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To Blow or Not to Blow the Whistle? An Islamic Framework

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Abstract

In this paper, we draw upon Islamic teachings to address two questions. How do Islamic ethics deepen and advance our understanding of the whistleblowing act? To what extent are Islamic ethics of whistleblowing promoted in practice? First, we have undertaken a thematic content analysis of the holy book of Qur’an, supported by the Sunnah (Prophetic Traditions). This has yielded a novel Islamic ethics-based framework of whistleblowing comprising the five aspects of the whistleblowing process: What should one blow the whistle about? Who should blow the whistle? Why should one blow the whistle? How should one blow the whistle? And to Whom should one blow the whistle? Second, using the developed framework, we have analyzed the whistleblowing policies of 20 Islamic banks and financial institutions across 11 countries. This analysis reveals that there exists a narrow view of what ought to be reported as wrongdoings, a confined scope of potential whistleblowers, a lack of connection with Islamic motivations, missing steps in the actual whistleblowing process, and a lack of gradation in relation to rectifying corrupt acts, thus highlighting a framework–policy gap. This is the first study to conceptualize the whistleblowing process from an Islamic perspective. The developed framework offers guiding procedures that individuals can consult to guide whistleblowing reasoning behavior and that organizations can use while developing whistleblowing policies. It also serves as a foundation for the development of organizational whistleblowing policies in different sectors.

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Notes

  1. The literal Arabic meaning of Shari’ah is “the way to the source of life – God” (Lewis 2006). It refers to a dynamic code of behavior for living in alignment with the Islamic rulings.

  2. The Qur’an is the holy book of Muslims, and it is believed (by Muslims) to be the final revelation from God to humankind through His Messenger Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). The Qur’an is the most important source of Shari’ah, and it sets legislations organizing and governing three main areas of an individual’s life: faith (Aqidah), worship (Ibadah), and social transactions (Mu’amalat) (Kamali 1999). According to the Qur’an (53:3–5), the Sunnah is the other part of the revelation; therefore, it is regarded as the second most important source of Shari’ah. It defines and clarifies the rulings of the Qur’an and adds rulings not explicitly stated in the Qur’an through the Prophet Mohammad’s sayings (Qaul, Hadiths), practices (Fi’l), and silent approvals (Iqrar).

  3. The Qur’an consists of 6,236 verses, which are placed in 114 chapters and/or categorized into 30 roughly equal parts.

  4. The Jurisprudence of Priorities is a systemic process and science within Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) that weighs costs and benefits, long term and short term, to reach a verdict regarding preferred actions within a certain context and scope of circumstances and time.

  5. Extracted data are not included in this paper but are available from the authors upon request. Three supplementary files are available. The first file includes the identified Qur’anic verses and Prophetic Hadiths. The second file details the Islamic banks and financial institutions sampled, along with their geographical dispersion. The third file includes the five whistleblowing questions analyzed cross-sectionally across our sample of Islamic banks and financial institutions.

  6. In this study, we provide a holistic picture of Islamic ethics concerning the key aspects of whistleblowing; therefore, we have adopted a neutral stand informed by the two main sources of Islamic ethics (the Qur’an and the Sunnah) to avoid any particular strand of Islamic thought. In doing so, we have used the core religious texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah, which are adhered to by all individual Muslims, supported by relevant academic works.

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Funding

No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript. The four authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt

    Dina El-Bassiouny

  2. Zayed University, College of Business, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Amr Kotb

  3. Bournemouth University Business School, Bournemouth, UK

    Hany Elbardan

  4. Faculty of Commerce, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

    Hany Elbardan

  5. German University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt

    Noha El-Bassiouny

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  1. Dina El-Bassiouny
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  2. Amr Kotb
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  3. Hany Elbardan
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  4. Noha El-Bassiouny
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The first three authors have equally contributed to the study conception and design, and the fourth author has contributed to the two rounds of revision.

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Correspondence to Amr Kotb.

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This study is based on a thorough analysis of the two main sources of Islam (i.e., the Qur’an and the Sunnah) and whistleblowing policies of Islamic banks and financial institutions that are publicly available on the Internet. Therefore, no ethical approval is required.

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El-Bassiouny, D., Kotb, A., Elbardan, H. et al. To Blow or Not to Blow the Whistle? An Islamic Framework. J Bus Ethics 187, 385–404 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05274-z

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