An Islamic Perspective on Governance

The credit crunch, sub-prime crisis, and collapse of several major banks have shined a spotlight on economic and financial governance. Islamic financial institutions fared better in the 2008 financial crisis than their conventional counterparts. How can this be explained? Many believe that moral issues were at the heart of this collapse. Markets were poorly regulated, and Wall Street’s culture was extremely avaricious. Islamic teachings on economics and finance stress morality and condemn material greed. Islamic principles can fill in missing gaps in Western thought on financial governance.