Marketing in Islamic countries : challenges and opportunities

الملخص EN

Business in increasingly becoming global in scope today.

The massive advancement the technological development ( communication, internet etc.

) facilitates the access of companies to many countries.

Consumers today have access to the very best products from different countries.

In part to accommodate these realities, countries in the past several decades have taken increasing steps to promote global business through agreements such as the General Treaty on Trade and Tariffs ( GATT ), and trade organizations such as the World Trade Organization ( WTO ), and the European Union ( EU ).

The concept of marketing in Islamic countries must be profoundly understood.

This paper will shed light on the influence of Islamic religion on culture and how religion serves as a source of cultural difference which leads to different perspectives of marketing in different countries.

Moreover, we will discuss the marketing concept in an Islamic framework.

The study revealed that due to the differences among Muslim countries ( e.g.

market size, per capita income, etc.

).

It is recommended for multinational companies to approach Muslim countries based on the principle of market segmentation.

By applying such approach, the decision maker will be able to identify the relevant marketing variables that affect consumer's decisions.