Can the contemporary Islamic finance movement be shown to meet the requirements of modern commerce? In the wake of the terrorist attacks on America, the UN Security Council passed a resolution targeting transnational sources of terrorist funds. The UNited States and the International Monetary Fund are encouraging the governments of the Middle East to adopt policies of economic liberalism. One unexpected consequence is that a new type of capitalism - based on Islamic values and beliefs - is emerging.

The aims of the book are:

* to explore the political implications of the slow but steady accumulation of Islamic capital, to analyse the connections between Islamic finance and Islamic political movements in Middle Eastern and North African countries;

* to demonstrate that the commonly perceived connection between Islamic finance and money laundering and terrorism is simplistic and misleading.



Covering political as well as economic constraints, and correcting misuderstandings about Islamic banking and finance, this book helps readers learn to appreciate the varios political contexts in which Islamic finance operates in the Middle East and North Africa.



The Politics of Islamic Finance is divided into two parts. Part One is thematic and lays the ground for the country-specific case studies in Part Two (covering the Sudan, Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt). The contributors include political scinetists, economists and historians.