Islamic Finance Explained
The Financial Times (a British daily newspaper that focuses on economics and finance) published an online presentation explaining Islamic Finance. It is a little “old” for Ijtema (March 30th, 2008) , but I found it useful after discovering it today via the Aqoul blog, and thought I’d share:
The Islamic finance industry is worth about $800bn globally and is growing at an annual rate of 10 to 15 per cent. The sector’s dramatic growth since 2000, when it was worth $150bn, and profusion of investment products has been fueled by an increasing desire by Muslims for investments that comply with Islamic law. Demand has also been triggered by the big increase in wealth in the Gulf, where growth has doubled since 2002 on the back of the soaring oil price.
Our interactive feature explores the main Islamic financial instruments, the key players and where the industry is heading.
Salam. It would be certainly interesting, to take the growing discussion of Islamic Finance, and steer it towards a distinct understanding of Islamic Economics. Understanding Keynesian economic theory, or Moneterism - and then showing the Islamic alternatives, is mind-blowing. Its not just about the absence of Riba, but the whole production/distribution, hard/soft currency, private/public ownership discussion is radically different when studied through an Islamic perspective.