The Practice of Shariah Governance in Islamic Banking and Finance: A Study of Islamic Banks in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper aims to study Shariah governance of Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Desk-based research was conducted for this paper to explore the main challenges faced by Islamic banks in the country. Based on empirical studies and newspapers, this paper concludes that there is a lack of a well-defined regulatory and supervisory framework for IFIs to function effectively in line with the tenets of Shariah. This study also finds that the shortage of Shariah scholars remains an impediment to Shariah compliance. The government and the central bank of Bangladesh should pay greater attention to education and training, in addition to creating a national Shariah advisory council to monitor Islamic banking and financial activities in Bangladesh.