Islamic Finance: Principles and Practice

`Since its development, the study of Islamic finance has been enriched by the insights of Western scholars of banking and finance. Here, Hans Visser provides a comprehensive analysis of the principles of Islamic finance, the main instruments, and the operation of Islamic institutions and markets. This thoughtful and well written study confirms Professor Visser's place in the group of Western writers able to comprehend and evaluate the essence of Islamic finance, while reinforcing Edward Elgar's position as the leading Western publishing house in this field.' - Mervyn K. Lewis, University of South Australia and Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, Australia Hans Visser presents a fascinating study of both the foundations of Islamic finance and its recent developments. This highly topical book explores the products and practices of Islamic finance, specifically targeting the tensions that may arise between the ideology and the practices. The author describes the forms Islamic finance has taken, analyzes the problems that it faces, and confronts the practice of Islamic finance with the principles it is based upon. He presents a dispassionate discussion of the problems facing Islamic forms of finance, including the question of how to reconcile activities such as liquidity management, monetary policy and government finance with Islamic principles. Islamic finance is an especially momentous phenomenon, and this book will prove an essential read for students with an interest in money and banking, and particularly Islamic finance. It will also be highly influential for bankers and staff in financial institutions, as well as financial journalists, politicians and civil servants dealing with the financial industry.