Abstract
Disclosure is one of the fundamental principles of Shari'ah governance (SG) in Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs). Furthermore, the religiously committed financial investors, depositors, and customers strongly consider the Islamic bank's Shari'ah related disclosure and transparency prior to any financial decisions. In the established Islamic corporate governance and Shari'ah governance related literature, dearth of information is available concerning Shari'ah disclosure arrangement. Therefore, the study is an attempt to fill this gap by exploring the Shari'ah elements that are considered by the Islamic banks' financial investors and customers. The purpose of the research is to explore the crucial Shari'ah determinants that need to be disclose by IBIs and which shape the decisions and perceptions of banking customers and general public towards Islamic banks. The nature of the inquiry is purely qualitative, where, phenomenology is used as a research strategy. In addition, the scope of the study is limited to the views of Islamic banking and finance academicians which serves IBIs as well. Apart from the existing explored elements of Shari'ah reporting and disclosure in the available literature, the study finds that, IBIs need to disclose their investment avenues and its proof of Islamicity, Shari'ah appraisal of the adopted products and services, and disclosure of the Islamic bank's contribution toward the Maqasid al-Shari'ah to the pertinent customers and general public at large. Furthermore, Islamic banks need to adapt their Shari'ah disclosure by considering the native school of Shari'ah interpretation/ madhab and simple native language. Similarly, to ensure good Shari'ah disclosure and transparency, IBIs also need to disclose their Shari'ah compliance position through actual Shari'ah based actions and practices.
Keywords: Customer Perception, Islamic Banking, Shari'ah Disclosure, Shari'ah Governance.