: Ethical Money: Islamic Banking Gains Mainstream Appeal

A few years ago, it was just an academic exercise. Now, Muslims can trade stocks on the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index, finance homes without interest, and implement any number of tested Islamic solutions to common financial problems. “Islam teaches us that money should be channelled toward the production of real goods and services and not the ‘financial’ economy such as hedge funds and derivatives,” said Iqbal Khan, chief executive office of Amanah Finance, an Islamic bank. “It keeps us in touch with the real economy and away from speculation.” The road to Islamic finance has been rocky, with debates on “what is riba?” and accusations of dressing up interest in Islamic clothing. But as Islamic financial methodologies continue to improve, major American institutions are taking notice and even opening up Islamic subsidiaries.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.