What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it. One of the tenants established by David Ogilvy during his time as an adman on Madison Avenue.

Now you might ask, what does that have to do with Islamic Finance? I’ll tell you, but first, lend me your ear as I try to whisper some controversial points about Islamic finance marketing.

“Islam forbids Interest” how many times did you read or hear these words? I can’t count. Ask someone promoting an Islamic mortgage and you will hear that the “Profit Rate” is a fixed percentage over however many years, or a variable percentage over a shorter term.

What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it.

So what? Why should you care? I’ll tell you. You and I are equal in the eyes of Allah (swt). Meaning that you and I are judged according to how we follow the guidance revealed in the primary sources of Islamic jurisprudence, the Quran and the Sunnah.

Now, the question that normally makes the rounds between Muslims in social gatherings is whether I choose to rent or get a mortgage? Side-stepping the impermissibility of conventional mortgages for a second. Let’s look at what is being said. Implied in the question is a ranking of religiosity of sorts…Are you a “good Muslim” if you choose to rent? or are you a “bad Muslim” if you choose to get a mortgage?

Personally, I rent because I’m a good Muslim – setting aside all the horrible things I do on a daily basis besides refusing to have a conventional mortgage to house my family – because rent offers me the freedom and flexibility I so carnally crave.

Many Muslim families (not distinguishing between the west or anywhere else) struggle with this decision, because the problem with marketing consumer Islamic financial products is everywhere. It is not restricted to a geography.

The decision lies at the cross section of 1) Faith 2) Economic Benefit 3) Emotional wellbeing. With no particular ranking of any of the three because these differ based on our individual circumstances.

So, a family may see that it is acting in line with their faith to get a mortgage because they risk the loss of constrained monetary resources and the possibility of eviction. Muslim families generally trend towards having a larger number of children than the average, so for them they can satisfy the māqāsid (objectives) of shariah. Which include: protecting their safety, faith, and wealth by opting into a mortgage.

On the other hand, families may choose to opt for an Islamic Mortgage priced at a minimum of a few percentage points higher than a conventional mortgage to fulfill their view of the māqāsid. Making sure the contract is Islamic even though it may merely be a linguistic differentiation.

Now before your blood boils in anger, I understand the contractual costs of creating an Islamic mortgage are higher because of lack of standardization and the like in certain markets.

That is not my issue. My Issue is if we opt to use the term “Islamic” in marketing Islamic financial products, there lies a responsibility with practitioners in the sector to prioritize the definition of what is considered Islamic? Is it just the use of the term Interest rate vs. Profit rate? Is the Murabaha, Ijarah, or Musharakah contract more Islamic as opposed to the conventional mortgage contract? If so, then how? Because we are saying a contract is “de-facto” Islamic because it’s not based on interest bearing transactions.

What you say is more important that how you say it.

I don’t think David Ogilvy was trying to chime in on the legal arbitrage going on in the Islamic financial sector. But I do find that as practitioners in the field we need to ensure that our work is characterized and based on clear definitions that can allow the layman consumer to evaluate what I believe to be ultimately a spiritual decision before anything else. We choose Islamic financial products because they are our individual way to express our identity within a system that tries to repeatedly dilute it – if I’m being kind with the characterization – it is our way to staying faithful to our principles in world of HARAM!