a replicate of a past study by examining different participants and different variables? Or thorough new research with some radical proposals and recommendations. If a research contributes to practice in a different way or advance in knowledge such effort creates reader interest. Along with above factors, researchers must be cautious about time, resources, and skills to carry out the research. They must manage time properly and allocate sufficient time to complete each stage of the activity.

However, these days it become a trend to write research paper for the sake of conducting research; ignoring quality while collecting data and designing research approach, less evidence-based research thus neglecting possibility of practical implications, too narrow no depth, weak argument, framing the research question out of context, sticking to limited and selected research topics, too many citation lapses and ignore contributions by other researchers, as a result lead to stagnant and fix route, outcome no newness and freshness in research recommendations and suggestions ¹. Such common mistakes, unexpected difficulties and pitfalls in the research process may lead to academic failures ². Similar research practice is found in Islamic banking research area as well, alarming aspect of this situation is that upcoming researchers are referring to such vague, incomplete, random information. On other hand, a serious authentic researcher even after spending hours and months if they suggest a model or research implications no one take scholarly and academic work seriously. Whereas, in actual, refine research work, premium findings and valuable suggestions can be goldmine for Islamic bankers and professionals.

Literature ³ indicated major challenges in Islamic financing education as follows:

Islamic finance has been imitating from its mainstream counterpart in almost every detail ⁴. There is little knowledge to back it from theoretical and practical aspect. There is hardly any theory that provides a unifying link between the existing views on the various issues ⁸. There is still no agreed explanation of the rationale and nature for Islamic banking institutions, modes of Islamic finance such as Sukuk, deposit mobilization and the financing sides, the institutional framework for efficient Islamic banking, etc. ^{4, 8}. Every teacher and researcher introduces the subject and explains the core issues in his own way. This is the biggest hurdle in the way of Islamic finance education.

Universities and other education providers are using temporary or short-term measures regarding hiring teachers with command over both the Shariah matters and banking and finance. There are not enough highly qualified academicians at the Western universities, who have strong interest or background in Islamic Banking and Finance ¹³. As a result, minimal qualifications are laid down in term of academic qualification, experience, and specialization for supervisor for PhD, which lead to the dissatisfaction and frustration among students ⁴.

The existing issue-by-issue approach of the Shariah scholars cannot keep pace with the emerging challenges. It is to be replaced by a more proactive approach whereby the focus is directly on providing practical solutions for legitimate concerns, rather than cleansing and rectifying the existing options. Literature further indicates that lack of accessibility and shortage of Shariah scholars is the main concern which affects the pace of Islamic bank development ^{9, 11}.

There are educational institutions that were found to be playing an important role in educating, organizing seminars, publishing journals and research papers on Islamic banking relevant issues. According to the chart below, United Kingdom recorded the highest number of Islamic finance providers ⁵, and Malaysia and Pakistan have the most PhD level researchers dedicated to Islamic finance ¹². The number of students are in bulk and ongoing from these academic institutions. However, the question is whether the presence of such universities and bulk number of researchers adding any value in resolving Islamic finance issues? Literature indicated the grave concern that the bulk of the Islamic finance students are the seeker of degrees, not of knowledge ⁴.

With that, countries which led publish research on Islamic finance are Malaysia with 169 research papers, of which 101 were peer reviewed ¹⁷. Then UK and USA, with 111 research papers (56 peer reviewed) and 73 research papers (39 peer reviewed) respectively. A total of 655 research papers were issued globally on Islamic finance in the last three years, of which 354 were peer reviewed ¹⁷. Now the matter of question is what is essence of these researches, Quantity matters or Quality matters? How many people cited their research? Who is benefitting from those findings, which journals they have published, high impact factor or random journals? Statistics evidently shows that certain countries are ahead in publishing, but the concern factor is that effort of integration and collaboration on global scale not existed and available.

