Islamic Finance Library

Microfinance is constituted by a range of financial services for people who are traditionally considered non bankable, mainly because they lack the guarantees that can protect a financial institution against a loss risk.

The true revolution of microfinance is that this tool gives a chance to people who were denied the access to the financial market, opens new perspectives and empowers people who can finally carry out their own projects and ideas with their own resources, and escape assistance, subsidies and dependence. Microfinance experiences all around the world have now definitely proved that the poor demand a wide range of financial services, are willing to bear the expenses related to them and are absolutely bankable.

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I would like to preempt two opposing reactions that many readers may have once they recognize that “Islamic finance” is in many ways very similar to (and at times identical with) conventional finance. Some may feel that this similarity is an attempt to dilute the Islamic teachings to simplify our lives, while others may feel that the Islamic Legal distinctions between Islamic and regular finance are artificial means of creating an industry where none is needed. I will be among the first to admit that the terms “Islamic banking” or “Islamic finance” can be quite misleading given the many similarities between Islamic and conventional financial contracts. To explain my point of view about this issue, let me use a good analogy: the issue of “Islamic marriage”.

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These scholarships have been established by the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies to allow graduates to pursue study of benefit to the Muslim world.

The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies is a Recognized Independent Centre of the University of Oxford. It was established in 1985 to encourage the scholarly study of Islam and the Islamic world. The Centre provides a meeting point for the Western and Islamic worlds of learning. At Oxford it contributes to the multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary study of the Islamic world. Beyond Oxford, its role is strengthened by an international network of academic contacts. For more information, please go to www.oxcis.ac.uk

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In recent years, Islamic finance has grown rapidly across the world, conservatively estimated at 10-15% a year.1 Given the UK’s position as one of the leading international financial centres, it is no surprise that part of this growth has taken place in London which is now seen as an emerging global ‘hub’ for Islamic finance. At the same time, the government has wanted to give the UK’s relatively large Muslim community (around 3% of the population) access to financial services consistent with their religious beliefs.

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