The participation index will be a type of Islamic index serving companies that are not in conflict with the rules governing Islamic commerce. For instance, a Muslim investor may not purchase shares of companies which operate businesses that are not in compliance with Islamic law, such as the production of alcohol or the earning of interest.Speaking to reporters in İstanbul on Tuesday, Akyüz said the participation index would soon be opened at the İMKB and that they expected 50 to 60 firms to be listed, attracting 100,000 investors. Recalling that the necessary infrastructure has been established for the index, Akyüz said the companies to be listed on the index would only be chosen amongst firms that appeal to the participation bank customer profile in Turkey.
Turkish customers who are sensitive to interest prefer participation banks. Interest is considered haram, or contrary to Islamic principles, because Islam views riba (interest) as unfair profit. Islamic principles do, however, encourage the earning of profit as this indicates successful entrepreneurship and creates additional wealth. As regards the performance of participation banks in Turkey, he said the amount of deposits collected by banks increased by 7 percent in May when compared to January to reach TL 268.7 billion, while total assets enjoyed a 6 percent rise and reached TL 35.6 billion in the same period.