Similar concern raised by literature ⁷; Why ‘Research’ Has Failed ‘Teaching’ in Islamic Economics? One of the factor can be immature research culture in majority of Islamic countries. Despite the impressive record of seminars, conferences and forums devoted to debating and promoting Islamic economics, little has been said or done regarding the need to share the outcome of research with the academic community. About the research currently being undertaken, are not solution or result-oriented and thus has little impact on the field. There is a need further to identify areas of research that have an impact on the Islamic finance industry ¹².

The literature further indicated that the structure of the PhD program was not satisfactory and need overhaul in their approach as most reading material recommended in the course outline contain publications from the western source ⁴. In some cases, Islamic finance papers on specific topics are combined and published as a book for students, which student find it difficult because of the format. Furthermore, publications from Islamic Research Training Institute (IRTI) especially tend to fall in this category: more informative than analytical or evaluative ⁴. Ultimately there must be some sort of standardization in the teaching material ⁸.

Majority of universities in various Islamic countries has neglected Islamic economic which is inexcusable and intolerable ⁷. With gloomy tone, literature identifies that curriculum developers attempt to squeeze as much abstract information as they can in one paper without debating the issues or giving due thoughts to the wider implications of provided information for the individual researcher and consequently for the future development of Islamic financial industry. Literature also suggested strongly to “rethink” the relationship between the researcher, the teacher, the student, and the policymaker ⁷.

To improve this concern, literature suggested to framing curriculum based on Islamic finance not according to western standards or models ^{4, 7}. Islamic finance education providers can set short-term and long-term targets depend on the nature of universities (Islamic universities versus the traditional universities), universities in Muslim countries as well as those in non-Muslim countries for reviewing their curriculum.

There is no doubt that, Online databases form a vital part of secondary source, only it need to stimulate, and guide further use of secondary data by Islamic economic researchers ³. However, coverage in such database is not uniform, there are countless websites dealing with Islamic finance and banking and a range of information is available with some overlap. Major institutions such as Islamic Research Training Institution in Jeddah, Central Banks (specifically Malaysia, UAE, Pakistan), and Universities offering Islamic finance course, are somehow assisting researchers by disseminating general Islamic finance information or country focus information. These sites may serve as a basic introductory guide of Islamic finance but cutting-edge research and serious inquiries into the Islamic economic field are to be found in dedicated journals and other like-minded publications ¹⁴. Due to that, many researchers are not aware of topics which are already done, available expertise and resources. This often leads to redundancy in areas of research as well as reduced innovation and productivity.

Literature further indicated that if someone wanted to obtain information about Islamic finance from website then in that case data require scanned manually with a limited flexibility search engine, in most case the figure are not exact. Furthermore, the research done Arabic is not included while search online ¹⁴. It is further indicated Islamic –finance.com website displays the number of researchers from different areas, however it does not cover all researchers worldwide.

Regarding online database, literature pointed toward another serious question that Information Technology play in Islamic Banking Finance today and in the future?” ¹⁵, Harvard University Islamic finance project can be unique example which created database by providing list of workshops, seminars, lectures, symposium, list of book, report during the year 1995-2014 (https://ifpprogram.com/login/publication).

Portal such as Google Scholar and ProQuest preserves rich and vast information; however, articles need to be searched extensively using different keywords, if another platform are not connected then article will not be picked in that case.

Literature further assert strongly that creation of research environment, foundational infrastructure, sharing of knowledge experience, cooperative teaching, and sufficient research funding may help in speed up research process and build skills in education ⁴.

2. Research Method

There is a paucity of literature on the possibility of using Information technology in Islamic finance research. Literature highlighted above on several research related issues which include lack of integration and collaboration. In such fragmented and scattered research environment, a portal is needed to fill the gap in knowledge sharing and connect the individual actors and contributors of Islamic finance together for more productive outcome. A Web portal is a knowledge management system that aggregates an array of content and provides a variety of customization services including search engines, directories, chat, discussion, news and communication services ¹⁶. Therefore, it was felt that the portal concept could be suggested and developed on a larger scale to function as a sophisticated Web interface which can practice traditional like teaching and research, analysis, critique, editing, annotation and professional networking.

