ISLAMIC FINANCE: LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES

The paper focuses on some of the challenges and constraints faced by the contemporary Islamic finance industry. The paper will also briefly discuss the epistemological foundation of Islamic finance and the general outline of an ideal Islamic financial system. The nature of the spectrum of instruments that should serve the Islamic financial system will also be considered. The authors will also highlight the Islamic understanding of risk and uncertainty and prove that risk sharing is the operational essence of Islamic finance. The paper then focuses on solutions that would address some of the challenges facing Islamic finance institutions and how common law has played a key role in the development of the contemporary Islamic finance industry.