Islamic economic jurisprudence

Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet ?im?ek has said preparatory work to launch a coordination mechanism for Islamic banking in Turkey have started, and the related circular note has recently been sent to the Prime Ministry. 

Islamic finance is emerging as one of the main tools for further economic development in the Mediterranean region, a panel of experts said Nov. 27.

Islamic finance, which shuns the use of interest on loans, is relatively rare in West Africa, where over 90 percent of the total population is Muslim. However, experts believe Islamic finance could represent a viable alternative - and help the development of the continent in the process.

Islamic banking is growing faster than its conventional counterpart but is focused in a few core markets and risks missing an opportunity to build a global footprint, the EY consultancy said in a report Dec. 2.

Financiers in Cyprus, an island divided by war four decades ago, want to set up an Islamic finance hub to spur an economy that hasn’t grown in three years.

The Cyprus Investment Funds Association is calling for the government to sell sukuk to lure investment from the Middle East, CIFSA’s president, Angelos Gregoriades, said in an e-mail interview from the capital Nicosia.