Along with proposing web portal, this research also identifies key issues a researcher of Islamic finance faced. Email with a question “What are the three most difficult challenges Islamic finance researchers faced” was sent to 20 researchers requesting them to answer based on their experience” but only six professionals reply. Finding emails and contacting Islamic finance professionals through social media was an exhaustive task. However, this research would like to acknowledge and thanks the individuals who generously shared their time, experience, and answer for this research.

1. Prof Rodney Wilson- Senior Islamic Finance Researcher and Professor -

2. Dr. Adnan Abdalla Oweida - Assistant Professor of Islamic Banking and Economy at Zayed University, UAE

3. Salman Ahmed Shaikh - A PhD Scholar in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

4. Muhamad Abduh, Graduate Coordinator University

Brunei Darussalam

5. Mr Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, Head Product Development, and Shariah Compliance Meezan Bank Pakistan

6. Ms Nyra Mahmood, Managing Director from Sharia Capital Consultancy UK

3. Key Findings

This research investigates a question “the most difficult challenges Islamic finance researchers faced” from Islamic banking professionals. Concerns was found among Islamic bank academic experts, researchers, and professionals about writing quality Shariah related research paper, according to a Senior Islamic Finance Researcher and Professor Rodney Wilson associated with shared his concern that

“1. Staff cannot spare time for interviews. Too busy.

2. No incentive to be interviewed.

3. Restricted by confidentiality concerns”

Dr. Adnan Abdalla Oweida, an Assistant Professor of Islamic Banking and Economy at Zayed University, UAE, highlighted three main factors which are hindering for producing quality research in Islamic finance research area

“1. Lack of transparency and disclosure of information from banks

2. Propaganda and misinformation used from Islamic banker.

3. Copyright and lack of access to electronic publishing and the monopoly of knowledge”

A PhD Scholar, Salman Ahmed Shaikh from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia has written many useful articles on key area of Islamic finance, when asked what are the main hinders for a research, he identify that

“1. Lack of cooperation between pure economist and fiqh scholars also creates a dichotomy where both may not understand each other well.

2. Lack of unified theory and methodology is also a hindrance in Islamic economic theoretical research”

Muhamad Abduh, Graduate Coordinator University Brunei Darussalam, conducted several researches in Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance indicated that

“1. Lack of knowledge about research methods in finance

2. Lack of knowledge about proper techniques/methods in statistics in analyzing the data

3. Lack of knowledge about fundamentals modern financial theories”

Mr Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, Head Product Development and Shariah Compliance Meezan Bank Pakistan reflected seriously on the concern that

“1. Researchers are not aware of Islamic banking concepts and products

2. Research topics are not solution oriented

3. Researcher wanted to do research from their desk not reaching out

4. Lack of standardization among financial data”

Ms Nyra Mahmood, Managing Director from Sharia Capital Consultancy UK also belief that researcher face issues such as

“1. Transparency issues - banks are not completely transparent about internal issues

2.They do not share data - for instance in HR we still do not have a clear picture of what the gaps are- ultimately Islamic banks still do not understand and value the need for data

3. Lack of methodology - no real data collection systems /people”

The above concerns from key academic experts, professionals, and researchers, shows that there is a serious gap within intellectual work as well as disconnectivity between intellectual work and a practical world, thus cannot be ignore further.

In such scenario, Islamic finance area require much attention as ‘Research Productivity and Creativity’ is getting loose, fragmented, and restricted.

Based on the above concerns, it is realized that there is a dire need of creating a greater, bigger, better, larger a directory and a database ‘Riba IQ’ for “Research, Learn and Work” portal where people can access to Shariah finance information and, they can collaborate intellectually with the engagement of Shariah scholars, Islamic bankers, researchers, graduate/doctorate students, Job seekers and Islamic finance education providers. This portal can enrich further by following points:

Ribacite Research Paper Management System will allow a researcher to build a library of papers that are relevant to their research topic and will help them to explore related work easily. Additional tools include search, a listing of often- referenced papers a researcher may have missed. Such research paper management system, also integrate references into a manuscript. It can also capture all tags, comments, highlights and annotations while researcher read their PDF file. Classifications of researches by country/subject wise and search function will permit researchers to obtain knowledge from existing source and identify the gaps. Examples of research paper management system are Qiqqa and Mendeley). These reference databases can then be searched, indexed, and labelled. The citation style can be selected from a corresponding database which contains styles that aim to cover the requirements of many scholarly publishers.

