Islamic banking: praying for profit

The author, using the trade history of Al-Baraka Kazakhstan Bank, discusses Islamic mainstream business which uses the standard instrument of murabaha , or cost-plus financing. He also discusses the joint venture occurring in Uzbekistan, sponsored by Dallah Al-Baraka Bank. Albania, according to the author's research, is viewed as another emerging market for Islamic finance. Because of EC directives which guarantee free movement of capital, the EC will permit recognized Islamic banks like DAB to open branches in any European country, if registered in just one EC country. The opening of these branches would be done with or without the permission of the central bank of the country in which the Islamic entity was registered. Finally, the author opines the lack of centralized legislation among Islamic banks and his perceived need for a greater variety of Islamic financial instruments which are suitable for functioning in a secondary Western market.