A second edition of Islamic Finance in the Global Economy, substantially revised and updated to take into account the recent developments in the field.

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject Economics - History, grade: 1,3, University of Mannheim (Fakultät der Rechtswissenschaften und VWL), language: English, abstract: Since the mid-1970s, an industry growing at considerable pace in the Islamic world is gaining market shares all over the world in countries with sufficient Muslim populations. This “Islamic Finance” industry claims to act in line with the ethical and practical principles set forth in the Qu'ran and the Shari'ah, thus appealing to Muslim and non-Muslim clients alike who search for viable alternatives to conventional financial products. As explained, the first beginnings of this phenomenon can be traced well back into the 1970s when the first “Islamic Banks” started operating in Egypt and Jordan. In the past decades, a vast amount of research has been published – empirical and theoretical – to review the impacts of Islamic Finance on the financial markets of the Islamic world. These works, to a great deal inspired by the enormous need of the industry for quantitative and qualitative research, all dealt with questions of comparative efficiency of conventional and Islamic Finance, the demand for Shari'ah-compliant financial products, the actual genuineness, or authenticity, of the industry, etc. However, only a very small portion of these research works dealt with the question whether or not the Islamic world actually needs Islamic Finance. At first, this might seem as a trivial question (if there was no need for Islamic Finance, there would not have been this substantial growth). But at second thought, one realizes the associations that come which come with the question of raison d'être: Why did Islamic Finance emerge? Does it add an economic value to its markets? And most importantly, is it – so far – successfully reaching its goals? To my understanding, the works that deal with this big-picture analysis, are thin on the ground. Therefore, this work shall take a first step at putting Islamic Finance into the historical context it needs to be seen in, by compiling the manifold works into a cross-sectional approach to characterize the industry. The most salient aspects of the analysis here will be legal, historical, and economic ones, in order to grasp the 'big picture' of Islamic Finance.

Islamic Banking and Finance (IBF) has become a growing force over the past three decades, with Pakistan being one of the IBF pioneers by converting to an ‘interest-free’ banking system in 1985. However, since independence in 1947, there has been continual tension over Pakistan’s essential character, between Islamic Minimalists, who favour a Modernist interpretation of Islam, and those who favour an Islamic Maximalist interpretation that sees Pakistan as a model Islamic state. This book analyses the push to Islamize Pakistan and its financial system by Islamic revivalists, following the early 1947 debates in the original Constituent Assembly to the final 2002 ruling on IBF of the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court. It examines the practice and theory behind contemporary Islamic, "Shariah-compliant", banking. It offers extensive interviews with Pakistani Islamic bankers on the state of their industry and how they see it developing, and provides analysis on how the Islamic banks’ customers differ from those of conventional ones. Presenting a critical analysis of Pakistan’s IBF experience and offering a new insight into Pakistan’s banking industry that illustrates broader political and social trends in the country, this book will be of interest to specialists on Islam, South Asia and International Economics.

This book examines the international investment agreements and the dispute settlement mechanisms contained therein, which bind the Gulf Cooperation Council member States. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, is complex and unique. Recently, all member States have experienced increasing investor–state arbitration claims, while their nationals are increasingly instituting investor–state arbitrations to protect their own foreign investments. Intra-GCC disputes, though relatively rare, have also appeared, largely as a result of the recent Gulf crisis. While focussing particularly upon the investor–state dispute settlement experience of member States as respondents, the book also explores the experiences of their nationals as claimants to determine how they can approach investor– state dispute settlement in the future. The book also reflects on existing treaty-making practices, making recommendations for regional-level dispute settlement to improve upon investor–state dispute settlement outcomes. This book provides a detailed analysis of the global investor–state dispute settlement regime and international investment agreements, and it will be of interest to students, academics, and practitioners with an interest in international investment law and arbitration.

Islamic Finance: Instruments and Markets looks at the application of Sharia law to the world of banking and finance. It provides you with an understanding of the rationale behind the instruments and the rapidly developing Islamic financial markets. Coverage includes in-depth analysis of the financial instruments within the Sharia framework and how they are applied in various sectors including insurance, investment and capital markets. Regulatory issues are also discussed both from the role of the Sharia board to reporting financial risk to legal bodies. It addresses issues such as bringing a New Ethical Dimension to Banking through to The International Role of Islamic Finance and provides you with a range of checklists from Business Ethics in Islamic Finance to The Role of the Shariah Advisory Board in Islamic Finance and Regulatory and Capital Issues under Shariah Law.

