For those with a passing knowledge of the strictures of Islamic law, in particular its prohibition on the charging of interest, the term “Islamic financing” might seem to contain an inherent contradiction.
But far from being disfavored, deal work in the Islamic world is booming. Ten years ago, best estimates put the amount of global financing done under Islamic law at about $70 billion. This year, it’s ballooned more than tenfold to an estimated $750 billion. That’s enough to propel the Islamic finance industry out of its niche market status and into the mainstream of international banking.
