Islamic Finance and Economics

US Commerce Restrictions Highlight Ongoing Islamist Collaborations

May 19, 2021

The US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security announced the denial of export privileges to Mehmet Hakan Attila, former Deputy General of Turkey's second-largest public lending institution, Halkbank, which laundered at least $1 billion through the US financial system as part of Islamist regimes' collaboration in a Turkey-Iran sanctions-busting scheme.
Germany Bans Islamic Group for Terrorist Financing

May 19, 2021

Germany's Ministry of the Interior has banned an Islamic non-governmental organization (NGO) due to evidence indicating that funds collected for charity and welfare projects were diverted to finance a range of Islamist extremist and terrorist groups operating from the Middle East to Africa, including support to Al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria, Hamas in Gaza, and al-Shabab in Somalia.
Robust Growth Projected for Islamic Finance Industry

May 12, 2021

Standard & Poor (S & P) global credit ratings giant projects that the Islamic finance industry will show robust 10-12% annual growth rates over the next two years, reaching $3.8 trillion in total assets worldwide by 2023, expanding sharia-compliant/compatible products and services in Muslim-majority and Western countries.
Malaysia Becoming Global Islamic Finance Hub

March 23, 2021

The 2020-2021 Global Islamic Economy Report shows Malaysia consolidating its trending role as a global hub for sharia-compatible/compliant finance, especially within the framework of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), placing the country also as a fintech (financial technology) and Islamic economy leader within ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).
Qatar Accelerating Sharia Banking in Non-Muslim Countries

March 10, 2021

Islamic banking unitary experts are pointing to Qatar’s Islamic theocracy as a key player in the accelerated expansion of sharia-based banking to non-Muslim-majority countries, highlighting the importance of standardized sharia compliance platform and the separation of sharia and conventional transactions.
Sharia Banking to Expand in Australia's Mortgage Market

March 09, 2021

Brokernews.com reports that the new partnership between one of Australia's largest mortgage aggregators and the country's premier Islamic financial services firm is expected to generate major growth in the country's sharia-compliant mortgage finance market within the context of robust demographic and immigration trends for the Oceanic Continent.
Millenials to Drive 21st Century Islamic Finance Growth

February 19, 2021

Arabian Business reports that British experts assess that millennials will be the key drivers of global expansion in Sharia-based/compatible financial products and profits, catalyzed by demands ethical finance in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as innovations in Islamic financial technology (fintech).
Turkey Balances Islamist Agenda Against Economic Priorities

January 27, 2021

Modern Diplomacy reports a recent religious ruling by Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs will approve interest rates in certain cases, highlighting the regime’s effort to balance economic priorities against broader goals of socioeconomic Islamization at home and the use of Islamist soft power in foreign policy in Europe and Asia.
Cryptocurrency Activity Poised to Spike in Mideast with New Bahrain

January 27, 2021

Cryptocurrency activity is expected to grow across the Arabian Gulf region following the Central Bank of Bahrain’s announcement of the establishment of a sharia-compliant cryptocurrency exchange, which aims to position the small Gulf Islamic theocracy as a global hub of Islamic financial technology (fintech).
Jihadist Militias Expand Influence at Syria-Iraq Border Checkpoints

January 06, 2021

Iran-supported militias from Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are expanding the transnational influence of Shiite sectarian Islamism by running financial extraction operations at key trading checkpoints on the Syria-Iraq border.