Islam: Means peace but from the spiritual point it means peace and complete submission to the will

of God. When we submit to the will of God then we will have true peace.

The important Islamic terms : Halal- lawful Haram- unlawful

Islamic marketing involves understanding the needs and cultural sensibilities of the Muslim consumers and tailor-making products and services that comply with ethical principles of the Shariah law (The code of law based on the Koran).

Islamic marketing/business ideals :

Only lawful activities are permitted (Halal) All transactions involving usury/interest are prohibited (Haram) Promise must be kept and truth must be told Undercutting another in business prohibited

In Islam, as in modern marketing textbooks, four marketing mix issues have been identified (Difference in practice and behavior not in theory): 1- Product The product which is being marketed should be halal and meet all requirements of Islamic law. 2- Price Pricing decisions should be formulated according to Islamic concepts and regulations. Price should not be fixed to deceive

buyer or having intention to eliminate competitors.

3- Place 4- Promotion

Exaggeration in marketing practices is not allowed in Islam. No fraud, no vulgarity, no lying or deception ; no cheating are allowed throughout the promotion campaign.

FMCG:

FMCG companies were among first to get into business of islamic marketing. EXAMPLE:

COLGATE PALMOLIVE claims to be first MNC to have HALAL certification for its toothpaste and mouthwashes sold in Malaysia. UNILEVER launched sunsilk lively clean and fresh shampoo (for removing excess oil )from scalp targeting muslim women in malaysia who wear the tudung (head scarf) as a custom.

MOBILE PHONES :

EXAMPLE : NOKIA earned respect of muslim population by taking no shortcuts to customization. In 2007,it launched special edition of its N73 mobile handset to cater to muslim consumers loaded with applications like islamic organizer with in-built islamic e-books etc.

LG also launched the F7100 Digital qibla phone with features customized for muslim consumer.

HOSPITALITY: Hotels practicing islamic marketing do not serve alcohol, offer halal certification for the food served ,besides offering prayer rooms etc. EXAMPLE : THE LORD MILNER HOTEL in london provides QIBLAH(prayer) sign in their hotel rooms. ISLAMIC BANKING :

The shariah law allows generation of wealth by trading and investment in assets,it prohibits earning of intrest. EXAMPLE: in 1992, STANDARD CHARTERED became first international bank to offer islamic banking services to its customers in malaysia. further,the bank launched a separate islamic banking business under the brand STANDARD CHARTERD SAADIQ IN 2007. SAADIQ meaning truthful in arabic.

Icing on d cake true islamic values driven brand has also the capability of appealing to consumers of other faiths. REASON : the principle of HALAL brings in features like purity, health, wellness etc which happen to be universal in nature. FACT !! roughly 60% of worlds islamic products are brought by non-islamic consumers.

Mecca-Cola:

Think Muslim, drink Muslim, says new rival to Coke- A French firm capitalises on anti-US feeling to sell cola As an alternative to Cola products, Mecca-Cola, directs part of its profits to needy people. Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is the destination for Muslim annual pilgrimage.

Ilkone i800 cell phone: Distributed by the Dubai-based Samcom, ilkone is Arabic for "universe." The phone provides the direction for prayer, the call to prayer, an Islamic calendar and the text of the Quran

Cone-demned ... 'spinning whirl' ice creams look similar to the world Allah written in Arabic script Ice creams are being withdrawn from Burger King because a design on the lid looks like the word Allah.

Nike apologized to Muslims for any unintentional offense, agreed to recall all products carrying the design, introduced training for Nike designers in Islamic imagery and agreed to investigate how the design came about.