Recent economic crises have made the centrality of debt, and the instability it creates, increasingly apparent. This realization has led to cries for change—yet there is little popular awareness of possible alternatives. Beyond Debt describes efforts to create a transnational economy free of debt. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Malaysia, Daromir Rudnyckyj illustrates how the state, led by the central bank, seeks to make the country’s capital Kuala Lumpur “the New York of the Muslim world”—the central node of global financial activity conducted in accordance with Islam. Rudnyckyj shows how Islamic financial experts have undertaken ambitious experiments to create more stable economies and stronger social solidarities by facilitating risk- and profit-sharing, enhanced entrepreneurial skills, and more collaborative economic action. Building on scholarship that reveals the impact of financial devices on human activity, he illustrates how Islamic finance is deployed to fashion subjects who are at once more pious Muslims and more ambitious entrepreneurs. In so doing, Rudnyckyj shows how experts seek to create a new “geoeconomics”—a global Islamic alternative to the conventional financial network centered on New York, London, and Tokyo. A groundbreaking analysis of a timely subject, Beyond Debt tells the captivating story of efforts to re-center international finance in an emergent Islamic global city and, ultimately, to challenge the very foundations of conventional finance.

Turkey could be considered the most important and leading Islamic country that has implemented the Western economic model successfully mostly because of the modernization efforts since late Ottoman period. As a result of the secularization efforts in the field of economy in early republican era, Muslim people in the country had to deal with non-Islamic practices that contradict with their religious beliefs. Islamic Finance Alternatives for Emerging Economies analyzes the emergence of the Islamic financial institutions in Turkey, by taking into account their history, their operational model, and their legal regulations in the financial field, to discuss the future of Islamic finance. The contributors also consider the ability of Islamic financial institutions and tools to respond to the financial needs of Muslims.

New Issues in Islamic Finance & Economics: Progress and Challenges provides a review of the main issues and challenges facing Islamic finance. The application of Islamic finance is currently limited to banking. This book starts with an overview of the factors and motives behind the development of Islamic finance. A critical review of issues facing the industry is provided followed by a detailed analysis of areas where further attention is required. The book offers some original thinking on issues pertaining to governance, institutions, public finance and economic development within an Islamic financial system.

The SDN discusses the main policy issues and challenges in building an inclusive and safe Islamic finance industry, with emphasis on Islamic banking and Sukuk markets. To this end, it discuses why Islamic finance matters, taking into account its recent and prospective growth; and, its potential contributions in terms of financial inclusion, support for small- and medium-sized enterprises and investment in public infrastructure and, in principle, reduced systemic risk. It then covers a range of regulatory and other challenges, and offers policy advice, to address factors that hamper the development of the industry and, more generally, the delivery of its potential benefits. The paper covers regulatory and supervisory issues, safety nets and resolution frameworks, access to finance, Sukuk markets, and macroeconomic policies.

Islamic finance has started to grow in international finance across the globe, with some concentration in few countries. Nearly 20 percent annual growth of Islamic finance in recent years seems to point to its resilience and broad appeal, partly owing to principles that govern Islamic financial activities, including equity, participation, and ownership. In theory, Islamic finance is resilient to shocks because of its emphasis on risk sharing, limits on excessive risk taking, and strong link to real activities. Empirical evidence on the stability of Islamic banks, however, is so far mixed. While these banks face similar risks as conventional banks do, they are also exposed to idiosyncratic risks, necessitating a tailoring of current risk management practices. The macroeconomic policy implications of the rapid expansion of Islamic finance are far reaching and need careful considerations.

A detailed overview of Sharia-compliant finance—one of today’s most dynamic and influential sectors Islamic banks, which are becoming increasingly wealthier, are ever in search of sharia-compliant investments. In order to capitalize on this new development, investing professionals must familiarize themselves with this burgeoning investing method. Gulf Capital & Islamic Finance introduces bankers, money managers, and investors to the strategic and technical aspects of Islamic finance, covering a broad range of vehicles, including Islamic bonds, Sukuks, ETFs, and takaful (Islamic insurance). In an era of evaporating liquidity and endless adjustments to economic crises, Islamic finance is one of the few areas that continues to grow.

Although Islamic finance is one of the fastest growing segments of emerging global financial markets, its concepts are not fully exploited especially in the areas of economic development, inclusion, access to finance, and public policy. This volume is to improve understanding of the perspective of Islamic finance on economic development, social and economic justice, human welfare, and economic growth.