We
recognize that the Muslim World today
is not a homogenous society. After all,
only 18% of Muslims are Arabs and the
rest represent a large diversity in
cultures, languages, and socio-economic
positions. The 57 OIC (Organization
of Islamic Conference) member countries,
which account for 20% of the world population,
stretch from Albania (Europe) in the
north to Mozambique (Africa) in the
south, and from Guyana (Latin America)
in the west to Indonesia (South East
Asia) in the east. In addition, there
is a large percentage of Muslims living
as minorities in nations such as India,
France, the U.S. and the U.K.
While
Islam may be the common binding factor
for Muslims everywhere, its people,
culture, languages, and practices
are so varied that even conceptions
of religion are not always analogous
from one place to the next. With such
glaring variations in the societies
of the Muslim world it is natural to
question the supposition that the Muslm
world as a whole has a set of common
needs.
Yet,
more than ever, there is a unique set
of challenges and opportunities that
are associated with this group of almost
1.4 billion people. These challenges
are driven today by:
-
An image crisis forced upon Muslims
as a result of the un-acceptable barbaric
actions of a few who use violence
to make their points, and the ensuing
global "War on Terror;"
-
A
common internal struggle between those
who want to build upon the progressive
spirit of Islam and those who
harken to earlier interpretations
of doctrine;
-
A
common set of frustrations by Muslims
towards their governments who do not
serve the public interest,
-
And,
many more such common threads that
run through this group, some unique
to them and some shared by others
in the developing world
Serving
Business Enterprises:
With
DinarStandard, we hope to address
the challenges and opportunities faced
by a particular segment of the Muslim
community--its business enterprises.
We
hope to provide practical insights and
resources that will help business enterprises
tackle such challenges as:
-
An
image crisis - Post
Sep/11, anecdotal evidence suggests
that many Muslim businesses exporting
to Western markets have lost business
attributed to perception and security
fears
-
Government and public sector corruption
- Transparency
International, a global agency
tracking corruption gives low grade
to most Muslim countries
-
Lack
of world class market and product
research disciplines - None
of the major science or business research
institutions today reside in the Muslim
world
-
Lack of Business, Technology, & Science
Innovation -
Global
brands such as Coke, GE, Sony, Microsoft,
E-bay, are bastions of business innovation.
From the OIC countries, only one Company
(Malaysia's Government owned Petronas)
ranks in the 2004 Fortune 500 Global
Companies list!
-
Corporate
governance and transparency - Businesses
in the Muslim world are notorious
for inadequate corporate governance
and transparency practices. This is
chocking much needed public and foreign
investments which fuels global competition.
Similarly,
the Muslim world abounds with distinctive
economic opportunities that we hope
to provide insights and resources for
all to leverage. These opportunities
include:
-
Innovating new products and services
to serve the exclusive needs of the
1.4 billion Muslims worldwide - Islamic
Finance products are the most visible
of such opportunities
-
Maximizing
particular regional industrial strengths
and clusters in competing globally
-
Proliferating
a corporate strategy based on Islam's
balanced emphasis on social responsibility
and profitability motives
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