Allah, Villa, Volvo: Muslim Professionals in the Nordic Countries and Their Financial Attitudes and Practices

Abstract

This article has been peer reviewed through the double-blind process of Open Library of Humanities, which is a journal published by the Open Library of Humanities.

Religious norms and homeownership among Norwegian Muslim women

“…In Norway, however, alternative, interest-free finance is not available. 1 While research on Muslim immigrants is plentiful, little attention has been given to the relationship between religion, economics and housing in migrants' lives, and how these relationships relate to broader questions concerning integration and belonging (for recent exceptions, see Brekke and Larsen 2020;Borchgrevink and Erdal forthcoming).…”

Home loans and Muslims – an Australian perspective

“…Homeownership and home loan consumption have been linked to PQL, especially among migrant Muslims living in Western countries. In Western countries, access to home loans could result in access to better neighborhoods, better education for children, safety from crime, retirement comfort (Brekke and Larsen, 2020) and better social integration (Borchgrevink and Birkvad, 2022; Brekke and Larsen, 2020). As such, most Muslims living in Western countries, including Scandinavian countries and Australia, tend to have a positive attitude toward owning a home, although the means of achieving the same, whether via IHL or CHL, are divided (Borchgrevink and Birkvad, 2022; Brekke and Larsen, 2020; Lum, 2022).…”

“…In Western countries, access to home loans could result in access to better neighborhoods, better education for children, safety from crime, retirement comfort (Brekke and Larsen, 2020) and better social integration (Borchgrevink and Birkvad, 2022; Brekke and Larsen, 2020). As such, most Muslims living in Western countries, including Scandinavian countries and Australia, tend to have a positive attitude toward owning a home, although the means of achieving the same, whether via IHL or CHL, are divided (Borchgrevink and Birkvad, 2022; Brekke and Larsen, 2020; Lum, 2022). Muslims’ decisions to obtain a CHL to purchase a home to live in may also be strengthened by the ECFR fatwa, which states that the need to own a home is a dire necessity for Muslims living in Western countries (European Council for Fatwa and Research, 1999).…”

“…Given this lack of understanding, this study examines factors related to Australian Muslims’ consumption preferences for home loans, Islamic and conventional. This is a significant area of study, as homeownership is strongly linked to wealth accumulation and retirement (Hassan and Lester, 2018), facilitating economic security (Smith, 2015) and social inclusion (Brekke and Larsen, 2020) for individuals living in developed countries such as Australia. Furthermore, home ownership can indicate successful integration of migrants into society (Borchgrevink and Birkvad, 2022; Brekke and Larsen, 2020).…”

“…This is a significant area of study, as homeownership is strongly linked to wealth accumulation and retirement (Hassan and Lester, 2018), facilitating economic security (Smith, 2015) and social inclusion (Brekke and Larsen, 2020) for individuals living in developed countries such as Australia. Furthermore, home ownership can indicate successful integration of migrants into society (Borchgrevink and Birkvad, 2022; Brekke and Larsen, 2020). Thus, given the large migrant Muslim population in Australia, along with most individuals, would finance the purchase of a home through a home loan, understanding how Muslims in culturally and ethnically diverse markets make consumption decisions relating to the purchase of home loans becomes particularly important (Abdul Hadi and Muwazir, 2020).…”