Books

The volume is a compilation of articles put forth as the July 1979 Seminar on Islamic Economics held in Dacca. The articles within the book are divided into two parts. The first part contains works on Islamic economy theory. The papers in this section cover a broad range of topics, including the issue of wealth distribution, the institution of Zakah, the use of fiscal policy in managing an Islamic economy, and banking without interest, Other such topics are resource mobilization, marketing, women's employment, agricultural finance, and the theoretical Islamic economic outlook.

This book begins with an introduction to Islamic banking and its historical development. Conventional and Islamic banking systems are compared, and descriptions of the major Islamic banking instruments are provided. The Islamic financial services provided in Bahrain, as well as the regulatory framework, are discussed. Some recent developments in Islamic banking include securities issued by the Bahrain government, the Liquidity Management Center, and the Islamic Financial Services Board. A glossary of terms is provided in the appendix.

This collection contains an edited transcript of the proceedings of the Conference on Islamic Finance and Investment, organized by The Arab Bankers Association of North America with cooperation from the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. The conference was held on May 23, 1996. The first session dealt with Islamic finance in the US, including presentations on the level of demand, regulatory frameworks, and how to structure Islamic financial instruments to best avoid US tax regulations.