An interview with Prince Mohamed Al-Faisal Al-Saud: 'modern technology enables us to meet our client's needs' (Special advertising section)

HRH Prince Mohamed Al-Faisal Al-Saud, the American-educated son of Saudi Arabia's late King Faisal, founded the Dar al-Maal al-Islami (DMI) in 1981. The organization is a banking group administered in Geneva. There are a number of offshoots and affiliates of DMI widely geographically spread. Al-Saud states that his Western education aided him in fleshing out his thinking. He cites his father as his primary influence. Initially, he reports, the idea of Islamic economics was not taken seriously by conventional experts. There is, in history, an Islamic economic model to be emulated. Islamic banking, it is explained, is now being looked at more seriously. The religious boards of Islamic financial institutions, according to Al-Saud, act as a comforting element for Muslims. With the implementation of technology, the requirements of Islamic patrons can be better met. Yet technology and civilization are not to be confused as identical. While Islamic banking is just starting out and