A Critical Literature Review for Islamic Banks Selection Criteria

Islamic banking initially established to cater for the needs of Muslims customers, as Muslims are obliged to obey the Shari’ah principles (Islamic Jurisprudence) in all aspects of life. However, the number of non-muslims involved in Islamic banking is increasing. In the case of Malaysia, the contributions of non-Muslims towards the development of Islamic banking have been remarkable, as some banks report that more than half of their Islamic financial products is by non-Muslim customers. It is argued that Muslims patronize Islamic banking due to religious consideration however, it is not clear why the non-Muslims patronize Islamic banking. Hence, the study aims to examine critical criteria for Islamic banks selection. The findings from the literature show that there are six main reasons why customers prefer Islamic banking, namely understanding of Islamic banking concept, Shari’ah compliance, religious contradiction, quality and attractiveness of offerings, willingness to deal with Islamic banks and prospect and potentials of Islamic banking