Islamic Finance

Islamic Finance seeks to encourage 'ethical' investing that conforms with the principles of the Islamic faith. Such principles form part of ‘Shari’ah’, which is often understood to be ‘Islamic Law’, but it is actually broader than this in that it also encompasses the general body of spiritual and moral obligations and duties in Islam. The most major difference from conventional finance is that trading in ‘indebtedness’ is prohibited and money should be earned, so the issuance of conventional bonds would not be compliant as they are usually traded and represent [usurious] interest based debts. It is worth noting that equity financing of an 'ethical' business is Shari’ah compliant and fits well with the risk/return precepts of Islam.