Islamic Advertising Ethics

The growing investments of multinational corporations make it essential for these corporations to pursue a better understanding of Islamic values and mentalities, lest they endanger losing or repelling a significant part of their target market (Rogers, Ogbuehi, & Kochunny, 1995). As a consequence, it appears that Islamic Advertisement plays a role not only for Islamic societies, but also for western companies that target them. There is a threat of conflict especially in countries that already strictly enforce an Islamic code of conduct in all aspects of life, like in Saudi Arabia or Iran (Saeed, Ahmed, & Mukhtar, 2001). As an example Saudi Arabia has been known to alter advertisement campaigns that do not fulfill their moral expectations,

These authors have offered their views on which values are important in Islam and how they should be incorporated in business conduct. For this paper, they will constitute the basis for a compilation of Islamic principles that could be followed in a business context and will be illustrated in chapter 5.

4.1 Role of Advertisement in Islam (Nooh, 2009)

Nooh (2009) endeavored to gain an understanding of the views and concerns of Malaysian Islamic religious scholars on Islamic advertising ethics. By conducting a number of interviews, their idea of the optimal roles of advertising are demonstrated in the following points:

(1) Disseminating information: A consumer should be provided with relevant knowledge on the product, introducing new products or concepts

(2) Promoting good personal and family financial planning

(3) Giving the public the opportunity to contemplate and evaluate purchasing decisions

(4) Not to deceive or make false claims

(5) Not to complicate purchasing decisions

(6) Not to omit facts from the public

(7) Protecting and enhancing social

Furthermore, it is stressed that honesty and justice should be pursued.

4.2 Dimensions of Ads from an Islamic Perspective (Islam & Alam, 2013)

Islam and Alam (2013) conducted a study, gathering mainly secondary data from media like radio, television and print media. By analyzing advertisements and analyzing them with the aid of religious scripture, they identified the following list of advertisement dimensions from an Islamic perspective:

Precise Statement. The study found that the majority of respondents felt that advertisement messaged were generally exaggerated or even made false promises, which is prohibited in Islam.

Transparent. Furthermore, the majority felt that the information offered in advertisements was not accurate or truthful. Quran states that a clear message should always be strived for (36:17).

Prohibited Elements as Promotional Tools. A staggering 156 of 200 respondents (78%) agreed that prohibited goods like alcohol, tobacco or gambling should not be part of advertisements. The Quran supports this notion and clearly prohibits alcohol and gambling (2:219) and tobacco