Islamic Finance: Progress and Challenges provides a review of the main issues and challenges facing Islamic finance. The application of Islamic finance is currently limited to banking. This book starts with an overview of the factors and motives behind the development of Islamic finance. A critical review of issues facing the industry is provided followed by a detailed analysis of areas where further attention is required. The book offers some original thinking on issues pertaining to governance, institutions, public finance and economic development within an Islamic financial system.

PROF. HOSSEIN ASKARI received a B.S. in CivilEngineering,Ph.D. in Economics and attendedthe Sloan School of Management attheMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Hewas an instructorof Economics at MIT, AssistantProfessor of Economics at TuftsUniversity,Associate Professor of Economics at Wayne StateUniversity, Associate Professor and Professor of InternationalBusiness and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas atAustin and is now the Iran Professor of International Business andProfessor of International Affairs at the George WashingtonUniversity. He served for two and a half years on the ExecutiveBoard of the IMF and was Special Advisor to the Minister of Financeof Saudi Arabia. In the mid-1980s he was the director of amultinational team that developed the first energy plan and energyplanning models for Saudi Arabia. He has written extensively oneconomic development in the Middle East, international trade andfinance, agricultural economics, oil economics, and on economicsanctions. He has been an advisor to a number ofgovernments,institutions and corporations.DR. ZAMIR IQBAL works as Lead Investment Officer with theQuantitative Strategies, Risk and Analytics department in theTreasury of the World Bank in Washington, D.C. He earned his Ph.D.in international finance from the George Washington University,where he also serves as adjunct faculty of international finance.He has published several articles on Islamic finance in journals ofrepute and has presented papers at international forums. He hasextensive experience with capital markets, structured products,risk management, financial sector development, and financialmodeling.His research interests include Islamic Finance, FinancialEngineering,Structured Finance and International Banking. He isco-author of Introduction to Islamic Finance: Theory andPractice (2007) and Risk Analysis for Islamic Banks(2007).DR. ABBAS MIRAKHOR, born in Tehran, Islamic Republic ofIran, attended Kansas State University, where he received his Ph.D. in economics in 1969. From 1969 to 1984, he taught in variousuniversities in the U.S. and Iran. From1984 until 1990, he servedon the staff of thief, and from 1990 to 2008, he served as theExecutive Director for Afghanistan, Algeria, Ghana, IslamicRepublic of Iran, Morocco, Pakistan, and Tunisia on the ExecutiveBoard of the IMF. Dr. Mirakhor is the co-author of Essays onIqtisad: Islamic Approach to Economic Problems (1989),Theoretical Studies in Islamic Banking and Finance (1987),and Introduction to Islamic Finance: Theory and Practice(2007). He has received several awards including "Order ofCompanion of Volta" for service to Ghana, conferred by thePresident of Ghana in 2005; Islamic Development Bank Annual Prizefor Research in Islamic Economics, shared with Mushin Khan in2003,and "Quaid-e Azam" star for service to Pakistan,conferred by the President of Pakistan in 1997.

Glossary of Arabic Terms ixAcknowledgement xxi1 Development and Progress of Islamic Finance 12 Issues and Challenges 473 Islamic Finance and Globalization: Convergence and aBoost for Rapid Growth? 754 Globalization and Its Implications for Muslim Countries1115 Expanding Financial Frontiers 1296 Reputational Risk for the Islamic Financial Industry 1497 Design of Benchmark for Asset Pricing 1798 Qard-ul-Hassan-based Microfinance 1979 Developing the Theoretical Foundations of Economics in Islam21110 Islam and Economic Development 24311 Taxation and Public Expenditures in Islam 26312 Scope of Social Safety Net in Islam: A Case Study 293References 327Index 363