Recent years have seen a surge of interest in the workings of financial institutions and financial markets beyond the discipline of economics, which has been accelerated by the financial crisis of the early twenty-first century. The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Finance brings together twenty-nine chapters, written by scholars of international repute from Europe, North America, and Asia, to provide comprehensive coverage on a variety of topics related to the role of finance in a globalized world, and its historical development. Topics include global institutions of modern finance, types of actors involved in financial transactions and supporting technologies, mortgage markets, rating agencies, and the role of financial economics. Particular attention is given to financial crises, which are discussed in a special section, as well as to alternative forms of finance, including Islamic finance and the rise of China. The Handbook will be an indispensable tool for academics, researchers, and students of contemporary finance and economic sociology, and will serve as a reference point for the expanding international community of scholars researching these areas from a broadly-defined sociological perspective.

Recovering Environmental and Economic Traditions in the Islamic World is an interdisciplinary volume that interrogates varied approaches to environmental and economic thought in classical Islam and in a few contemporary case studies. The contributions in this volume critique the dominant economic system and its perspective on the environment as a commodity across the boundaries of multiple intellectual traditions and academic fields. The book analyses both historical trajectories and modern schools of thought while simultaneously exploring ethical applications to environmental and economic discourses as a tool of critique. In this context, the authors conceptualize and treat these discourses as polyvalent and enmeshed with various political, ethical, and cosmological perspectives and vistas.

"Islamic Finance: The Regulatory Challenge…is therefore timely and a truly welcome addition to the growing literature on this subject…I congratulate the two professors for their fine contribution to the evolving art and science of the regulation of Islamic finance." —Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia "The World's financial regulators have taken too long to appreciate the importance of adapting their regulatory frameworks to the needs of the fast growing Islamic finance sector. Simon Archer and Rifaat Ahmed, the leaders in the field, have put together a fascinating collection of essays which show just what has to be done. It is a very timely book indeed." —Howard Davies, Director, London School of Economics "The emergence of Islamic finance as a major force in the world financial system has focused attention on regulatory issues. This book, edited by Professor Archer and Professor Rifaat, two of the most respected figures in the field, is an important point of reference for those who have to deal with these issues, whether in regulatory authorities, or in the financial institutions themselves." —Professor William Blair QC, Grays Inn, London "There is now great interest, both in financial and legal circles, in reliable and authoritative texts on Islamic finance. I have no doubt that the availability of Islamic Finance: The Regulatory Challenge will be warmly welcomed by those who provide financial and legal services. The work will be of great assistance to them." —The Rt Hon the Lord Woolf of Barnes, Law Lord and former Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales

"Islamic Finance: The Regulatory Challenge…is therefore timely and a truly welcome addition to the growing literature on this subject…I congratulate the two professors for their fine contribution to the evolving art and science of the regulation of Islamic finance." —Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia "The World's financial regulators have taken too long to appreciate the importance of adapting their regulatory frameworks to the needs of the fast growing Islamic finance sector. Simon Archer and Rifaat Ahmed, the leaders in the field, have put together a fascinating collection of essays which show just what has to be done. It is a very timely book indeed." —Howard Davies, Director, London School of Economics "The emergence of Islamic finance as a major force in the world financial system has focused attention on regulatory issues. This book, edited by Professor Archer and Professor Rifaat, two of the most respected figures in the field, is an important point of reference for those who have to deal with these issues, whether in regulatory authorities, or in the financial institutions themselves." —Professor William Blair QC, Grays Inn, London "There is now great interest, both in financial and legal circles, in reliable and authoritative texts on Islamic finance. I have no doubt that the availability of Islamic Finance: The Regulatory Challenge will be warmly welcomed by those who provide financial and legal services. The work will be of great assistance to them." —The Rt Hon the Lord Woolf of Barnes, Law Lord and former Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales

The recent unprecedented economic downturn and global supply chain disruption by the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the urgency for sustainable financing infrastructure that is agile, adaptable, and transformable. Sustainability and the 4th Industrial Revolution are about more than just technology-driven change; it is an opportunity to help everyone, including leaders, policymakers and people from all income groups and nations, to navigate industry disruptions and transitioning to a new normal by harnessing converging technologies in order to create an inclusive, human-centered future. The edited volume provides critical discussions on reframing the Islamic finance approach to sustainability and socio-economic development in the post-pandemic era. It highlights how selected Islamic finance tools alongside FinTech can not only ensure financial sustainability but also promote socio-economic policies that will aid the much-desired value and impact creation in the economy. The book focuses its analysis on the following three areas: reframing Islamic finance sustainability and socio-economic development; innovative Islamic financial tools for sustainable and socio-economic impact; and the role of FinTech in the road to sustainability. The edited volume will be of interest to scholars, researchers, and students of Islamic finance, sustainability, and financial technology.