E-marketing strategies exploiting social media for Islamic banking

Abstract

The concept of e-marketing is one which has gained increasing interest within Islamic businesses in recent years. Amin [3] asserts that one of the most critical

issues to consider is the legal and moral aspects of e- marketing and the extent to which they fit comfortably

within principle notions of Islam and Sharia law. He states that "e-business is a permissible means of doing business provided it is performed in the boundary of Shariah

Islamiyyah”. By this he means that any form of e- marketing must clearly demonstrate the key principles of

Islam, meaning that marketing must be devoid of any contentious or exaggerated claims and there must be no excessive risk. Of course, one of the principal features of marketing as noted by Kotler and Keller [46] is that marketing is known for accentuating the benefits and features of products and services, and downplaying the negative attributes which potentially could lead to a consumer making an informed decision on the basis of this unbalanced presentation. Arguably, this presents a form of risk which may be at odds with the fundamental tenets of Islam. This paper presents a critical literature review of alternative e-marketing approaches.