A primer on Islamic finance

Abstract

Islamic finance is one of the most rapidly growing segments of the global financialsystem. However, despite the increasing importance of Islamic finance, particularly indeveloping economies in the Middle East and South-East Asia, religious and socialcomplexity has acted against a fuller understanding by regulators, policymakers,researchers, and practitioners. This chapter provides a succinct and accessible analysis ofthe definition, sources, principles, and methods of Islamic finance. This serves as asuitable starting point for further work into Islamic finance and many of the pressingregulatory, supervisory and competitive issues that remain yet unaddressed.