the crisis of modernisation and islamicisation 337a decade. The Society caters particularly for the south provinces of
Thailand where Muslims represent the majority of the population.
The operational success of the Society, represented in increasing cap-
ital, income, contribution and a diversification of its operational activ-
ities suggest a similar success to the new Islamic bank in Thailand.
Several factors could be said to have contributed to the establish-
ment of the above Islamic banks and financial institutions in the
Islamic world: first, the increasing Islamic awareness among the
masses at the grass root level, second, the financial support of wealthy
Muslims, and the support of government.
First, the establishment of Islamic banks would not have been pos-
sible without willing clients, depositors and users of funds who believe
in the Islamic mission and ideals. These would, indeed, make the
Islamic financial markets. Without depositors and users of funds who
are willing to apply the Sharì"ah to their way of savings and invest-
ments, Islamic financial institutions, though they may be successfully
launched, may not have the ingredients for continuity, progress and
survival. To put another way, though the establishment of Islamic
financial institutions is a major move towards the application of
Islamic principles to the financial sector, the growth, continuity and
survival of these institutions is equally important. The willingness of
using the facilities provided by these institutions, by the participants
in the financial markets, i.e. depositors and users of funds, would
create the width and depth of the market and, substantially, con-
tribute to the growth, or survival, of the institutions providing the
services. Competition among non-Islamic and Islamic financial insti-
tutions, when both types of institutions are allowed to operate in the
same market, cannot be ignored on the premise that the customer
is religiously motivated in pursuit of his financial transactions. Clients,
both depositors and users of funds, will certainly make a comparison
between the two systems if not for anything else it is for making
sure that the system in which he believes is working. Management
of Islamic financial institutions bear a heavy managerial role, greater
than that of western-based-banks management to ensure the efficiency
of their operations.
Second, the availability of the initial funds required to establish
the banks. In establishing the above banks and financial institutions,
funds came mainly from three sources: first, wealthy Muslims, par-
ticularly Arabs, who believed in the viability of an Islamic banking
system as a substitute to the interest based system, such as in the