It is in the mutual interest of both Brazil and Muslim states to continue to promote mutual trade. In 2003, Brazil had a trade surplus of US $25B, and experienced a 6% growth (a total of US $2.76B) in trade to Arab states.
In what is to date the largest Islamic financial dispute to be litigated in court, Shamil Bank was awarded a $50M judgement against Beximco Pharmaceuticals and Others in the Commercial Court in London. This decision should serve to provide more market opportunities for Islamic financial ventures in the UK.
The demand for a wider range of Islamic financial products in the UK has been increasing, particularly for Islamic mortgages. Legal barriers to Islamic mortgages include the added cost of the multiple stamp duty, which was recently changed by the government in response to requests by advocates of Islamic finance.
Global equity markets have rallied in recent months, partly due to a normalization of operations following the gulf war, and also due to increased liquidity flowing into mutual funds. Though not a direct causal relationship, there is a correlation between stock market performance and equity mutual fund flows. One possibility is that stability and growth amongst equity mutual fund markets often helps to stabilize stock markets as well.
Both the state and society are responsible for the alleviation of poverty in Islamic countries, a process that primarily involves the use of zakah. The Qur'an and Sunnah, while demarcating citizens into eight categories, do not clearly stipulate how to distribute zakah.