Key individual participants, undergraduate, masters, post-doctoral students can collect, compile research resources, compare documents from article available in archive and develop arguments and questions if not answered from available sources. Further they can share it with other researchers for critique (from theory, practical and religious aspect). Students can join regional interest groups (Middle East, Asia, East Asia, Africa and European) that foster knowledge from Islamic perspective in legal, finance, product development for their research projects. Students can participate in free time and arrange seminars to enhance their research practice contribute original thinking, questions, and challenges. Data collection, survey design, sample analysis can assist researcher in a great deal. By involving multiple institutions, such projects contribute to a sense of shared identity and of belonging to a broader research community. It will also help to answer endemic student anxieties regarding the practical solutions to Islamic finance knowledge and research.

The text along with visual element can enhance participants understanding about Islamic finance and its legal maxims (Quranic verses - different interpretation and its connection with hadith), Hadith References (visual connectivity between four Islamic school of thoughts: Hanafi, Shafi, Maliki, Hanbali), Nature of Islamic finance products (visual illustration of Musharaka, Mudaraba, Murabaha).

Riba IQ platform can be used for announcing call for Journal and Conference research papers and research grants.

Islamic finance journal ranking should be provided through this portal which can also help researcher to meet the scholarly requirement of journal.

Furthermore, this platform can also be used to attract right, qualified, and knowledgeable individuals, it will bridge between job seekers and job providers.

With that, any significant activity and news of Islamic banks, awards and achievements can be added in this portal as well.

Islamic banks can use such platform to take benefits of existing research and to share any new, critical operational and strategic issues on the portal chat session, where solutions can be suggested by various other participants.

Shariah scholars from diverse fiqh understanding, experience and countries can present their view and opinion on bank queries and they can also comment on student work as well. Not only the scope and quality of Islamic finance research benefit from such partnerships, but they also contribute to the creation of renowned scholars who otherwise would be mere basic researchers.

Most colleges and universities underutilized research, teaching, and training resources. Through this portal, Islamic finance faculties from diverse background could contribute their knowledge by reviewing student research work. In such case student learning will be extended under the guidance of expert curators, librarians, and researchers, and in the company of peers. College and higher learning institutions should share their data with the research community as freely as possible. The level of research work will display the difference between ‘Productive and ‘Poor Research’. Poor research will not any value which could lead to frustration, disengagement, or quitting whereas productive research will enable to collaborate and also to allow students to elaborate critique, explain, and evaluate shared work, thereby further enriching the shared representation and solution spaces. Fig 3 summarize the assistance and support main factor of Riba IQ portal will be receiving.

4. Discussion and Conclusion: Need to Invent Islamic Finance Scholarly Platform

To address issues mentioned above, it is highly desirable to have an integrated, “one-stop research platform” concept, therefore this research proposing a web portal Riba IQ which will support collaborative research, information searching, analysis of knowledge and build professional networking platform. However, such interdisciplinary, collaborative, open and global platform will bring some technical challenges as well, below these points are summarized further.

This portal aim to unifies traditional fields in the Islamic finance (literature, interpretation, critique, historical perspective, comparative cultural and country analysis, archival research) and brings the technological tool and computational thinking (information design, statistical analysis, geographic information systems, database creation, and computer graphics). For example, text- analysis and data-mining tools help scholars to detect and analyses patterns in the study of text. Tools from visual help students to map the structure of Islamic finance. It will create capacity to formulate a research problem or question that lends itself to a computational approach. It acquires and demonstrates new fluencies from working within and navigating across various information and carry out specific research.

Riba IQ portal opens and extends the reach by bridging diverse communities. Riba IQ portal can be built by engaging libraries, researchers, technologists, academia, shariah scholar, and bankers in conceptualizing and solving problems. Scholars without professional affiliation whose expertise in a field is highly developed, informed, and driven by intellectual passion can also be a part of this project.

