The Shariah is what distinguishes Islamic finance. It is the guidance that creates opportunities and responsibilities. The success of Islamic finance depends on endeavouring to understand it, applying it thoughtfully, enabling adherence to it, and understanding the many risks that arise when it is neglected.
ISRA and Thomson Reuters are pleased to present the first annual report on Islamic commercial law. It is our hope that this report and the many more that shall come will serve as a platform for engagement with thoughtful scholarship and committed practitioners. This report will present many of their observations, ideas, and concerns. It will, moreover, serve as an important tool for stakeholders to discuss and dialogue about the challenges and risks facing the industry’s continued impressive growth.
In particular, this report will discuss the Islamic legal-ethical issues arising as Islamic financial institutions and investors innovate, as Islamic finance operates within frameworks in which it is a recent entry as well as those in which it has existed for some decades, and seeks to partner with increasingly important sustainable and responsible initiatives. Stakeholders of Islamic banking and finance should find their concerns raised here in these reports and find this report to be a source of important education.
