Ethical finance and faith-based economic systems have expanded substantially over recent decades, moving from niche regional structures into globally integrated markets. Within this evolving landscape, rigorous academic inquiry is necessary to evaluate the financial mechanisms, regulatory frameworks, and operational models that govern Islamic commercial transactions and the broader halal economy.
The SCI Journal of Islamic Finance and Halal Economics (SJIFHE) provides a focused academic outlet for scholarship addressing these disciplines. Hosted on the SciMatic platform, the journal connects theoretical sharia principles with contemporary economic realities, offering peer-reviewed research for economists, finance scholars, and industry specialists.
Thematic Scope and Core Subject Areas
SJIFHE covers research across both theoretical sharia economics and practical market applications. The journal's scope divides broadly into Islamic financial structures, social finance instruments, and the real-economy operations of the halal industry.
1. Islamic Banking and Capital Markets
Research in this area examines institutions, instruments, and regulatory developments within sharia-compliant financial architecture. Key topics include:
- Islamic banking and financial institutions: Operational performance, liquidity risk management, balance sheet structures, and prudential regulation.
- Sukuk and Islamic bonds: Structural design, pricing dynamics, secondary market liquidity, and asset-backed versus asset-based debt instruments.
- Takaful and Islamic insurance: Cooperative risk-sharing models, surplus distribution mechanisms, and actuarial practices.
- Islamic capital markets: Sharia equity screening methodologies, market efficiency, indices, and asset pricing.
- Islamic fintech and digital banking: Smart contracts, decentralized finance (DeFi), automated compliance monitoring, and digital assets evaluated through Islamic jurisprudential frameworks.
2. Islamic Social Finance and Financial Inclusion
Unlike purely commercial financial models, Islamic economics incorporates structured mechanisms for wealth redistribution and social welfare. SJIFHE invites work on:
- Waqf and zakat management: Institutional governance, digital collection platforms, asset preservation, and socioeconomic impact assessment.
- Islamic microfinance: Qard al-hasan (benevolent loans), profit-and-loss sharing micro-enterprises, and poverty alleviation strategies.
- Financial inclusion: Expanding access to banking services in underserved communities through non-usurious financial tools.
3. Halal Industry, Supply Chains, and Standards
The halal economy extends well beyond financial services to include tangible consumer markets, production ecosystems, and logistics. SJIFHE publishes research addressing:
- Halal industry operations: Developments in food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, personal care, and halal hospitality.
- Supply chain integrity: Tracking and tracing, contamination prevention, cold chain management, and blockchain-based provenance verification.
- Halal certification and standards: Harmonization across regional standards bodies, accreditation governance, and the regulatory challenges of cross-border trade.
4. Governance, Sharia Auditing, and Comparative Economics
Maintaining institutional credibility requires robust oversight mechanisms. The journal covers corporate governance models specific to Islamic financial institutions, including internal and external sharia supervisory boards, sharia auditing practices, and compliance monitoring. Additionally, SJIFHE welcomes comparative economic analyses that contrast Islamic financial structures with conventional models, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, and broader ethical finance frameworks.
Accepted Manuscript Types
To support varying forms of research and scholarly debate, SJIFHE considers several manuscript formats:
- Original Research Articles: Comprehensive empirical or theoretical studies that present novel findings, robust econometric analyses, or formal jurisprudential modeling.
- Review Papers: Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and critical evaluations of existing literature that synthesize current knowledge and outline directions for future research.
- Case Studies: In-depth institutional or operational examinations of specific financial products, institutional restructurings, regulatory implementations, or halal supply chain models.
- Policy Analyses: Focused evaluations of national and supranational regulatory policies, macroprudential frameworks, or standardization efforts affecting Islamic finance and trade.
- Short Communications: Concise contributions reporting preliminary empirical findings, methodological critiques, or brief observations of immediate relevance.
Target Audience and Submissions
SJIFHE is designed for academic researchers in economics, finance, and Islamic jurisprudence, as well as policy analysts, central bank regulators, and halal industry practitioners seeking peer-reviewed analysis. All submitted manuscripts undergo rigorous peer review by Islamic finance scholars and halal economy specialists to evaluate both academic rigor and methodological appropriateness.
Authors may submit manuscripts directly through the SciMatic publishing system, which tracks peer review progress, editorial decisions, and final production workflows within a unified dashboard.