In this case, technical expert can help Islamic finance researchers to optimize the search and retrieval process with large-scale datasets. At the same time, Islamic finance researchers may help technologists by providing real data and experiences to test theoretical or conceive new tools. Working together requires participation in the creation of user interfaces, information navigation systems, and content management systems, all of which directly impact research and education quality. Such collaborative approach and methodologies on multi- authored research projects, proposals, group work and participation in peer assessment, reports, and presentations will add value at both academic and non-academic communities. By bringing together Islamic bank practitioners, academicians and experts, new knowledge and new forms of engagement is expected to emerge.

The new audience for Riba IQ will be truly global as it is primarily web-based, the public cannot only access it but also engage critically with it. This portal will connect and bring together all professionals, researchers, and Islamic finance key factors at local, regional, and global level.

The central point is to ascertain whether integrated Islamic finance research portal can be successfully developed and implemented? And what problems do they anticipate regarding the implementation of the portal? Such few questions are there for consideration.

a. What are the assessment criteria and metrics to identify success or failure of task?

b. What will it cost to continue the project and what possible sources of revenue are there for this support?

c. Is the database open-source, proprietary, and/or licensed? What data sets will be used in the project and who controls them?

d. What kind of permissions and rights will govern the data sets?

e. What tools, software, and systems are being used and for what ends?

f. Are there any privacy or security concerns that need to be addressed?

g. In what ways does the project integrate a multiplicity of perspectives and knowledge-creators?

It is important to recognize that new knowledge is not just new content but also new ways of organizing, classifying, and interacting with content. This means that part of the intellectual contribution of a digital project is the design of the interface, the database, and the code, all of which govern the form of the content. Characteristics of digital media are all multiple, hybrid, and overlapping forms— need their own languages of assessment. Decisions about information architecture and design are crucial parts of the project. Knowing where the work will sit institutionally, who will configure the server infrastructure, how it will be supported and in what server, and how the software or platforms for content development will be chosen is at the foundation of the project. With that, project without audiences and users are silos into which work, and resource disappear. User-testing is often a critically necessary part of the refinement of the project’s interface and navigational features. ‘Riba IQ’ will be the first Islamic finance portal; in that case a challenge will be to get cooperation from partners such as Islamic banks, Islamic education providers, researchers, and Shariah scholars. This project will encourage dispersed Islamic finance learners to develop information database and intellectual platform among all the above groups locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. Experimentation and trial-and-error are inherent part of digital research; simply putting something online is not digital research. The litmus test can be done by asking what is not done in print-based or traditional medium and how we can mobilize the research effectiveness and productivity through this platform. Thus, it can open for further research: White papers, sets of best practices, new features, and publications can be suggested from such projects, and these should be considered in the further development process. Development processes; functional and technical, and system requirements for the project specifications should be documented.

In conclusion, disseminating information can be challenge but with the help of Islamic finance contributors and technical expertise, this research believes that ‘Riba IQ’ web portal will be effective, economical, and transformational in accessing, aggregating and sharing data from disparate databases through real-time online. It will connect the fragmented factors and issues stated in literature and survey such as limited Islamic finance teaching paradigm, lack of teachers with command over finance and Shariah matters, lack of accessibility and shortage of Shariah scholars, immature research culture, non-standardize teaching material, research paper quantity matters or quality matters? It is time to “rethink seriously” the gaps and bridge it by bringing closer all key beneficiaries at one point for “Research, Learn and Work”. This research strongly believes that digital platform cannot just characterize as a mere “tool” for teaching or service, it can be a tool which can shape knowledge, and from that knowledge it can shape a tool creatively.

‘Riba IQ’ project require technical and humanistic assistance at large scale, thus will create employment opportunities as well, interested institution can embrace this project for the benefit of larger group Muslim Ummah and promotion of Islamic finance research, it will increase research effectiveness, research creativity and research productivity. Therefore, this research strongly believes that ‘Riba IQ’ can construct new waves in Islamic finance research area with integrated and collaborative approach - contributing with greater purpose.

References