The impact of religious officials' perception and attitude towards the participation finance system on investor behavior: The case of Isparta

With the development of Islamic finance, both the diversity of Islamic financial products and the interest in these products are steadily increasing in our country. Numerous studies have been conducted to measure various parameters such as Islamic financial literacy, awareness, and individual behavior. However, in-depth analyses on how the perception level of Islamic finance shapes investment decisions remain relatively limited. The primary aim of this study is to understand how individuals' perception and awareness levels of Islamic finance influence their investment behaviors. The research was conducted with certain religious personnel working at the Isparta Provincial Mufti's Office, focusing on analyzing their perceptions of Islamic finance and its impact on their investment preferences. The phenomenological method, one of the qualitative research approaches, was adopted in this study, and semi-structured interviews were used as the data collection technique. For this purpose, an interview form was prepared, consisting of five demographic, five perception, and five behavior-related questions directed at the participants. The findings were systematically evaluated and elaborated upon using the descriptive analysis method. In the first section of the study, the fundamental principles and concepts of Islamic finance, interest-free financial instruments, and their areas of application are discussed. In the second section, the perception of Islamic finance, individuals' financial literacy levels, and the relationship between this perception and investment behaviors are evaluated within the framework of the existing literature. Subsequently, the findings of the field research are analyzed within this context. The research results indicate that the majority of the religious personnel possess basic knowledge about Islamic finance, and their investment preferences largely align with their perception and awareness levels.