The Prevailing Skepticism about Islamic Banking and Re-assessment of Interest-Free Financial Products : An Exploratory Study

Islamic teachings are strictly against Riba (i.e. interest) because it involves exploitation. At present, Islamic banks, which claim to be interest-free financial institutions, are facing severe criticism for using Islamic tags for the similar products and services offered by the conventional banks. Our paper comprises of literature review and aims to explore the authenticity of the prevailing skepticism about Islamic banking. We found that the objections rose over Islamic banks and their current interest-free products and services are not baseless; some deviations do exist between Islamic teachings and practices of Islamic banks. We also feel that religious scholars should re-assess the financial products and services offered by the Islamic banks