I have been active in the field of Islamic Finance for a number of years now and during that time have been asked many questions. The most frequent question has been “Do I have to be a Muslim to participate in Islamic Finance?” The answer to which, I am sure you all know, is NO you do not. Islamic Finance is for the benefit of all humanity.Leading on from this and probably the second most frequent question I get asked, goes along the lines of “What is it that you have to do to set up Islamic Finance in a country?” The answer to that is the subject of this, my firs...

Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from the book “Shariah Minds in Islamic Finance” by Datuk Dr Mohd Daud Bakar. The recently launched book provides a unique and powerful insight into the world of Islamic Finance, by one of the leading Shariah scholars.I used to share the details of my travelling arrangements with some of my colleagues, friends and family members, and sometimes with the media. Most of them immediately responded, “We don’t envy your travelling commitments”. What a remark. This part of the scholar’s life, week in and week out, may not...

A webinar by Tariq Al-Rifai in March 2016, on the instability of the financial system and the coming financial crisis:

Classical sources of Islam prohibit interest transactions but encourage business partnerships and trade. While interest transactions shift risks from the capitalist to the entrepreneur, partnerships lead the two to share them. Thus, it follows that Islam prefers risk sharing to risk shifting. [2]Since it is the risks which generate profits and losses, it follows that when risks are shared, profits and losses are also shared. Therefore, risk sharing leads to a share economy, that's what an Islamic economy is supposed to be all about.But all of this is theory. What about application?...

It gives us a great pleasure to invite you to attend AAOIFI’s International Conference, marking its 25th anniversary, that convenes under the broad title: “The Islamic Finance Industry: 40 Years Since Inception, Evaluation of the Experience and the Way Forward”. The conference will be held under the auspices of HRH Prince Faysal bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Prince of al-Madinah Province, and in partnership with the Emirate of al-Madinah. It is also officially sponsored by the Capital Market Authority.Venue: Grand Conference Ballroom, Taiba University, al-MadinahDa...

Courtesy of the Islamic Finance and Ethics Society. The first student-led Islamic finance conference - a great job by the IFES!This video was recorded at the London School of Economics on 27 February 2016.

Courtesy of the Islamic Finance and Ethics Society. This video was recorded at the London School of Economics on 27 February 2016.

Imagine that your bank’s bad loans totalled 15% of its balance sheet. What conclusion would you draw? The bank lacks credit control, customers are dishonest, rates are exorbitant, or the market is plagued by all three problems and more. Yet this is the reported case in Iran today [1]. As a result, the Central Bank is looking into the formation of a “bad bank” asset management company to absorb the troubled transactions. In doing so, I encourage Iran to adapt their path.The bad bank process may be structured with three very different objectives, but rarely is it struc...

I wonder what people are thinking. On January 29th, The Daily Mail screamed “Revealed: The government buildings sold off by the Treasury as part of the secret Islamic bond scheme and now operated under Sharia law”. The article has important errors and raises equally important questions.Foremost, the scheme was not secret. It was highly publicised and debated.The Daily Mail is really worked up about the restriction on alcohol in the buildings. I wonder if the actual indenture puts the buildings under “Shariah law”. Or, is this a case of common landlord tenant co...

Over the last decade the Turkish economy has been one of the most vibrant economies in the world, more than doubling its GDP to over US$ 800 billion. This internationalisation has been mainly led by record levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), averaging around US$ 12 billion per year.With geopolitical tensions continuing to dominate its eastern borders, and lingering economic stagnation in the west, the economy will face a number of challenges in 2016. However the country’s resilient private sector is targeting greater levels of FDI to support economic growth.“Turke...