Somali entrepreneurs are transforming neglected neighborhoods with the help of a Minneapolis Islamic financing program. Read full article here. »

Islamic Finance in Japan By So Saito and Chika Igarashi  Islamic-Finance-in-Japan (2MB) Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader »

Sukuk has certain implicit features that makes them different from Riba securities. The most clear difference between them is in what owning them means. In the case of sukuk, investors own part of the capital and receive benefits from increases in its value. The types of capital backing sukuk may include property leasing, industrial projects, commercial projects, or other types of investments. The... »

A report highlighting a decade of Islamic Finance in Ireland.  Ireland – Islamic Finance (2.2 MB) Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader »

ISLAMIC FINANCE IN EUROPE European Central Bank OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES NO 146 / JUNE 2013 By Filippo di Mauro, Pierluigi Caristi, Stéphane Couderc, Angela Di Maria, Lauren Ho, Baljeet Kaur Grewal, Sergio Masciantonio, Steven Ongena and Sajjad Zaher   ECB – Islamic Finance in Europe (2.8MB) Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader »

Sukuk, the plural form of the word sakk, refers to an investment certificate that is deemed to be compliant with Islamic financing principles. In the past, sukuk were used to facilitate trade transactions among merchants by serving as promissory notes. Historical records show that these notes were widely traded and exchanged. Contemporary sukuk are used to raise funds for investments in a manner c... »

In the US, the Islamic finance sector has traditionally been involved in financing transactions at the consumer level. The first, and most notable, systematic attempt to bring Islamic finance to the US retail consumer market was made in the mid-1990s when the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) formally recognised the ijarah and the murabahah models as being valid for transactions invo... »

Luxembourg is one of the major financial markets in Europe, its popularity is based on competitive pricing, incentives and access to European clients. Since 2002, when Luxembourg became the first European country to list a sukuk, there has been a total of 16 sukuk listed on the exchange. In 2014 Luxembourg issued its first Sovereign Sukuk, a Euro denominated Sukuk for €200m, and in 2013 it was ann... »

Ireland has developed a strong foundation for the Islamic finance industry, including a comprehensive tax treaty network with Muslim nations and a provision in its tax code specifically for Islamic financial instruments, such as those involving ijarah (leasing), murabahah (sale on the basis of cost plus mark-up) and Islamic insurance (takaful). Ireland is home to more than 50 world-class fund serv... »

Since 1990, the Islamic capital market has developed rapidly across the globe, from South-East Asia to the GCC region and to Europe, becoming a truly international market for fundraising activities. This strong growth has been driven by the increase in the earnings of oil exporting countries resulting from a rise in global oil prices. Participating institutions include multilateral organisations, ... »