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The paper empirically examines the impact of bank specific characteristics and macroeconomic variables in determining the banks' profitablity of Bangladesh banking industry with a panel data. A total of 42 Bangladesh commercial banks' financial reports were analyzed; and bank specific characteristics such as bank financial risk, bank operational efficiency, and bank sizes as well as macroeconomic variables such as economic growth are examined to estimate their impact of bank profits. Results indicate that bank specific factors such as loan-deposit ratio, loan-loss provision to total assets, equity capital to total assets, and operating expenses to total assets are significant factors. Bank sizes and macroeconomic variable show no impact on profits.

This paper’s primary objective is to identify the relative importance of various Islamic financial products, in theory and in practice, by examining the financing records of the Bank Islam Malaysia (Berhad) and the Bahrain Islamic Bank. Currently, seven available Islamic financing products are considered viable alternatives to interest-based conventional contracts: mudarabah (trust financing), musharakah (equity financing), ijarah (lease financing), murabahah (trade financing), qard al-hassan (welfare loan), bay` bi al-thaman al-ajil (deferred payment financing), and istisna` (progressive payments). Among these financial products, mudarabah and musharakah are the most distinct. Their unique characteristics (at least in theory) make Islamic banks and Islamic financing viable alternatives to the conventional interest-based financial system. The question before us is to determine the extent of mudarabah and musharakah in Islamic financing in practice. The data are as follows: the average mudarabah is 5% of total financing, and the average musharakah is less than 3%. The combined average of mudarabah and musharakah for the two Islamic banks is less than 4% of the total finance and advances. The average qard al- hassan is about 4%, while istisna` does not yet exist in practice. Murabahah is the most popular and dominates all other modes of Islamic financing. The average use of murabahah is over 54%. When the bay` bi al-thaman al-ajil is added to the murabahah, the percentage of total financing is shown to be 2.68%. This paper also explores some possible reasons why these two Islamic banks appear to prefer murabahah to mudarabah and musharakah.

Purpose -The unity of Divine Law is reflected in monotheistic faiths having their origin with Prophet Abraham (pbuh), but later divided into three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. There is a unity of Divine practice in a variety of areas among these monotheistic faiths. One such area is Zakah, in Islamic tradition, and often characterized as "the poor due" in Christianity and Judaism. By whatever name, Zakah or "the poor due," is an important Divine institution in all three monotheistic faiths. The purpose of this paper is to trace and examine the development of the Zakah institution and Zakah type coverage in those faiths. Design/methodology/approach -First, the paper provides a brief description of the meaning and objectives of Zakah (the poor due) and the group of people who have been described as worthy to receive Zakah. Additional sections trace the development of Zakat (the poor due) in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Finally, some conclusions are presented for the consideration of the reader. Findings -The administration and process for distribution of Zakah in contemporary Muslim states varies depending on the school of Islamic thought most prevalent in that society and the level of theocratic involvement of the government in those societies. Originality/value -This paper usefully examines the development of the Zakah institution and Zakah type coverage in the three monotheistic faiths.