Book Description

Though it remains a niche market, Islamic banking is the fastest growing banking and financial sector in the world. In 2012, its total market value surpassed one trillion dollars, and the banking system is highly prevalent in some of the world's fastest growing emerging economies like Turkey, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Many argue that its alternate model of finance proved uniquely suited to weather financial crises and the recessions that subsequently follow as the recent global financial crisis and the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009 has shown. Islamic Banking: Steady in Shaky Times? examines if there is empirical support for the assertion that Islamic banks are more stable than conventional institutions. This provocative book is authored and researched by Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed Abdi. He has a PhD in monetary and international economics from George Mason University and nearly thirty years of experience working for both Wall Street and the World Bank, where he was a treasury operations official in the assets & liability management unit of the Bank's $115 billion balance sheet portfolio. He currently works as a financial and economic consultant in the Washington, D.C. area. His book critically assesses the advantages and challenges facing Islamic finance. It analyzes the origins and evolution of Islamic finance and shows the role that major schools of Islamic thought play in deciding whether a particular transaction or financial instrument complies with Islamic law. The book delves into case studies in the Middle East and the island nations of Southeast Asia. As Abdi shows however, there are vital signs that Islamic banking is quickly improving its performance. At its core, the book is concerned with the stability and performance of financial institutions whether they are Islamic or Western. The recent global financial crisis had its roots in the weak regulation and reckless speculation of financial institutions in developed Western countries. The text also address the costly consequences for taxpayers when governments have to bail out banks who do not want to mend their ways of leveraging large amounts of debt on risky financial products. As regulating the banking sector to stave off financial crisis has become a hotly contested issue in the United States and the Eurozone countries, this book looks at what lessons conventional financial institutions can draw from the underlying principles of Islamic finance. His book gets to the heart of what makes Islamic banks different from their conventional or Western counterparts and in what regards the institutions share the same values. The book will prove of interest to investors who want to learn more about emerging markets in the Muslim world where many large financial institutions and corporations use the principles of Islamic finance. Intended for academics and professionals, the book will also be of interest to the educated middle classes in North Africa and Middle East, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where Islamic banking and financial services are rapidly growing in dominance.