British Surprise: UK announces sukuk plans.  Yes, I know it’s a picture of David Cameron from last year’s conference in London.  That was him telling the world London was open for Islamic business, and proving it by announcing the issuance of a £200 million sovereign sukuk. It was once again the turn of the British to deliver the surprise at this year’s World Islamic Economic Forum in Dubai.  This time it was Andrea Leadsom, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, announcing to delegates that the UK would soon be guaranteeing sukuk on export...

Sean Moncrieff of Ireland’s leading radio talk show, Newstalk, interviews Harris Irfan: http://www.newstalk.ie/player/home/Moncrieff/Highlights_from_Moncrieff/60992/ This post was originally published in heavensbankers.com, on 13 August 2014.

Many thanks to Said Business School for hosting me. Part 1: Interview Part 2: Presentation This post was originally published in heavensbankers.com, on 25 January 2015.

Islamic banking is gaining in popularity among non-Muslim customers. CNN’s Jim Boulden speaks with Harris Irfan, author of Heaven’s Bankers and MD of EIIB-Rasmala, Tirad Al Mahmoud, CEO of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, and Sultan Choudhury, CEO of Islamic Bank of Britain. This post was originally published in heavensbankers.com, on 26 November 2014.

Courtesy of ALIWAY for Living Islam I had the pleasure of joining the UK’s largest gathering of Muslims earlier this month. Dubbed the Muslim Glastonbury by some elements of the press, it’s nothing of the sort. More like the Muslim Hay-on-Wye. With 5000 ticket holders, many of whom camped on site, the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the UK’s leading Muslim (and non-Muslim) thinkers was too good to pass and as my book was being launched at the same time, the organisers kindly invited me to present on the subject of Islamic finance at a couple of sessions....

World Finance interview to find out whether Islamic finance can live up to its hype.  This post was originally published in heavensbankers.com, on 6 June 2014.  

The harsh reality of the present day Muslim World is that despite being in possession of enormous potential and immense resources [1], most of the countries are at a lower level of development, barring a few exceptions , mostly the natural-resources-rich countries [2]. However, a major chunk of the global Muslim population continues to languish in abject poverty. A sizable number of populace in Muslim countries, with large populations, lives below the internationally defined poverty line; in some cases, this ratio is as high as 60 and 70% (Exhibit 1).  Exhibit 1: Population below Po...

Economic powerhouse in waiting: Indonesia must address infrastructure and bureaucracy challenges to realise its potential. Antara/M. Agung Rajasa.Pencak silat is an Indonesian martial arts, initially developed around the Islands of Java and Sumatra. It represents diversity, with hundreds of different styles; and survival, with ancient Indonesian kingdoms settling rivalries and wars, using its various forms.The modern-day Indonesia is like pencak silat. Over 18,000 islands, inhabited by the world’s fourth largest population of almost 250 million people, speaking 300 local langua...

Part 2: In this series of articles on IslamicBanker.com, renowned economist Murat Çizakça explores Waqf - one of the greatest institutions in Islamic history and how it can be revitalised. [Read Part 1 here] Some readers will have noticed by the similarity between the historical cash awqaf and modern Islamic banks: both were designed originally to operate through mudarabah and both ended up utilizing, from the Islamic perspective, less preferable instruments. This cannot be a mere coincidence. What then were (are) the reasons behind this undesirable situation?...

Take-off delayed: Despite favourable demographics, France lags behind its European neighbours in the development of the Islamic finance industry. Photograph: Shutterstock.  With approximately 5 million residents, France has a large Muslim population, more than any other European country, originating mostly from the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia). However, despite the favourable demographics, France is falling behind its European rivals in courting the Islamic finance industry. As the United Kingdom basks in the success of its maiden sovereign Sukuk issuance an...