Understanding Islamic Banking and its Prospect in the UK

Masters Thesis from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Banking, Stock Exchanges, Insurance, Accounting, grade: 2:1, Liverpool John Moores University (Kaplan), course: MBA, language: English, abstract: This work analyzes Islamic banking and ist prospect in the UK. Islamic banking is a subject which many people, including Muslims, know very little about. The theory of interest-free banking itself is a revolutionary idea in the banking business of a country, but this aspect often gives rise to confusion and misconceptions about the operation of Islamic banking. The growth of Islamic banking partly reflects demand from Muslims clients for Islamic deposit facilities and fund management services which involve shariah compliance. At the same time, Islamic banking methods are viewed as a challenge and opportunity by conventional bankers, many of whom have sought to get involved in this growing industry. In client driven societies there is a willingness by those in financial services to learn from the experiences of Islamic banks. Further, the globalization of trade necessitates the conducting of affairs of Islamic bank with non-Islamic banks, and vice-versa. Such integrated international trade demands that business communities, banks and other trade regulatory bodies of both Muslim and non-Muslim countries should gain some understanding of the principles of Islamic banking. So the knowledge of current Islamic banking as compared to the conventional banking is very significant for economists, bankers, administrators and other peoples involved with international trade and commerce. Added to these, the increasing number Islamic banks in various countries made it a necessity for banking communities to have some insight into the workings of Islamic banks. Therefore, the present comparative research will familiarize the readers with the principles of shariah and will provide an insight into the rules and principles of Islamic banking as well. In spite of the fa