World of finance reacts to a major new resource

While Islamic banking has been practiced for a number of years, only in the past ten years has the sector been a prominent one. At the core of Islamic banking is the idea that interest may not be dealt with. It has been suggested that the funds in the Islamic banking sphere are now over $60 billion. One expectation is that the statistic will be over $100 billion by 1997. The sector's annual growth rate has been stated to be at an average of 15%. The system entails a great deal beyond the ban on interest. A number of Islamic banks today envision a role of the field as a means of channeling funds to various types of projects. Recent events in the Middle East have prompted Western banks to be more attentive to Islamic needs. Amongst the Western institutions involved in Islamic dealings are Citibank, Goldman, Sachs, and ANZ Grindlay's. There are around 160 Islamic financial institutions. Islamic bankers desire that the West see the Islamic and conventional systems as complementary. The