A large literature contends that legal systems that adapt efficiently to meet the contracting needs of the economy foster financial sector development. The paper discusses the adaptability features of Islamic law related to commercial transactions (Islamic commercial law) in light of contemporary financial system. After discussing the nature and way the common and civil law traditions can evolv...

There is a serious lack of empirical studies on Islamic banking. This paper attempts to fill that gap to some extent. Using data for the 1990-98 period, several hypotheses and common perceptions about the practice of Islamic banking have been tested. The performance of Islamic banks has been evaluated using both trend and ratio analyses. For this purpose, some objective “benchmarks” for various...

Islamic art is unique because its form and function permeate both distance and time. Since the birth of Islam, Muslim artists around the world have created pieces of art that share an uncanny resemblance to pieces created by other Muslim artists through common themes, appearances, and applications. These similarities include calligraphic elements, exaggerated depictions of plants and animals, a...

While ideologies and elites change, patronage politics remains the preferred strategy of Central Asia’s autocrats. Aspiring presidents-for-life distribute wealth to handpicked appointees who reciprocate by implementing, to varying degrees, executive policy. Shared strategies of rule, however, do not translate into shared state capacity. The trains do not always run on time, and in many places i...

This paper exposes the “roadmap” of how modern Islamist terrorism is financed, through both legitimate and illegitimate means: the networks and linkages between financing obtained on the one hand through sympathetic Islamic governments, Islamic charities and banks, seemingly legitimate businesses operating as fronts, and on the other hand through criminal activities running the full gamut from ...

This study investigates the banking behavior of Islamic bank customers in Bangladesh. By collecting data from a sample of 100 customers of Islamic banks, researchers conducted a comprehensive profile analysis, a number of chi-square tests, and t tests and found a number of key findings as to the behavior of Islamic bank customers in Bangladesh. First, most of the customers of Islamic banks fall...

A. R. Bozorgmanesh a , M. Otadi b, A. A. Safe Kordi c, F. Zabihi d, M. Barkhordari Ahmadi e (a) Department of Chemical Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran (b) Department of Chemical Engineering, Central Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran (c) Department of Chemical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran (d) Department of ...

In 2000, an evaluation of Iranian elementary education revealed that it did not successfully prepare students for the future. The failure was attributed to the teacher centered, content-oriented education system. In 2001, the Iranian Ministry of Education began a pilot project that introduced an alternative curriculum, known as “Global Education,” with UNICEF’s participation. Global education, ...