It is a well-known fact that conventional commercial banks provide financial intermediation services on the basis of interest rates on assets and liabilities. However, since interest is prohibited in Islam, Islamic banks have developed several other modes through which savings are mobilized and passed on to entrepreneurs, none of which involve interest.Islamic Banking and Finance discusses Islamic financial theory and practice, and focuses on the opportunities offered by Islamic finance as an alternative method of financial intermediation. Key features of profit-sharing (as opposed to debt-based) contracts are highlighted, and the ways in which they can facilitate improved efficiency and stability of a financial system are explored.The authors illustrate that in addition to some 200 Islamic banks operating in Muslim as well as non-Muslim countries, some of the biggest multinational banks are now offering Islamic financial products. This book will fascinate students, researchers and academics with a special interest in comparative banking, middle-eastern studies and international finance, and will also appeal to practitioners of banking and finance.
