A study on the perception of religious affairs personnel on participation banking

Islamic participation banks emerged as an alternative to interest-based systems and have gained traction in many parts of the world. The direction of perception towards this system in Turkey is a subject of curiosity. Hence, this study aimed to determine the perception of personnel working in the Directorate of Religious Affairs regarding Islamic participation banking. Through non-random convenience sampling, data were collected via a questionnaire from a total of 501 personnel. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS. The results indicated that compared to traditional banks, Directorate of Religious Affairs personnel perceive Islamic participation banks as more functional and view their promotional activities more positively, expressing a greater preference for Islamic participation banks over other banks. The study compared the perceptions of Directorate of Religious Affairs personnel regarding Islamic participation banks based on their demographic characteristics. In this context, differences were observed in personnel's perceptions of Islamic participation banks concerning characteristics such as gender, age, educational background, type and region of duty, and length of service.