A research proposal submitted for approval to carry out research for partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Business Administration of Mzumbe University
This study has been carried out to identify customers and service provider's orientation towards Islamic Banking. Islamic Banking is a financial institution that operates with the objective to implement and materialize the economic and financial principles of Islam in the banking arena. Islamic banking like any other banking system must be viewed as an evolving system. No one dispute that there is a definite desire amongst Muslim savers to invest their savings in way that are permitted by the islamic Shariah.
The Islamic banking system is currently gaining momentum. Many international conventional banks have started to open branches which operate in accordance with the Islamic Shariah principles including Tanzania. The Islamic banking system is expected to face strong competition not only from the Islamic banks but also from well-established conventional banks offering Islamic products and services. In this study, an attempt was made to assess customers and service providers orientation towards Islamic Banking services.
A sample of 50 respondents took part in this study with three different organizations (Banks) in Dar es Salaam, being KCB, NBC, and Amana Bank. The analysis of their responses revealed that Islamic Banking not only deals with Muslim customers but also nonmuslim customers even though most Muslim customers seems to be grateful for the services due to riba free system which is against their faith. And both bank employees and customers are very much aware of Islamic banking services. However, being Sharia compliance, these banks also generate profit like other conventional banks, even though there is a certain degree of involvement in the religious belief of many of the Islamic bank's facilities and products.
The big challenge was associated with the training and experience of staff, and sometimes the Muslims themselves are not very much aware of Islamic principles involved in Islamic banking. The managers have admitted that this product helps to increase profitability and also it is another new way of ensuring customer retention. In general, findings have indicated that there is an increase in the use of Islamic Banking services as well as an increase in the customer’s awareness about the product.