Uptake on Sharia mortgages and products limited according to new research directed by University of Kent

The study, which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council through a grant to the University of Kent, has also revealed that Muslims generally opt for conventional mortgage products, choosing to work to pay off their mortgage more quickly than the standard term in order to avoid the payment of too much interest (in Sharia law, the payment or receipt of interest on loans is forbidden).

The reasons for this include difficulties in accessing Sharia-compliant products, problems in negotiating with vendor’s solicitors, higher initial costs and issues to do with building up equity in the course of a mortgage.

However, the research has found strong evidence for a greater role for Sharia-compliant financial products, such as mortgages, and the option for using Sharia law to resolve financial disputes.

Peter Taylor-Gooby, Professor of Social Policy at the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent and Director of SCARR, said: ‘There has been much debate about how the institutions of Sharia are compatible with UK traditions. This work shows that many Muslims are flexible between Sharia and interest-based mortgages and that there is a ready market for Sharia products alongside the established products.’

The research, which is part of a broader project investigating how religious values influence attitudes to financial risk, was carried out by Deborah Quilgars and Anwen Jones at the Centre for Housing Policy, University of York, and David Abbott at the Norah Fry Research Centre, University of Bristol.

The study is part of an Economic and Social Research Council Priority Network on Risk in Social Contexts directed by Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby at the University of Kent.

Further details of the research are available at: www.kent.ac.uk/scarr/publications/QuilgarsJonesAbbottWP22.pdf

Media Contact

Karen Baxter alfa

More Information:

http://www.kent.ac.uk/news

All latest news from the category: Social Sciences

This area deals with the latest developments in the field of empirical and theoretical research as it relates to the structure and function of institutes and systems, their social interdependence and how such systems interact with individual behavior processes.

innovations-report offers informative reports and articles related to the social sciences field including demographic developments, family and career issues, geriatric research, conflict research, generational studies and criminology research.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors