Could Islamic finance save capitalism?

In 2010, the World Economic Forum invited a theologian to speak on the subject of an alternative economic system, putting stewardship of our planet at its core.  The unassuming but renowned scholar of Islamic jurisprudence, Mufti Taqi Usmani, would have found the snowy streets of Davos somewhat removed from the dusty chaos of his hometown Karachi, but the paper he presented had global importance: reforming the world’s post-crisis financial landscape through the lens of faith.  And although the media focused largely on the predictably defensive stance being taken by bankers through that turbulent time, perhaps some came away from Davos with the seed of an idea that social awareness ought to be the underpinning of finance.  More recently, comedian Russell Brand has been galvanising pu...